×

LingQをより快適にするためCookieを使用しています。サイトの訪問により同意したと見なされます クッキーポリシー.


image

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 34

Chapter 34

When they were gone, Elizabeth, as if intending to exasperate herself as much as possible against Mr. Darcy, chose for her employment the examination of all the letters which Jane had written to her since her being in Kent. They contained no actual complaint, nor was there any revival of past occurrences, or any communication of present suffering. But in all, and in almost every line of each, there was a want of that cheerfulness which had been used to characterise her style, and which, proceeding from the serenity of a mind at ease with itself and kindly disposed towards everyone, had been scarcely ever clouded. Elizabeth noticed every sentence conveying the idea of uneasiness, with an attention which it had hardly received on the first perusal. Mr. Darcy's shameful boast of what misery he had been able to inflict, gave her a keener sense of her sister's sufferings. It was some consolation to think that his visit to Rosings was to end on the day after the next—and, a still greater, that in less than a fortnight she should herself be with Jane again, and enabled to contribute to the recovery of her spirits, by all that affection could do.

She could not think of Darcy's leaving Kent without remembering that his cousin was to go with him; but Colonel Fitzwilliam had made it clear that he had no intentions at all, and agreeable as he was, she did not mean to be unhappy about him. While settling this point, she was suddenly roused by the sound of the door-bell, and her spirits were a little fluttered by the idea of its being Colonel Fitzwilliam himself, who had once before called late in the evening, and might now come to inquire particularly after her. But this idea was soon banished, and her spirits were very differently affected, when, to her utter amazement, she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room. In an hurried manner he immediately began an inquiry after her health, imputing his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better. She answered him with cold civility. He sat down for a few moments, and then getting up, walked about the room. Elizabeth was surprised, but said not a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began:

“In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

Elizabeth's astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient encouragement; and the avowal of all that he felt, and had long felt for her, immediately followed. He spoke well; but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed; and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit.

In spite of her deeply-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man's affection, and though her intentions did not vary for an instant, she was at first sorry for the pain he was to receive; till, roused to resentment by his subsequent language, she lost all compassion in anger. She tried, however, to compose herself to answer him with patience, when he should have done. He concluded with representing to her the strength of that attachment which, in spite of all his endeavours, he had found impossible to conquer; and with expressing his hope that it would now be rewarded by her acceptance of his hand. As he said this, she could easily see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer. He _spoke_ of apprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real security. Such a circumstance could only exasperate farther, and, when he ceased, the colour rose into her cheeks, and she said:

“In such cases as this, it is, I believe, the established mode to express a sense of obligation for the sentiments avowed, however unequally they may be returned. It is natural that obligation should be felt, and if I could _feel_ gratitude, I would now thank you. But I cannot—I have never desired your good opinion, and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly. I am sorry to have occasioned pain to anyone. It has been most unconsciously done, however, and I hope will be of short duration. The feelings which, you tell me, have long prevented the acknowledgment of your regard, can have little difficulty in overcoming it after this explanation.”

Mr. Darcy, who was leaning against the mantelpiece with his eyes fixed on her face, seemed to catch her words with no less resentment than surprise. His complexion became pale with anger, and the disturbance of his mind was visible in every feature. He was struggling for the appearance of composure, and would not open his lips till he believed himself to have attained it. The pause was to Elizabeth's feelings dreadful. At length, with a voice of forced calmness, he said:

“And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of expecting! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so little _endeavour_ at civility, I am thus rejected. But it is of small importance.”

“I might as well inquire,” replied she, “why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character? Was not this some excuse for incivility, if I _was_ uncivil? But I have other provocations. You know I have. Had not my feelings decided against you—had they been indifferent, or had they even been favourable, do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?”

As she pronounced these words, Mr. Darcy changed colour; but the emotion was short, and he listened without attempting to interrupt her while she continued:

“I have every reason in the world to think ill of you. No motive can excuse the unjust and ungenerous part you acted _there_. You dare not, you cannot deny, that you have been the principal, if not the only means of dividing them from each other—of exposing one to the censure of the world for caprice and instability, and the other to its derision for disappointed hopes, and involving them both in misery of the acutest kind.”

She paused, and saw with no slight indignation that he was listening with an air which proved him wholly unmoved by any feeling of remorse. He even looked at her with a smile of affected incredulity.

“Can you deny that you have done it?” she repeated.

With assumed tranquillity he then replied: “I have no wish of denying that I did everything in my power to separate my friend from your sister, or that I rejoice in my success. Towards _him_ I have been kinder than towards myself.”

