English Literature books summary

he forgives Mahmoud Ali. He tells Fielding that his heart is for his own

people only. He leaves Fielding and returns to his house, excited and

happy, but realizes that he had promised Mrs. Moore to be kind to her

children, if he met them.

Chapter Thirty-Six:

The birth procession had not yet taken place, although the birth

ceremony finished earlier. All would culminate in the dance of the

milkmaidens before Krishna. Aziz could not understand the ceremony any more

than a Christian could, puzzled that during the ceremony the people in Mau

could be purged from suspicion and self-seeking. Godbole tells Aziz that he

has known that Fielding was married to Stella Moore for more than a year.

Aziz cannot be angry with Godbole, however, because it is not his way to

tell anybody anything. Aziz and Godbole continue in the procession as it

leads out of town. Aziz becomes cynical once again. He thinks that the pose

of "seeing India" is only a form of conquest. Aziz goes to the Guest House

where Fielding stays and reads two letters lying open on the piano. In the

East the sanctity of private correspondence does not exist. The letters

primarily concern Ralph Moore, who appears to be almost an imbecile, but

there is a letter from Adela to Stella in which she says that she hopes

Stella will enjoy India more than she did and says that she will never

repay a debt. Aziz notices the friendly intercourse between these people,

men and women, and believes that this is the strength of England. Ralph

Moore enters, and Aziz claims that he is there to bring salve for his bee

stings. Aziz abruptly prepares to leave, but apologizes. Ralph tells him

that his mother loved Aziz, and Aziz claims that Mrs. Moore was his best

friend in the world. Aziz offers to take Ralph Moore out on the river, as

an act of homage to Mrs. Moore. Ralph is curious about the procession,

which marks him as Mrs. Moore's son. The boat which Ralph and Aziz are in

collides with another boat carrying Fielding and Stella.

Chapter Thirty-Seven:

Fielding and Aziz are friends again, but aware that they can meet no

more. After the funny shipwreck there is no bitterness or nonsense. Aziz

admits how brave Miss Quested was, and claims that he wants to do kind

actions to wipe out the wretched business of the Marabar forever. Fielding

realizes that his wife does not love him as much as he loves her. They

realize that socially the two men have no meeting place. Fielding cannot

defy his own people for the sake of a stray Indian, and Aziz is but a

memento. Aziz explains what he can of the birthing ceremony to Fielding.

They discuss who should rule India. Fielding mockingly suggests the

Japanese, but Aziz wants his ancestors, the Afghans, to rule. To Aziz,

India will then become a nation. Aziz cries "down with the English. That's

certain," then states that only then will he and Fielding be friends.

Pride and Prejudice by J. Austen

Volume I, Chapter 1 Summary:

The novel begins with a conversation at Longbourn, the Bennet

household, regarding the impending arrival of Mr. Bingley, "a single man of

large fortune" to Netherfield Park, a nearby estate. Mrs. Bennet sees Mr.

Bingley as a potential suitor for her daughters, and attempts to persuade

Mr. Bingley to visit him. There are five daughters in the Bennet family.

Mr. Bennet seems to prefer Elizabeth, the second oldest, because of her

intelligence, while Mrs. Bennet seems fonder of the oldest, Jane, because

of her beauty, and the middle child, Lydia, because of her good humor.

Volume I, Chapter 2 Summary:

Without telling his family, Mr. Bennet pays a visit to Mr. Bingley. He

surprises his family by slipping the news unexpectedly into a conversation,

but disappoints them by eluding their barrage of questions about Bingley's

character.

Volume I, Chapter 3 Summary:

The ladies of the household meet Mr. Bingley and his friend from

London, Mr. Darcy, at a ball at Meryton. Mr. Darcy is quickly judged as

"the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world" because of his reserve

and unwillingness to dance with anyone outside of his own party. When both

Darcy and Elizabeth are sitting out a dance and Bingley attempts to

persuade him to dance with her, Elizabeth overhears Darcy's reply "She is

tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me." Mr. Bingley, on the other

hand, is judged to be entirely amiable. He danced first with Charlotte

Lucas, Elizabeth's friend, but the only person with whom he danced twice

was Jane. Upon returning home, Mrs. Bennet attempts to explain the event of

the ball in detail to Mr. Bennet, but he is indifferent and even annoyed.

Volume I, Chapter 4 Summary:

When they are alone, Jane confides to Elizabeth that she admires Mr.

