Tumblr crosspost (8 June 2020)
Feb. 24th, 2022 04:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anghraineWith regard to this post, perminas said:
why isn’t he concerned about this with jane? bingley comes off as a little silly frequently, although very charming, and jane is supposed to be nearly as smart as lizzie, right? or does he just expect sweet jane to not engage in risky behavior the same way lizzie would?
I replied:
I don’t think we’re ever told about how intelligent Jane is or isn’t, beyond what’s obvious; I would say that it’s very much up to interpretation, because her desire to think well of the world so profoundly shapes her perceptions and thought processes. Bingley is sometimes treated as sillier than I think he is, but I also think defenses of him can go overboard; the most Austen says about his intelligence is that it’s not deficient, just inferior to Darcy’s.
IMO Mr Bennet’s concern is driven both by his sense of Elizabeth’s intelligence and his sense of her general character; he talks of her “lively talents” placing her in danger, which combines both. I don’t think he’d consider it much of a concern for Jane temperamentally.
(I also suspect that he’d be inclined to underestimate Jane’s intelligence because it’s not like his. His characterization of Jane and Bingley’s forthcoming marriage seems to place them on a par.)
why isn’t he concerned about this with jane? bingley comes off as a little silly frequently, although very charming, and jane is supposed to be nearly as smart as lizzie, right? or does he just expect sweet jane to not engage in risky behavior the same way lizzie would?
I replied:
I don’t think we’re ever told about how intelligent Jane is or isn’t, beyond what’s obvious; I would say that it’s very much up to interpretation, because her desire to think well of the world so profoundly shapes her perceptions and thought processes. Bingley is sometimes treated as sillier than I think he is, but I also think defenses of him can go overboard; the most Austen says about his intelligence is that it’s not deficient, just inferior to Darcy’s.
IMO Mr Bennet’s concern is driven both by his sense of Elizabeth’s intelligence and his sense of her general character; he talks of her “lively talents” placing her in danger, which combines both. I don’t think he’d consider it much of a concern for Jane temperamentally.
(I also suspect that he’d be inclined to underestimate Jane’s intelligence because it’s not like his. His characterization of Jane and Bingley’s forthcoming marriage seems to place them on a par.)