Elizabeth disdained the appearance of noticing this civil reflection, but its meaning did not escape, nor was it likely to conciliate her.

“But it is not merely this affair,” she continued, “on which my dislike is founded. Long before it had taken place my opinion of you was decided. Your character was unfolded in the recital which I received many months ago from Mr. Wickham. On this subject, what can you have to say? In what imaginary act of friendship can you here defend yourself? or under what misrepresentation can you here impose upon others?”

“You take an eager interest in that gentleman's concerns,” said Darcy, in a less tranquil tone, and with a heightened colour. “Who that knows what his misfortunes have been, can help feeling an interest in him?”

“His misfortunes!” repeated Darcy contemptuously; “yes, his misfortunes have been great indeed.”

“And of your infliction,” cried Elizabeth with energy. “You have reduced him to his present state of poverty—comparative poverty. You have withheld the advantages which you must know to have been designed for him. You have deprived the best years of his life of that independence which was no less his due than his desert. You have done all this! and yet you can treat the mention of his misfortune with contempt and ridicule.”

“And this,” cried Darcy, as he walked with quick steps across the room, “is your opinion of me! This is the estimation in which you hold me! I thank you for explaining it so fully. My faults, according to this calculation, are heavy indeed! But perhaps,” added he, stopping in his walk, and turning towards her, “these offenses might have been overlooked, had not your pride been hurt by my honest confession of the scruples that had long prevented my forming any serious design. These bitter accusations might have been suppressed, had I, with greater policy, concealed my struggles, and flattered you into the belief of my being impelled by unqualified, unalloyed inclination; by reason, by reflection, by everything. But disguise of every sort is my abhorrence. Nor am I ashamed of the feelings I related. They were natural and just. Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections?—to congratulate myself on the hope of relations, whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?”

Elizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment; yet she tried to the utmost to speak with composure when she said:

“You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner.”

She saw him start at this, but he said nothing, and she continued:

“You could not have made the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it.”

Again his astonishment was obvious; and he looked at her with an expression of mingled incredulity and mortification. She went on:

“From the very beginning—from the first moment, I may almost say—of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.”

“You have said quite enough, madam. I perfectly comprehend your feelings, and have now only to be ashamed of what my own have been. Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.”

And with these words he hastily left the room, and Elizabeth heard him the next moment open the front door and quit the house.

The tumult of her mind, was now painfully great. She knew not how to support herself, and from actual weakness sat down and cried for half-an-hour. Her astonishment, as she reflected on what had passed, was increased by every review of it. That she should receive an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy! That he should have been in love with her for so many months! So much in love as to wish to marry her in spite of all the objections which had made him prevent his friend's marrying her sister, and which must appear at least with equal force in his own case—was almost incredible! It was gratifying to have inspired unconsciously so strong an affection. But his pride, his abominable pride—his shameless avowal of what he had done with respect to Jane—his unpardonable assurance in acknowledging, though he could not justify it, and the unfeeling manner in which he had mentioned Mr. Wickham, his cruelty towards whom he had not attempted to deny, soon overcame the pity which the consideration of his attachment had for a moment excited. She continued in very agitated reflections till the sound of Lady Catherine's carriage made her feel how unequal she was to encounter Charlotte's observation, and hurried her away to her room.

Chapter 34 Capitolo 34 Глава 34 Bölüm 34

When they were gone, Elizabeth, as if intending to exasperate herself as much as possible against Mr. Darcy, chose for her employment the examination of all the letters which Jane had written to her since her being in Kent. Когда они ушли, Элизабет, словно намереваясь как можно сильнее насолить мистеру Дарси, выбрала для себя занятие - изучение всех писем, которые Джейн писала ей с тех пор, как оказалась в Кенте. They contained no actual complaint, nor was there any revival of past occurrences, or any communication of present suffering. В них не было ни одной реальной жалобы, ни воскрешения прошлых событий, ни сообщения о нынешних страданиях. But in all, and in almost every line of each, there was a want of that cheerfulness which had been used to characterise her style, and which, proceeding from the serenity of a mind at ease with itself and kindly disposed towards everyone, had been scarcely ever clouded. Но во всех строках, почти в каждой, не хватало той жизнерадостности, которая была характерна для ее стиля и которая, исходя из безмятежности ума, спокойного по отношению к себе и доброжелательного по отношению ко всем, почти никогда не омрачалась. Elizabeth noticed every sentence conveying the idea of uneasiness, with an attention which it had hardly received on the first perusal. Элизабет обращала внимание на каждое предложение, передававшее мысль о беспокойстве, с таким вниманием, какого оно вряд ли удостоилось при первом прочтении. Mr. Darcy's shameful boast of what misery he had been able to inflict, gave her a keener sense of her sister's sufferings. Позорное хвастовство мистера Дарси о том, какие страдания ему удалось причинить, заставило ее еще острее почувствовать страдания сестры. It was some consolation to think that his visit to Rosings was to end on the day after the next—and, a still greater, that in less than a fortnight she should herself be with Jane again, and enabled to contribute to the recovery of her spirits, by all that affection could do. Утешала мысль о том, что его визит в Розингс закончится на следующий день, и еще больше утешала мысль о том, что меньше чем через две недели она сама снова будет с Джейн и сможет способствовать восстановлению ее духа всеми возможными способами.

