Chapter 15
“To Jane herself,” she exclaimed , “there could be no possibility of objection; all loveliness and goodness as she is!—::her understanding（ 通情达理） excellent, her mind improved,and her manners charming .:: Neither could he object to my father, who, though with some peculiarities (怪癖) , has abilities Mr. Darcy himself need not** look down on**.”
- '' 【understanding】：通情达理
- ''【 look down on】：轻视、蔑视
- '' 她悟性高，头脑灵，还风姿绰约
When she thought of her mother, her confidence gave way a little, but she still thought that Mr. Darcy was more concerned about her family’s :: lack of money and status, than about their lack of sense::.
- '' 【sense】：a general conscious awareness
- '' 【money and status & sense】：对立于物质的精神存在
When Elizabeth found herself alone one day, she chose to look through all of the letters that Jane had written to her since she had come to Kent,
wanting to anger herself as much as possible against Mr. Darcy.
They contained no actual complaint, but in almost every line of the letters there was a lack of the cheerfulness which Jane’s letters always used to have,
and which came from a mind at peace with itself that always felt kindly, trusting, and generous toward everyone.
Every sentence that showed Jane to be worried or uneasy reminded Elizabeth of Mr. Darcy’s shameful boast (自吹自擂) of the suffering he had caused,
and made her glad that soon their visit would end and she, with her love and affection, could do everything possible to help Jane to recover.
While busily reading, she was suddenly startled (惊吓) by the sound of the door-bell.
To her utter (彻底的) amazement, she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room. He asked about her well-being, and she answered him with cold politeness.
He sat down for a few moments, but soon stood up again and began walking about the room.
Elizabeth was surprised, but did not say a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came toward her, obviously upset, and began:
“In vain（没用） I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed (压抑) . You must allow me to tell you** how greatly I admire and love you**.”
Elizabeth’s astonishment was indescribable. She stared, blushed (红着脸) , and was silent. This he considered to be sufficient (足够的) encouragement.
He immediately began to confess (坦白) all that he had felt for her for so long. He spoke well, but he also spoke of other feelings besides those of love.
He talked at least as much about personal and family pride as he did about love.
He spoke with warmth about his sense of **her inferiority (低劣) as compared to his own family background **and how he had finally overcome it,
not realizing that this type of speech was most unlikely to persuade Elizabeth.
Despite her **deeply-rooted **dislike, she could not ignore the compliment (殷勤) of such a man’s affection.
- '' 【deeply-rooted】根深蒂固，举个例子：Being deeply-rooted in tradition, such ideas cannot be changed easily.
She was at first sorry for the pain he was about to receive, but after hearing what he had to say, she lost all sense of compassion (同情) in anger.
She tried, however, to compose herself to answer him with patience. He concluded with expressing to her the strength of his feelings, which he had found impossible to ignore.
When he expressed his hope that he would now be rewarded by her acceptance of his proposal (求婚) of marriage,
Elizabeth could easily see from his expression that even though spoke of fear and anxiety, he actually had no doubt about her answer.
This only angered her more, and when he had finished, the color rose into her cheeks, and she said:
::“It is common in such cases as this, I believe, to express a sense of gratitude (感激) for the feelings shown, however unequally they may be returned.::
::It is natural that gratitude (感激) should be felt, and if I could feel that way, I would now thank you.But I cannot—I have never wanted your good opinion, and you have certainly given it to me most unwillingly.::
::I am sorry to have caused pain to anyone. Those same reasons which have long prevented you from admitting your love, should make this rejection much less disappointing.”::
“大多数人在这种情况下，都会因被表白爱慕之情而心存感激，哪怕他们不能回报同样的感情。本来有这种感激之情是很自然的事，如果我可以，我也会感谢你。但是我并不感到感激。我从没想过从你那儿得到什么好的评价，何况你现在看起来极不情愿。我不想给任何人造成痛苦，所以那些让你不愿意承认爱我的原因，可能会让我的拒绝没那么伤人吧
Mr. Darcy, who was leaning (倚靠) against the fireplace with his eyes fixed on her face, seemed to hear her words with equal parts resentment (气愤) and surprise.His face became pale with anger, and the confusion in his mind was visible (明显的) in every feature (五官) .He was struggling for the appearance of composure (镇静) , and would not open his lips until he believed he had achieved it.The pause was dreadful (糟透的) . Eventually, with a voice of forced calmness, he said:“And this is all the reply which I am going to receive!
