[Pride and Prejudice] Mary's Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 18 Quarrel

The family woke up one after another at noon the next day. Yesterday's ball was very successful. Mrs. Bennet said happily, "This ball will definitely be talked about for years. Jane is an angel. Everyone loves her. Especially the Mr Lawrence, so dazzled by her, I dare say he will propose to Jane before he returns to London."

Jane's face flushed slightly: "Don't talk about Mom like that, Mr. Lawrence is an outstanding young man, but I don't think I can get his kind of praise."

But when she was with Elizabeth and Mary in private, Jane couldn't help but smile when talking about Mr. Lawrence. Both Mary and Elizabeth thought that Jane had been in love with Lawrence for 10 minutes. Mary couldn't help but advise Jane: "Don't overdo it." Indulge in it, Jane, a lady should always have her own reserve, people will only cherish things that are hard to get, so you have to be a little bit colder to that Mr. Lawrence."

Elizabeth's opinion is completely opposite: "If a man and a woman love each other, then they should let each other know. If one of them is only unrequited because of deliberately setting difficulty, then that man is too pitiful."

Mary shrugged her shoulders, men are the same - if they are too easy to get, they don't know how to cherish, she has seen so many things in her two lifetimes.

However, things were a bit unexpected. Mr. Lawrence disappeared after visiting the Bennet family a few times. After a while, he set off for London, which disappointed Mrs. Bennet who expected Jane to marry into a wealthy family. , she began to chatter and ask Jane about the details of getting along with Mr. Lawrence, and tried her best to make Jane think carefully about whether she had offended that gentleman, so that his admiration disappeared.This made Jane, who had just been broken in love, extremely painful, but Mrs. Bennet didn't care how much she had caused her daughter. She accused Jane of some unwarranted inappropriate behavior, which made Jane's suffering even worse.

Today Mrs. Bennet was nagging about this matter again. When she got excited, she stared at Jane with wide eyes and said to her in an indisputable tone: "I am so disappointed in you." For Jane, you have wasted this face and this figure I gave you, and you must have been so harsh on Mr. Lawrence when you were talking to him in front of the fireplace that time, so that he held a grudge."

Jane had been silent from the time Mrs. Bennet spoke, and she knew it was best not to talk too much at this time, otherwise Mother would be endless.God knows, if Mr. Lawrence had caused her some pain, it would be nothing compared to what Mother had caused.

Elizabeth really couldn't stand her mother continuing to develop her rich associations on this matter, so she interrupted her: "Mom, when Jane and Mr. Lawrence get along, there are people around. Someone will know, so don't make wild guesses, gentlemen's minds are sometimes more fickle than women's, if you blame Jane for all this, it would be really unfair."

Mrs. Bennet glared at Elizabeth, and wanted to say something, but Lydia asked Jane enthusiastically: "Did you not flirt with him? If a girl can't flirt, she will lose at least 50.00% Your charm! You can't be so reserved, you have to be more enthusiastic! Be more slutty! Otherwise, no one will like you!"

These words were shocking, and everyone was shocked by Lydia's straightforwardness.

"What are you talking about?! Who taught you these words?!" Mary stood up and asked sharply, "Where did you hear these words?" Such a young girl would make such shocking remarks Well, Mary simply can't tolerate it. She has been a staunch conservative for two lifetimes. She absolutely cannot tolerate her 11-year-old little sister having such an "open" mind.

Lydia waved her hand and said very indifferently: "This is from my experience. I reminded Jane out of good intentions. She only knows how to smile at that man, acting like a fool. That's not okay, stupid woman." Children are not likable, so Mary, you have to change and learn to be coquettish, otherwise you will definitely not be able to marry in the future!"

Simply unbearable!

Mary yelled at Lydia, "Shut up and get those words out of your mind. Not only can you not flirt with any man and show off your bad manners, even this kind of words are not allowed. Never mention it. If you say such remarks again, you will be punished most severely!"

"You can't punish me, I'm not wrong! Women must learn to increase their charm, how can those dull women be popular. Only women who can flirt can be sought after by men." Lydia was very angry.

"Lydia is right. Stupid girls are indeed not flattering." At this time, Mrs. Bennet unexpectedly stood up and dragged her back.

"Mom, are you crazy?" Elizabeth looked at Mrs. Bennet in shock, "Lydia is only 11 years old, you are encouraging her, she will think it is right to do that, this kind of thinking will ruin her sooner or later." she."

"In short, from now on, you are not allowed to go out and fool around with those wild girls and wild boys. I will ask Miss White to give you a heavier class. If you can't finish it, you will not be allowed to step out of the house! All pocket money will be deducted!" Mary was furious. , she, like any adult, firmly believes that her own children must be influenced by outsiders if they fail in school.