She could not think of Darcy's leaving Kent without remembering that his cousin was to go with him; but Colonel Fitzwilliam had made it clear that he had no intentions at all, and agreeable as he was, she did not mean to be unhappy about him. Она не могла думать о том, что Дарси покинет Кент, не вспоминая о том, что его кузен должен был поехать с ним; но полковник Фицуильям ясно дал понять, что у него нет никаких намерений, и, как бы ни был он приятен, она не хотела быть несчастной из-за него. While settling this point, she was suddenly roused by the sound of the door-bell, and her spirits were a little fluttered by the idea of its being Colonel Fitzwilliam himself, who had once before called late in the evening, and might now come to inquire particularly after her. Пока она решала этот вопрос, ее внезапно разбудил звук дверного колокольчика, и она слегка вздрогнула от мысли, что это сам полковник Фицуильям, который однажды уже звонил поздно вечером и теперь мог прийти, чтобы особенно поинтересоваться ее судьбой. But this idea was soon banished, and her spirits were very differently affected, when, to her utter amazement, she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room. Но эта мысль была быстро прогнана, и ее настроение изменилось, когда, к своему изумлению, она увидела, как в комнату вошел мистер Дарси. In an hurried manner he immediately began an inquiry after her health, imputing his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better. В спешке он сразу же начал расспрашивать о ее здоровье, объясняя свой визит желанием услышать, что ей лучше. She answered him with cold civility. He sat down for a few moments, and then getting up, walked about the room. Он посидел несколько мгновений, а затем встал и прошелся по комнате. Elizabeth was surprised, but said not a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began: После нескольких минут молчания он взволнованно подошел к ней и начал:

“In vain I have struggled. "Напрасно я боролся. It will not do. Это не поможет. My feelings will not be repressed. Мои чувства не будут подавлены. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Вы должны позволить мне сказать вам, как я восхищаюсь и люблю вас".

Elizabeth's astonishment was beyond expression. Удивление Элизабет не поддавалось никакому выражению. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. Она уставилась на него, раскраснелась, засомневалась и замолчала. This he considered sufficient encouragement; and the avowal of all that he felt, and had long felt for her, immediately followed. Он счел это достаточным поощрением, и сразу же после этого последовали признания во всем, что он чувствовал и давно испытывал к ней. He spoke well; but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed; and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. Он хорошо говорил, но кроме сердечных чувств были и другие, о которых нужно было рассказать, и он был не более красноречив в вопросах нежности, чем гордости. His sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit. Его ощущение ее неполноценности, ее деградации, семейные препятствия, которые всегда противостояли его склонности, были высказаны с теплотой, которая, казалось, объяснялась тем, что он ранил, но вряд ли могла послужить рекомендацией для его иска.

In spite of her deeply-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man's affection, and though her intentions did not vary for an instant, she was at first sorry for the pain he was to receive; till, roused to resentment by his subsequent language, she lost all compassion in anger. Несмотря на свою глубокую неприязнь, она не могла остаться равнодушной к комплименту, сделанному таким человеком, и, хотя ее намерения ни на мгновение не изменились, сначала она сожалела о боли, которую ему предстояло получить; но, разбуженная его последующими словами, она потеряла всякое сострадание в гневе. She tried, however, to compose herself to answer him with patience, when he should have done. Однако она постаралась взять себя в руки и терпеливо ответить ему, когда он должен был это сделать. He concluded with representing to her the strength of that attachment which, in spite of all his endeavours, he had found impossible to conquer; and with expressing his hope that it would now be rewarded by her acceptance of his hand. В заключение он рассказал ей о силе привязанности, которую, несмотря на все усилия, ему так и не удалось завоевать, и выразил надежду, что теперь она будет вознаграждена тем, что примет его руку. As he said this, she could easily see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer. По его словам было видно, что он не сомневается в положительном ответе. He _spoke_ of apprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real security. Он говорил о страхе и тревоге, но его лицо выражало реальную уверенность. Such a circumstance could only exasperate farther, and, when he ceased, the colour rose into her cheeks, and she said: Такое обстоятельство могло только раззадорить ее еще больше, и, когда он замолчал, цвет ее щек усилился, и она сказала:

