06-03-傲慢与偏见 [30]
think she would be a suitable wife for a man in my situation．’
‘Sir，you quite misunderstand me，’said Mrs Bennet， alarmed．‘She's only obstinate in a matter like this．In every- thing else she is very agreeable．I’ll see Mr Bennet and we’ll arrange it with her，I'm sure．’
She did not give him time to reply，but hurried to the library，where she knew she would find her husband．
‘Oh，Mr Bennet，we need you urgently！We're all in such confusion！You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr Collins！’
Mr Bennet raised his eyes from his book as she entered，and stared at her with calm unconcern、‘I do not have the pleasure of understanding you，’he said．‘What are you talking about？’
‘Lizzy declares she won't have him，and if you don't hurry， he’ll change his mind and not have her．’
‘So what should I do？It seems a hopeless business．’
‘Speak to her about yourself．Tell her you insist on her marrying him．’
‘Call her in here．She shall hear my opinion．’
Mrs Bennet gladly rang the bell，and the servant brought Elizabeth into the library．
‘Come here，child，said her father as she appeared．‘I've sent for you on a very important matter．I understand that Mr Collins has made you an offer of marriage，and you have re- fused？’When Elizabeth nodded，he continued，Very well． Now，your mother insists on your accepting．Isn't that right， Mrs Bennet？’
‘Yes，or I’ll never see her again．’
‘You now have an unhappy choice to make，Elizabeth．From this day on，you must be a stranger to one of your parents． Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr Collins，and I will never see you again if you do．’
Elizabeth could not help smiling，but Mrs Bennet，who had been sure her husband supported her，was very disappointed．
‘What do you mean，Mr Bennet？You promised me you would insist on her marrying him．’
‘My dear，’replied her husband，‘I have two small requests to make．First，that you will accept that I know what Ipromised or did not promise，and secondly，that you will all leave me in peace as soon as possible．’
That afternoon，Charlotte Lucas came to visit Elizabeth，and found the family still in great confusion．The younger girls were quite excited by the news of Mr Collins’proposal，and Mrs Bennet was most annoyed with Elizabeth．
‘Oh dear Miss Lucas，’cried Mrs Bennet，can't you per- suade Elizabeth to accept Mr Collins？Nobody else wants to help me！Oh，how ill I feel！And look at Lizzy now！She's so unconcerned！But I tell you，Miss Lizzy，if you go on refusing every offer of marriage like this，you’ll never get a husband at all！And I won't be able to provide for you when your father is dead，I warn you now．I told you in the library that I wouldn't speak to you again，and I won't．I have no pleasure in talking to an undutiful child like you．Not that I have much pleasure in talking to anybody，with my headaches．Nobody knows how I suffer！But of course those who do not complain are never pitied．’
Her daughters listened in silence，aware that any attempt to calm her would only increase her annoyance．Elizabeth，howev- er，was determined not to marry Mr Collins，and in the end Mrs Bennet was obliged to accept that fact．When Mr Collins realized that Elizabeth had meant what she said，his manner to- wards her became coldly and stiffly polite．His long speeches and flattering compliments were transferred for the rest of the day to kind Charlotte Lucas，who took on herself the trouble of listening to him，for which all the Bennets were very grateful．
The next day a letter was delivered to Jane from Netherfield Elizabeth saw her sister's expression change as she read it，and when they were alone，she asked about it．
‘It's from Caroline Bingley，’said Jane，‘and it has sur- prised
‘Sir，you quite misunderstand me，’said Mrs Bennet， alarmed．‘She's only obstinate in a matter like this．In every- thing else she is very agreeable．I’ll see Mr Bennet and we’ll arrange it with her，I'm sure．’
She did not give him time to reply，but hurried to the library，where she knew she would find her husband．
‘Oh，Mr Bennet，we need you urgently！We're all in such confusion！You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr Collins！’
Mr Bennet raised his eyes from his book as she entered，and stared at her with calm unconcern、‘I do not have the pleasure of understanding you，’he said．‘What are you talking about？’
‘Lizzy declares she won't have him，and if you don't hurry， he’ll change his mind and not have her．’
‘So what should I do？It seems a hopeless business．’
‘Speak to her about yourself．Tell her you insist on her marrying him．’
‘Call her in here．She shall hear my opinion．’
Mrs Bennet gladly rang the bell，and the servant brought Elizabeth into the library．
‘Come here，child，said her father as she appeared．‘I've sent for you on a very important matter．I understand that Mr Collins has made you an offer of marriage，and you have re- fused？’When Elizabeth nodded，he continued，Very well． Now，your mother insists on your accepting．Isn't that right， Mrs Bennet？’
‘Yes，or I’ll never see her again．’
‘You now have an unhappy choice to make，Elizabeth．From this day on，you must be a stranger to one of your parents． Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr Collins，and I will never see you again if you do．’
Elizabeth could not help smiling，but Mrs Bennet，who had been sure her husband supported her，was very disappointed．
‘What do you mean，Mr Bennet？You promised me you would insist on her marrying him．’
‘My dear，’replied her husband，‘I have two small requests to make．First，that you will accept that I know what Ipromised or did not promise，and secondly，that you will all leave me in peace as soon as possible．’
That afternoon，Charlotte Lucas came to visit Elizabeth，and found the family still in great confusion．The younger girls were quite excited by the news of Mr Collins’proposal，and Mrs Bennet was most annoyed with Elizabeth．
‘Oh dear Miss Lucas，’cried Mrs Bennet，can't you per- suade Elizabeth to accept Mr Collins？Nobody else wants to help me！Oh，how ill I feel！And look at Lizzy now！She's so unconcerned！But I tell you，Miss Lizzy，if you go on refusing every offer of marriage like this，you’ll never get a husband at all！And I won't be able to provide for you when your father is dead，I warn you now．I told you in the library that I wouldn't speak to you again，and I won't．I have no pleasure in talking to an undutiful child like you．Not that I have much pleasure in talking to anybody，with my headaches．Nobody knows how I suffer！But of course those who do not complain are never pitied．’
Her daughters listened in silence，aware that any attempt to calm her would only increase her annoyance．Elizabeth，howev- er，was determined not to marry Mr Collins，and in the end Mrs Bennet was obliged to accept that fact．When Mr Collins realized that Elizabeth had meant what she said，his manner to- wards her became coldly and stiffly polite．His long speeches and flattering compliments were transferred for the rest of the day to kind Charlotte Lucas，who took on herself the trouble of listening to him，for which all the Bennets were very grateful．
The next day a letter was delivered to Jane from Netherfield Elizabeth saw her sister's expression change as she read it，and when they were alone，she asked about it．
‘It's from Caroline Bingley，’said Jane，‘and it has sur- prised