Bingley. Elizabeth approves of him, although she points out that Jane never

sees faults in others. While Elizabeth is critical of the snobbish behavior

of Bingley's sisters, Jane insists that they are pleasing in conversation.

Bingley has a long-standing friendship with Darcy, in spite of their

opposite personalities. Bingley is easy-going and open, while Darcy is

haughty and reserved. While Bingley found the company at the Meryton ball

to be quite amiable, Darcy saw no one with whom he wished to associate, and

even though he assents to Jane's beauty, he complains that she smiles too

much.

Bingley's sisters also tell him that they like Jane, and he feels

"authorised by such commendation" to think what he likes of her.

Volume I, Chapter 5 Summary:

Sir William Lucas and his family live near Longbourn, and Sir

William's eldest daughter Charlotte is a close friend of Elizabeth. The day

after the ball Charlotte and Lady Lucas go visit the Miss Bennetts to talk

over the ball. They speak about general admiration for Jane's beauty and

Bingley's attraction to her, and then go on to criticize Darcy's pride and

his treatment of Elizabeth. Mary makes a remark about universality of pride

in human nature and its differentiation from vanity.

Volume I, Chapter 6 Summary:

Bingley's sisters, while not desirous of become better acquainted with

Mrs. Bennett and the younger Bennet sisters, begin to become better

acquainted with Jane and Elizabeth. Jane is pleased by their attention, but

Elizabeth is still critical of them. The mutual regard of Jane and Bingley

for one another is evident to Elizabeth, though Jane's composure and

"uniform cheerfulness of manner" prevent her regard for him from becoming

obvious.

Charlotte remarks that it may not be such a good thing that Jane's

affection is guarded, because it may cause discouragement in Bingley.

Charlotte believes that a woman should show more affection than she feels

in order to make a man form an attachment to her, and thinks that

"happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance."

Mr. Darcy begins to take an interest in Elizabeth, attracted by her

dark eyes and the "easy playfulness" of her manners. Before conversing

directly with her, he listens on a conversation between Elizabeth and Sir

William Lucas. Elizabeth refuses to dance with Darcy, in spite of the

entreaties of Sir William. Darcy mentions his admiration for Elizabeth to

Miss Bingley, who is vainly attempting to attract his admiration to

herself. Miss Bingley responds by satirically criticizing Bennett family.

Volume I, Chapter 7 Summary:

Lydia and Catherine, the two youngest in the family, often go to visit

their aunt, Mrs. Phillips, in Meryton, where a militia regiment has

recently arrived. Mr. Bennet complains of his daughters' foolishness, but

Mrs. Bennet does not consider their obsession with the officers to be a

cause for concern.

Jane receives an invitation to have dinner with Bingley's sisters.

Rather than allowing her to use the carriage to go to Netherfield, Mrs.

Bingley tells Jane to go on horseback, hoping that it will rain and that

Jane will have to spend the night at Netherfield. Jane does not like the

scheme, but has no choice but to accept it.

The plan works all too well, however‹not only is Jane forced to spend

the night at Netherfield, but she falls ill as a result of getting soaked

in the rain, and has to stay at Netherfield until her recovery. Elizabeth

goes to Netherfield to visit Jane, and because there are no horses

available she walks. The Bingley sisters are scandalized that Elizabeth

walked such a distance in the mud. Jane's condition having intensified,

Elizabeth attends to her with great solicitude. Because Jane does not want

Elizabeth to leave, Miss Bingley invites her to stay at Netherfield.

Volume I, Chapter 8 Summary:

When Elizabeth leaves the dinner table to continue attending to Jane,

the Bingley sisters harshly criticize her pride and stubborn independence

for having walked to Netherfield alone, but Mr. Bingley and Darcy admire

Elizabeth's devotion to Jane. The Bingley sisters also deride the low

family connections of Jane and Elizabeth. Bingley does not seem to care

about their low connections, although Darcy considers it an impediment to

their marrying well.

In the evening after Jane has fallen asleep, Elizabeth joins the others in

the drawing room, and they have a conversation about what it means for a

woman to be accomplished. Darcy and Miss Bennett provide such unrealistic

criteria that Elizabeth claims she has never seen such a woman in her life.

Volume I, Chapter 9 Summary:

Elizabeth asks that her mother be summoned to come and see Elizabeth.

