"I cannot give you credit for any philosophy of the kind. Your retrospections must be so totally void of reproach, that the contentment arising from them, is not of philosophy, but what is much better, of ignorance...." Does this mean that he believes his behavior was willful, while hers was from misinformation, and therefore he should not be pardoned?

"I was given good principles but left to follow them in pride and conceit..." The paragraph which contains this phrase is how Darcy sees himself (or more accurately, how he was before Hunsford. I think he is trying to say he was spoiled as a child and was selfish.. but how does this reconcile with Mrs. Reynold's impression of Darcy as a child... "but I have always observed, that they who are good-natured when children, are good natured when they grow up; and he was always the sweetest tempered, most generous-hearted, boy in the world. (ch. 43)" Yet Darcy says in Chapter 58, "As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper."

It doesn't make sense to me how he could be generous and sweet tempered, yet spoiled and selfish...

And another thing... how can someone be benevolent and amiable and yet encourage his child to be mean spirited? And he says "Such I was, form eight to eight and twenty..." Why eight?

Is it possible, that as a parent, the elder Mr. Darcy saw his son's good nature and kindness as vulnerability and a weakness? Is it possible that he believed his son would be duped and taken advantage of if he did not become more hardened and wise to the ways of the world?

And how does his parent's influence figure into his characerization of his actions in the first quote I mentioned? According to Darcy, much of the blame for his behavior is due to his upbringing... Is this what he means when he says that he cannot "give credit for any philosphy of the kind..."?

Thoughts?