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Darcy's housekeeper tells Elizabeth that she has never had a cross word from him. How does this affect Elizabeth? A- She is worried that Jane will...

The best option here is the last one, D. When Elizabeth hears from Darcy's housekeeper, who has known him since his early childhood, that he has never spoken an unkind word to her, Elizabeth realizes that she may have misjudged Darcy as someone stuck-up and rude, when in fact Darcy may actually be very kind in his private life, kind even to those below him in social status, like his housekeeper.


Let's take a close...

The best option here is the last one, D. When Elizabeth hears from Darcy's housekeeper, who has known him since his early childhood, that he has never spoken an unkind word to her, Elizabeth realizes that she may have misjudged Darcy as someone stuck-up and rude, when in fact Darcy may actually be very kind in his private life, kind even to those below him in social status, like his housekeeper.


Let's take a close look at that passage:



"I say no more than the truth, and everybody will say that knows him," replied the other. Elizabeth thought this was going pretty far; and she listened with increasing astonishment as the housekeeper added, "I have never known a cross word from him in my life, and I have known him ever since he was four years old."


This was praise, of all others most extraordinary, most opposite to her ideas. That he was not a good-tempered man had been her firmest opinion. Her keenest attention was awakened; she longed to hear more...



As you can see, the narrator states that the housekeeper's statements are in "praise" of Darcy, and that this praise is "opposite to" Elizabeth's understanding of him. She had thought Darcy had a bad temper, yet that was only her opinion that she'd formed on her own. She doesn't actually know him very well at all, and she's realizing now that she wants to--which we can tell, again from the narration, by the statement that she's very interested and hopes to hear more of what the housekeeper says about Darcy. "In what an amiable light does this place him!" she thinks, a moment later.


This question is an important one to consider as you think about the message of the novel as well as its title: Elizabeth believes that Mr. Darcy is full of pride and prejudice, but really, it's Elizabeth herself who exhibits those unattractive qualities as she misjudges Mr. Darcy. She had observed his handsome stature and reserved manners and wrongly assumed that he was an unkind man unworthy of her time. Their ensuing romance can only occur after she lets go of these false assumptions about him as well as her own pride that she once took in avoiding associating with him, and the match is a blessing for Elizabeth and her entire family. Mr. Darcy's housekeeper helps Elizabeth make this important discovery that radically changes her life, and her way of thinking, for the better.

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