I might, perhaps, ask why you have rejected me with so little attempt at politeness. But it is of little importance.”
“I might as well ask,” replied she, “why you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character.
Was this insult (无礼) not some excuse for being impolite, if I was so? But I have other reasons. You know I have.Suppose I felt differently about you—that I had no feelings at all about you, or even felt affection for you.
Do you think that anything could tempt me to accept a man who had had any part in ruining, perhaps forever, the happiness of my most beloved (挚爱的) sister?”She paused, and saw nothing that showed he had any feelings of remorse (懊悔) .“Can you deny (否认) that you have done so?” she repeated.
With pretended calmness he then replied: “I have no wish to deny (否认) that I did everything in my power to separate my friend from your sister,
or that I take delight in my success. I have been kinder toward him than toward myself.”
Elizabeth refused to show that she had noticed this comment, but its meaning did not escape her.
“But it is not only this incident,” she continued, “which has caused my dislike. Long before it occurred, my opinion of you had already been decided.
I received a clear description of your behavior many months ago from Mr. Wickham. On this subject, what can you have to say?
Through what imaginary act of friendship can you here defend yourself? Or through what untruth can you here blame others?”
“You take a strong interest in that gentleman’s concerns,” said Darcy, in a less calm tone (语气) , and with reddening cheeks.
::“Who can help feeling an interest in him, who knows what his misfortunes have been?”::
“His misfortunes!” repeated Darcy with contempt (鄙视) , “yes, his misfortunes have been great indeed.”
“And all caused by you,” cried Elizabeth with energy. “You have forced him to live in his present state of poverty (贫困) .
You have kept from him, during the best years of his life, the means of support which he was owed and deserved. You have done all this!
And yet you can react to the mention of his misfortune with contempt (鄙视)and sarcasm (嘲笑) .”
“And this,” cried Darcy, as he walked with quick steps across the room, “is your opinion of me! I thank you for explaining yourself so fully.
My faults, according to this judgment, are great indeed! But perhaps,” he added, stopping and turning toward her,
“these faults might have been ignored, if your pride had not been hurt. The doubts that have long prevented me from admitting my love were natural and reasonable.Could you expect me to take pleasure in the inferiority (低劣) of your relations?—to congratulate myself on joining with a family, whose position in life is so obviously beneath my own?”
Elizabeth felt herself growing angrier every moment, yet she tried her absolute best to speak with composure (镇静) when she said:
“You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, **if you suppose that the way **in which you have declared your love has affected me in any other way,
**than by removing any concerns **which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike (绅士的) manner.”
- 句子的主干是：You are mistaken, if you suppose that the way has affected me in any other way than by removing any concerns. 如果你认为你表白的方式除了让我消除担忧（concerns）还有别的作用，那你就错了
- 如果你表现得更绅士一些，那我可能会因为拒绝你而产生愧疚、过意不去；如果你认为你的这种告白方式除了让我打消愧疚的念头之外还有别的影响的话，那你就错了。
She saw him draw back as she made this comment, but he said nothing, and she continued:
“You could not have made the offer of marriage in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it.”
- '' 【tempt sb. to do sth. 】诱使/吸引某人做某事
Again his astonishment was obvious, and he looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and humiliation (蒙羞) .
“You have said quite enough, madam. I perfectly understand your feelings, and can now only be ashamed of what my own have been.
Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.”
With these words he hastily (匆忙) left the room, and Elizabeth heard him the next moment open the front door and leave the house.
The tumult (扰动) in her mind was now painfully great. She did not know how to support herself, and from actual weakness sat down and cried for half an hour.
Her astonishment, as she reflected on what had happened, increased each time she reviewed it.
She remained in a very agitated (心烦意乱的) state until Charlotte returned. Feeling how unfit she was to engage (参与到) in conversation, she hurried away to her room.
- give way 让位，倒塌
- be startled by... 被...吓到
- lean against sth. 依靠着某物
- tempt sb. to do sth. 诱使/吸引某人做某事
- reflect on... 回想/仔细思考...
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