I also think Darcy went, planning to propose
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Posted by Susanne on December 06, 1997 at 23:03:31:
In response to I honestly don't think so., written by Mark on December 05, 1997 at 15:59:23
]
] ] I think fight a lot with himself before going to the rectory to find her there, but when he set out from from Rosings he was determined to asked her to marry him. Otherwise he would not have gone.
] ] BTW this post is a bit of a mess itself. I hope you undestand it!
] Perfectly, my dear
]
] I am sorry. I just don't see Mr. Fritzwilliam Darcy making such a mess of something that he sets his mind to do. Look at the clues:
]
] - He "hurriedly" enquires after her health.
] - He paces around the room in the most unsettled way.
] - He begins in a most "agitated manner" to say,
] - "In vain I have struggled. It will not do.
] Does this sound like a man who has made up his mind before arriving? I simply cannot see it. Darcy is nothing, if not decisive. Once he makes up his mind, he is implacable. He proceeds in a very logical, methodical manner. This is NOT the case with his first proposal.
] What clues do you see that he did make up his mind before hand?
] Mark
I think you are correct that Darcy is usually logical and methodical. That's why I can't believe that in the period between inquiring about Elizabeth's health and sitting in a chair, he all of a sudden decided to propose. I think he had been weighing the pros and cons for some time, and that is the struggle he referred to. When he went to Rosings, he was planning to ask Elizabeth to marry him, and her cold reception, coupled with what he was about to ask, made him nervous. Also, in the book JA writes, "In a hurried manner he immediately began an inquiry after her health,(i) imputing (/i) his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better." The word "imputing" here indicates to me that he had another reason to visit besides concern for her health, and that was to ask her to marry him. I doubt that he went for a pleasant chat, knowing that she wasn't feeling well. I think he just couldn't wait any longer to ask her. And feeling as he did about the drawbacks to such a relationship but going through with it anyway, his nervousness doesn't strike me as odd at all. This is my take on it anyway.
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