Mrs. Bennet is happy because she sees that Jane is not in danger but that

she is ill enough to continue her stay at Netherfield. Elizabeth is

thoroughly embarrassed by her mother's conduct in the conversation, and

particularly by her extreme rudeness to Darcy. Mrs. Bennet returns home and

Elizabeth continues to attend to Jane.

Volume I, Chapter 10 Summary:

That evening in the drawing room Darcy writes a letter to his sister

while Miss Bennet observes him and continually makes comments in admiration

of his letter-writing style. The group gets into a discussion about

Bingley's characters, which leads to Elizabeth's praise of someone who

yields to the persuasion of friends.

As the Bennet sisters sing and play the piano, Elizabeth notices how

frequently Mr. Darcy looks at her, but unable imagine that he might admire

her she assumes he is staring at her because of his disapproval of her.

Darcy asks her to dance a reel, but Elizabeth assumes that there is some

sarcasm in this invitation, and satirically declines the offer. Miss

Bingley notices, and begins to taunt Darcy by speaking about the

possibility of marrying into the Bennet family and emphasizing the

inferiority of her connections.

Volume I, Chapter 11 Summary:

After dinner Jane is feeling well enough to join the others in the

drawing room, and Elizabeth is delighted by the attention which Bingley

shows to her. Miss Bingley continues in her vain attempts to please Darcy,

and even feigns a love for reading, picking up the second volume of the

book which he is reading. She then begins to walk around the room,

attempting to catch Darcy's admiration. She fails, but as soon as she

invites Elizabeth to walk with her Mr. Darcy looks up and stops reading.

They begin to converse about Darcy's character, and Darcy admits that he

has a tendency to be resentful.

Volume I, Chapter 12 Summary:

Jane having recovered from her illness, she and Elizabeth resolve to

go home the next morning. Her mother is unwilling to send the carriage so

soon, wanting to extend Jane's stay as long as possible, but Elizabeth and

Jane are resolved to go and they ask for the Bingleys to lend them their

carriage. Elizabeth and Jane are glad to be returning home, and all except

Bingley are happy to see them go. Darcy is glad to be removed from the

danger of Elizabeth's company, and Miss Bingley is glad to be rid of her

competition.

Volume I, Chapter 13 Summary:

At breakfast the following day Mr. Bennet announces that Mr. Collins,

a cousin of his whom he has never met, will be coming to visit. Because of

the laws of inheritance at the time and because Mr. Bennet has no sons, Mr.

Collins is in line to inherit Longbourn. Mrs. Bennet hates Mr. Collins

because of this, but Elizabeth and Jane try to explain the nature of the

laws of entailment.

To inform them of his visit, Mr. Collins writes a letter to Mr.

Bennet. In the letter Mr. Collins explains that he has recently been

ordained and is under the patronage of Lady Catherine De Bourgh.

Mr. Collins arrives in the afternoon as expected. He is 25 years old,

tall and heavyset, with a grave air and formal manners. When he is

conversing with the women of the household before dinner, he mentions that

he is well aware of the hardship involved in the entailment of the estate

and that he wants to make amends for this hardship. He has come "prepared

to admire" the young ladies of the household. Mr. Collins also expresses

his admiration for the house itself and for the quality of the dinner.

Volume I, Chapter 14 Summary:

After dinner Mr. Bennet invites Mr. Collins to speak about his

patroness Lady Catherine. Mr. Collins describes Lady Catherine with great

solemnity and effusive praise, remarking on her great affability and

condescension to him in spite of her high rank. He also describes Lady

Catherine's daughter, Miss de Bourgh, as quite charming but rather sickly.

He tries to ingratiate himself with Lady Catherine by thinking up pretty

and flattering phrases to tell her about Miss de Bourgh while trying to

make his praise seem spontaneous. Mr. Bennet is convinced that Mr. Collins

is absurd.

After tea Mr. Bennet invites Mr. Collins to read aloud to the ladies.

Mr. Collins declares that he never reads novels and instead begins to read

with a book of sermons with "monotonous solemnity." After a few pages Lydia

interrupts the reading by asking her mother a question about her uncle

Philips. Mr. Collins is offended but takes the hint and stops reading after

briefly reprimanding the frivolity of Lydia. He then proposes playing a

game of backgammon.