“In such cases as this, it is, I believe, the established mode to express a sense of obligation for the sentiments avowed, however unequally they may be returned. "В таких случаях, как этот, я полагаю, принято выражать чувство долга за высказанные чувства, какими бы неодинаковыми они ни были в ответ. It is natural that obligation should be felt, and if I could _feel_ gratitude, I would now thank you. Естественно, что долг должен чувствоваться, и если бы я мог испытывать благодарность, я бы сейчас поблагодарил вас. But I cannot—I have never desired your good opinion, and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly. Но я не могу... Я никогда не желал вашего доброго мнения, а вы, конечно, дарили его весьма неохотно. I am sorry to have occasioned pain to anyone. Я сожалею, что причинил кому-то боль. It has been most unconsciously done, however, and I hope will be of short duration. Однако это было сделано совершенно неосознанно, и я надеюсь, что это ненадолго. The feelings which, you tell me, have long prevented the acknowledgment of your regard, can have little difficulty in overcoming it after this explanation.” Чувства, которые, по вашим словам, долгое время мешали признать ваше уважение, после этого объяснения будет нетрудно преодолеть".

Mr. Darcy, who was leaning against the mantelpiece with his eyes fixed on her face, seemed to catch her words with no less resentment than surprise. Мистер Дарси, прислонившийся к каминной полке и не сводивший глаз с ее лица, казалось, уловил в ее словах не столько негодование, сколько удивление. His complexion became pale with anger, and the disturbance of his mind was visible in every feature. Его цвет лица стал бледным от гнева, а душевное смятение прослеживалось в каждой черте. He was struggling for the appearance of composure, and would not open his lips till he believed himself to have attained it. Он изо всех сил старался сохранить видимость спокойствия и не разжимал губ, пока не считал, что достиг ее. The pause was to Elizabeth's feelings dreadful. Пауза была для Элизабет ужасной. At length, with a voice of forced calmness, he said: В конце концов он произнес с принужденным спокойствием в голосе:

“And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of expecting! "И это весь ответ, которого я имею честь ожидать! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so little _endeavour_ at civility, I am thus rejected. Возможно, я хотел бы получить информацию о том, почему меня отвергли, проявив так мало вежливости. But it is of small importance.” Но это не имеет большого значения".

“I might as well inquire,” replied she, “why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character? "Я могла бы поинтересоваться, - ответила она, - почему, так явно желая обидеть и оскорбить меня, вы решили сказать, что я вам нравлюсь против вашей воли, против вашего разума и даже против вашего характера? Was not this some excuse for incivility, if I _was_ uncivil? Разве это не оправдание невежливости, если я был невежлив? But I have other provocations. Но у меня есть и другие провокации. You know I have. Had not my feelings decided against you—had they been indifferent, or had they even been favourable, do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?” Если бы мои чувства не были настроены против вас, если бы они были безразличны или даже благоприятны, думаете ли вы, что какие-либо соображения заставили бы меня принять человека, который стал средством разрушить, возможно навсегда, счастье самой любимой сестры?"

As she pronounced these words, Mr. Darcy changed colour; but the emotion was short, and he listened without attempting to interrupt her while she continued: Когда она произнесла эти слова, мистер Дарси изменил цвет лица; но эмоция была недолгой, и он слушал, не пытаясь прервать ее, пока она продолжала:

“I have every reason in the world to think ill of you. "У меня есть все основания думать о вас плохо. No motive can excuse the unjust and ungenerous part you acted _there_. Никакие мотивы не могут оправдать ту несправедливую и неблагородную роль, которую вы сыграли здесь. You dare not, you cannot deny, that you have been the principal, if not the only means of dividing them from each other—of exposing one to the censure of the world for caprice and instability, and the other to its derision for disappointed hopes, and involving them both in misery of the acutest kind.” Вы не смеете, не можете отрицать, что были главным, если не единственным средством разлучить их друг с другом, подвергнуть одного порицанию мира за капризы и непостоянство, а другого - насмешкам за обманутые надежды, и ввергнуть обоих в страдания самого жестокого рода".

