Chapters 36 to 46 — AQA GCSE English Literature 8702
AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702
Chapters 36 to 46
The plot, part by part
What you need to know
Elizabeth's response to the letter, the regiment's move to Brighton with Lydia following, the visit to Pemberley and Darcy's changed manners, and the news of Lydia's elopement.
Key quotations: 'How despicably have I acted!', 'Till this moment I never knew myself', 'Lord! how I should like to be married before any of you', 'We shall have no peace at Longbourn if Lydia does not go to Brighton', 'she could not have formed a very pleasing picture of conjugal felicity or domestic comfort', 'to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!', 'He is the best landlord, and the best master', 'Never in her life had she seen his manners so little dignified', 'She respected, she esteemed, she was grateful to him', 'She has no money, no connections, nothing that can tempt him'.
Setting: Pemberley's grounds as a reflection of their owner, and the housekeeper's praise as a new view of Darcy.
Structure: the letter as the novel's turning point, and the news of Lydia's elopement arriving just as Elizabeth and Darcy grow closer.
Context: the militia camp at Brighton, and why Elizabeth fears what Lydia will do there.