"I don't—" Lydia blushed with anger, and she shouted: "You don't want me to be as rigid as you. It's no big deal to flirt with men. You should all learn how to flirtatiously, flirtatiously, or you'll turn into an old maid! old maid! old maid!—"

Mary was so angry that her hair was blown up: "Ha - very good! From today until you become an adult, don't even think about getting a penny pocket money. Without my permission, you are not allowed to go out casually, and you will not get any New clothes, new hats, new shoes, let me see how you go out to show off!"

"Kitty—" Mary suddenly turned her head to look at the fourth sister who had shrunk aside a long time ago.

Since Lydia spoke, Kitty hurriedly stood aside and pretended not to exist, for fear that the flames of war would spread to her, but how could Mary let her go: "Since you and Lydia have been inseparable, I judge that she has been with you for a long time. Having said the fallacies just now, as an older sister, you don’t know how to persuade and discipline your younger sister, so you should do the same. From now on, stay at home and don’t think about going out. I will tell the driver not to drive without my permission. When you go out, if you want to sneak out, if you find out once, you won’t have new clothes or shoes for a year, if you find out twice, you won’t have new shoes for three years, if you find out three times, you’ll be ready to dress like a beggar before you reach adulthood, I think Which blind man dares to flirt with you!"

"What does it matter to me?" Kitty cried anxiously.

"It's none of your business if you're a sister!" Mary said emphatically.

"Mother--"

"Mother--"

Kitty and Lydia asked Mrs. Bennet for help in unison. Mrs. Bennet also felt that this punishment was too severe. Who didn't like to talk nonsense when they were young.

Seeing that Mrs. Bennet seemed to be interceding for the two little sisters, Jane quickly stood up and supported Mrs. Bennet, and said softly: "Mom, just listen to Mary, she is for Kitty and Liddy." Yahao, the two of them really need to be disciplined."

"But this is too much, let the two sisters dress like beggars, how can they go out to meet people, they will be laughed at!" Mrs. Bennet yelled loudly.

"They don't need to go out to meet people. If they don't change this absurd thought and thoughtless temper, they will never go out for the rest of their lives!" Mary said firmly.

"You are so fucking! You are more Napoleon than Napoleon!" Lydia screamed.

Mary laughed angrily: "It seems that I have to reward Miss White for making you less ignorant. You even know Napoleon, then you must also know that Napoleon is at the peak of his life now, so it's better not to make unnecessary resistance. "

She turned her head all of a sudden, and looked at Kitty coldly. This younger sister who was wiping her tears and weeping softly was so stiff that she dared not move. Angry, she was so frightened that she wanted to cry but didn't dare, so she lowered her head and covered her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Take good care of her, Kitty. If you can't persuade her, at least keep your own opinion. Once Lydia violates the rules, report to me in time, otherwise you will regret it." Mary gritted her teeth heavily and said the word "regret". Kitty couldn't help trembling a little.

"Don't be so hard on them, they're still children," said Mrs. Bennet angrily.

Mary was simply furious with this mother who was always dragging her feet, and if she hadn't always taken her two younger sisters out to society, they wouldn't have become like this, thinking that she and Jane and Elizabeth were eleven or twelve years old. Stay at home and learn to read, and look at Elizabeth, she is 16 years old, and she still rarely appears at the ball.But when Kitty and Lydia were seven or eight years old, they wandered around at various dance parties, heard too much gossip and gossip about middle-aged women, and watched too much sneaking glances between young men and women, so that At an ignorant age, he was attracted by the impetuous and prosperous world, and wanted to enter the adult society prematurely, but instead empathized and changed sex, forming a distorted three views.

Both Jane and Elizabeth advised their mother to calm down for the time being, and it was time for Kitty and Lydia to learn knowledge and skills, and it would be beneficial and harmless for them to have less fun and more study.

Mary decided to cut the mess quickly. She said to Mrs. Bennet: "Mom, Lydia must be taught a lesson. Look at Jane and Elizabeth. They are popular ladies when they go out. Don't you want Lydia to do the same?" ?"

"Jane is not as popular as I am, and no one has proposed to her—" Lydia said angrily.

"Lydia, please stop talking." Kitty put one arm around Lydia, and the other over her mouth, and she really wept.

Mary was not moved at all, and she continued to say to Mrs. Bennet: "Mom, Lydia is a wild girl compared to several older sisters. Don't even think about us marrying into a good family. I will ask Miss White to assign a lot of homework for them, if they can't finish it, I support her corporal punishment, and I will give Dad's old horsewhip to Miss White in a while."

