Pride and Prejudice - Chapter 17
오만과 편견 - 제17장
Elizabeth returned from Kent with much to think about. Her experiences at Hunsford had changed her perspective on many things, particularly on Darcy.
엘리자베스는 롱본으로 돌아온다. 그녀는 더 현명하고 겸손해졌다. 그녀는 조지아나의 명예를 지키기 위해 위컴에 대한 진실을 밝히지 않기로 하지만, 그에 대한 태도는 바꾼다.
She now realized that she had been prejudiced against him from the beginning. She had allowed her wounded pride to blind her to his true character. And she had believed Wickham's lies without questioning them.
막내 동생 리디아는 연대와 함께 브라이턴으로 가도록 초대받는다. 엘리자베스는 그녀가 불상사를 일으킬 것을 우려해 아버지에게 보내지 말라고 충고하지만, 베넷 씨는 허락해 버린다.
"I have been so foolish," she thought over and over. "I judged him without giving him a chance."
When she arrived home, she found the household in an uproar. Her youngest sister Lydia had been invited to go to Brighton with the regiment, and Mrs. Bennet was delighted.
"It will be so good for her," Mrs. Bennet said. "She will have a chance to meet officers and have fun."
Elizabeth was horrified. Brighton was a seaside town known for its wild parties and loose morals. She feared that Lydia would get into trouble there.
"You cannot let her go," Elizabeth told her father. "It is too dangerous."
But Mr. Bennet was careless. "Let her go," he said. "She will learn her lesson soon enough."
Elizabeth tried to convince him, but he would not listen. He thought Lydia was too silly to get into any real trouble.
Meanwhile, Jane returned from London with news. She had seen Bingley briefly, and he had seemed friendly but distant.
"I think he has forgotten me," Jane said sadly.
Elizabeth was sure that Darcy was still influencing Bingley, but she said nothing to Jane. She did not want to raise her sister's hopes falsely.
In the meantime, Elizabeth continued to think about Darcy. She remembered how he had looked at her at the ball, how he had proposed to her despite her family's obvious shortcomings. He must truly love her, she realized, to propose under such circumstances.
And she remembered the letter—the honest explanation, the admission of his mistakes, the revelation of Wickham's true character. Darcy was not the villain she had thought him to be. He was a good man who had been misunderstood.
But what could she do now? It was too late to change anything. Darcy was gone, and she might never see him again.