Volume I, Chapter 15 Summary:

Mr. Collins' upbringing by an "illiterate and miserly father" along

with his unexpected good fortune in finding a patroness like Lady Catherine

has led to his lack of good sense and his strange combination of

obsequiousness and self-conceit. Now that he is settled he wants to "make

amends" for inheriting the Longbourn estate by marrying one of the young

ladies in the Bennet household. After meeting them, he was first attracted

to Jane because of her beauty, but after hearing from Mrs. Bennet that Jane

may soon be engaged, he switches his affections to Elizabeth.

Mr. Collins joins the ladies for a walk to Meryton. Upon reaching Meryton

they meet Mr. Denny, an officer with whom Lydia and Kitty are acquainted,

and he introduces them to a new member of the regiment, Mr. Wickham. Mr.

Wickham is handsome and charming. While they are all conversing, Bingley

and Darcy notice them as they are riding by and stop to greet them. As soon

as Darcy notices Mr. Wickham, he turns white, and Mr. Wickham turns red.

Bingley and Darcy continue on their way.

Mr. Denny and Mr. Wickham take leave of the young ladies once they

arrive at Mr. Philip's house. Jane introduces Mr. Collins to Mrs. Phillips.

Mrs. Philips plans to invite Mr. Wickham to dinner tomorrow and invites the

Longourn ladies and Mr. Collins to join them.

Volume I, Chapter 16 Summary:

At the beginning of the event at the Phillips' house the next day, Mr.

Collins speaks to Mrs. Philips about Lady Catherine and her mansion

Rosings, and Mrs. Philips is favorably impressed.

Elizabeth forms a very favorable impression of Mr. Wickham, and

converses with him at length during the evening. Elizabeth is curious to

find out about the obvious animosity which exists between him and Darcy.

Wickham brings up the subject by inquiring how long Darcy has been in the

area. Elizabeth expressed her dislike of Darcy to Wickham, and Wickham

mentions that he and Darcy have been intimately acquainted since childhood.

After feigning to avoid the subject, Wickham divulges to Elizabeth that

Darcy's father was his godfather and had promised to provide an ample

living for him, but after his death Darcy had circumvented his father's

promise and had given the living to someone else because of his dislike for

Wickham. Elizabeth is outraged and suggests that Darcy ought to be publicly

dishonored for his actions, but Wickham refuses to do so ought of respect

for Darcy's father. Wickham attributes Darcy's dislike of him to jealousy.

Elizabeth and Wickham also speak of Darcy's pride, which Wickham believes

is the source of all his generosity in the use of his money and excellent

care for his sister. Wickham alludes to a previously close but now very

cold relationship with Darcy's sister.

Wickham also mentions to Elizabeth that Lady Catherine de Bourgh is

Mr. Darcy's aunt, and that Mr. Darcy is expected to marry Miss de Bourgh in

order to unite the fortunes of the two families.

Volume I, Chapter 17 Summary:

When, the next day, Elizabeth relates to Jane the substance of her

conversation with Wickham, Jane refuses to think ill of either Wickham or

Darcy, and assumes that they must in some way be mutually deceived.

Mr. Bingley and his sisters come to Netherfield to announce a ball.

When Elizabeth asks Mr. Collins whether or not he plans to attend, he state

that he does and asks her for the first two dances. While she had wanted to

reserve those dances for Wickham, she gracefully accepts his offer.

Elizabeth begins to realize that she has become Mr. Collins choice for a

future wife, but she ignores his hints in that direction hoping that he

will not ask her.

Volume I, Chapter 18 Summary:

At the Netherfield Ball Elizabeth is disappointed because of Wickham's

absence, which she assumes is all Mr. Darcy's doing. After relating her

disappointment to her friend Charlotte Lucas, she suffers through her two

dances with Mr. Collins. Mr. Darcy asks her for a dance and Elizabeth is so

taken by surprise that she accepts. During the dance with Mr. Darcy

Elizabeth makes a bit of sarcastic conversation, poking fun at his

character. She alludes to her new acquaintance with Wickham and to the fact

that she thinks he has not behaved well toward him. They change the subject

after a brief interruption from Sir William Lucas, but then she goes back

to it by asking him about his previous admission that he has a tendency

toward resentment, explaining that she is unable to figure out his

character because she has received such contradictory accounts. After the

dance they part in silence but Darcy forgives her questioning and blames

Wickham.

Miss Bingley, having heard from Jane that Wickham has talked with

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