Mrs. Bennet gasped at this, and Kitty and Lydia were also shocked.

"I advise you not to make any excuses or cover-ups for the two of them, and don't even think about helping them secretly. If I find that they are wearing clothes, shoes and hats that I have never seen before, anyway, they go out to play without my permission. Guaranteed to turn them into rags and trash next time and shave their heads so they can't go out and meet people!"

This is simply too cruel!Kitty couldn't help crying: "Mother—help us—"

Lydia was furious: "If you dare to do that, I will cut off your clothes and shoes, and shave your hair!" She promised that if Mary really did that, she would retaliate fiercely and resolutely. .

"Okay, no problem!" Mary didn't mind at all, "I don't mind going out to meet people in ragged clothes, even if my old straw hat can't hide my weedy hair, even if the people on the street People point and point at me, I don’t care, I can go shopping, go shopping, meet friends as usual. I don’t pay attention to people’s ridicule, I still go my own way, are you okay?”

Lydia suddenly lost her temper. She really can't do it. If people see her going out like that, it's better to kill her, but she knows that Mary can do it. She has such a weird temper since she was a child. Going out like a crazy woman, maybe she really wants to.She turned her eyes to her mother, but Mrs. Bennet thought the same as her. She was afraid that Mary would really do that. If that happened, the Bennet family would become a big joke in Meryton, no, it was the whole of Harry. Big joke in Tfordshire.

She seemed to hear her enemies laughing at her: "Look, that's Fanny Bennet, that madman, that beggar, that disgraceful Mary wandering the streets is her third daughter!" , she felt her nerves beating crazily, as if she was going to jump from her head to the ceiling.

"Jane, help me quickly, my head is going to hurt like hell." Mrs. Bennet tightly held onto the eldest daughter beside her, as if she was too weak to stand up.

"Jane, help mother back to her bedroom, I'll tell the servant to call the doctor." Elizabeth said hastily.

Mary said loudly to Elizabeth who was leaving: "Tell Dr. Jones to ask him to order more medicine. I think my mother will often use it in the future."

Elizabeth paused, turned back with a suppressed smile and said, "Dr. Jones is our good friend. I think he will do his best for my mother's nerves."

Since childhood, she, Jane and Mary have been carefully cultivated by several teachers, but when it comes to the education of Kitty and Lydia, their parents are always perfunctory, especially the mother is too spoiled for the two little sisters. They were so spoiled that it was shameful, and she once persuaded her mother, but Mrs. Bennet never listened to it, which made Elizabeth really helpless.But today Mary's words really hit the heart of her mother and sister, and it really opened Elizabeth's eyes. Mrs. Bennet relied on her own unreasonableness to say the same at home. When Jane and Elizabeth met her, it was a scholar who met a soldier. I don't know, now that Mary has come here—she is even more unreasonable than you!It's one thing and one thing, Elizabeth secretly gave Mary a thumbs up - well done!

A quarrel came to an end like this. Lydia really didn't dare to test Mary's determination, fearing that this eccentric sister would suddenly go crazy, and Kitty was a fool. She found that she couldn't resist Mary's storm, so she had to accept it .This makes Miss White's teaching work very smoothly. If she grades two students' homework well, then the two "bad boys" (as Mrs. Bennet calls them) can get the "strict" sister. permission to go out and play for a while.But every time Kitty has to report to Mary whether their words and deeds are appropriate, if Mary has no time to listen, she will ask Kitty to write a written report, which makes Kitty's writing level improve by leaps and bounds.However, the two secretly complained to Mary, and even Mrs. Bennet complained that Mary was meddling.

For this reason, Elizabeth found Mr. Bennet and asked him to personally discipline the two little sisters, so that their resentment towards Mary would be reduced.But Mr. Bennet has always been better at one thing than one thing. He doesn't care about a thousand things: "Sisters always have some quarrels to enhance their relationship. Your mother and Mrs. Philip once had a quarrel that turned the world upside down. You can't do without anyone."

Elizabeth had no choice but to ask Mr. Bennet to persuade her mother not to blindly protect Lydia and Kitty. Mr. Bennet said: "Your mother wants me to discipline Mary. It took me a long time to show her that I am resolutely neutral. It doesn't help. My ears are finally cleaned up, let them rest for two more days, they have been overworked since your mother and I got married, and they have worked hard. And," Mr. Bennet changed his position and sat on the sofa On the chair, he said enthusiastically: "I am very happy to have another comrade-in-arms. From now on, I will no longer fight alone. Maybe I should hold a welcome dinner for Mary. From now on, we will face the General Assembly together." An unexpected Miss Nervous."

In the end, Elizabeth had to roll her eyes in her heart and leave her father's study.