Pride and Prejudice

"I certainly have not the talent which some people possess," said Darcy, "of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done."

"My fingers," said Elizabeth, "do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women's do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault—because I will not take the trouble of practising. It is not that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any other woman's of superior execution."

—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Posted by Tim at 1/16/2009 07:00:00 AM
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous1/16/2009 07:09:00 AM

    Tim,
    How autobiographical is this quote? And why put the speaking and piano playing side-by-side?
    Dad

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  2. Tim1/16/2009 08:31:00 AM

    I don't know Jane Austen well enough to say how autobiographical either statement was. But the arrangement is not mine - it is a piece of a conversation. Remember, Darcy was the "Pride" and Elizabeth the "Prejudice" of the title. I appreciated Elizabeth's point that skills we lack are often the result of negligence, not inability.

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