She paused, and saw with no slight indignation that he was listening with an air which proved him wholly unmoved by any feeling of remorse. Она сделала паузу и с легким возмущением заметила, что он слушает с видом, который доказывает, что его совершенно не трогает чувство раскаяния. He even looked at her with a smile of affected incredulity. Он даже посмотрел на нее с улыбкой недоверия.

“Can you deny that you have done it?” she repeated. "Вы можете отрицать, что сделали это?" - повторила она.

With assumed tranquillity he then replied: “I have no wish of denying that I did everything in my power to separate my friend from your sister, or that I rejoice in my success. С притворным спокойствием он ответил: "Я не хочу отрицать, что сделал все возможное, чтобы разлучить моего друга с вашей сестрой, и что я радуюсь своему успеху. Towards _him_ I have been kinder than towards myself.” По отношению к нему я был добрее, чем к себе".

Elizabeth disdained the appearance of noticing this civil reflection, but its meaning did not escape, nor was it likely to conciliate her. Елизавета не подала виду, что заметила это вежливое размышление, но его смысл не ускользнул от нее и вряд ли примирил ее.

“But it is not merely this affair,” she continued, “on which my dislike is founded. "Но не только на этом деле, - продолжала она, - основана моя неприязнь. Long before it had taken place my opinion of you was decided. Еще задолго до этого мое мнение о вас было определено. Your character was unfolded in the recital which I received many months ago from Mr. Wickham. Ваш характер был раскрыт в рассказе, который я получила много месяцев назад от мистера Уикхема. On this subject, what can you have to say? Что вы можете сказать по этому поводу? In what imaginary act of friendship can you here defend yourself? В каком воображаемом акте дружбы вы можете защитить себя? or under what misrepresentation can you here impose upon others?” или под каким обманным предлогом вы можете навязываться другим?"

“You take an eager interest in that gentleman's concerns,” said Darcy, in a less tranquil tone, and with a heightened colour. "Вы проявляете большой интерес к заботам этого джентльмена", - сказал Дарси менее спокойным тоном и с усиленным цветом лица. “Who that knows what his misfortunes have been, can help feeling an interest in him?” "Кто, зная о его несчастьях, может не испытывать к нему интереса?"

“His misfortunes!” repeated Darcy contemptuously; “yes, his misfortunes have been great indeed.” "Его несчастья!" - презрительно повторил Дарси; "Да, его несчастья действительно были велики".

“And of your infliction,” cried Elizabeth with energy. "И о вашем причинении", - энергично воскликнула Элизабет. “You have reduced him to his present state of poverty—comparative poverty. "Вы довели его до нынешнего состояния нищеты - сравнительной нищеты. You have withheld the advantages which you must know to have been designed for him. Вы утаили преимущества, которые, как вам должно быть известно, были предназначены для него. You have deprived the best years of his life of that independence which was no less his due than his desert. Вы лишили лучшие годы его жизни той независимости, которая была не только его заслугой, но и его пустыней. You have done all this! and yet you can treat the mention of his misfortune with contempt and ridicule.” И при этом вы можете относиться к упоминанию о его несчастье с презрением и насмешкой".

“And this,” cried Darcy, as he walked with quick steps across the room, “is your opinion of me! "И это, - воскликнул Дарси, быстрыми шагами пересекая комнату, - ваше мнение обо мне! This is the estimation in which you hold me! Вот как вы меня оцениваете! I thank you for explaining it so fully. Я благодарю вас за столь подробное объяснение. My faults, according to this calculation, are heavy indeed! Мои проступки, согласно этому расчету, действительно тяжелы! But perhaps,” added he, stopping in his walk, and turning towards her, “these offenses might have been overlooked, had not your pride been hurt by my honest confession of the scruples that had long prevented my forming any serious design. Но, возможно, - добавил он, остановившись и повернувшись к ней, - на эти обиды можно было бы и не обращать внимания, если бы мою гордость не задело мое честное признание в угрызениях совести, которые долгое время не позволяли мне строить серьезные планы. These bitter accusations might have been suppressed, had I, with greater policy, concealed my struggles, and flattered you into the belief of my being impelled by unqualified, unalloyed inclination; by reason, by reflection, by everything. Эти горькие обвинения можно было бы пресечь, если бы я, проявив больше благоразумия, не скрывал своей борьбы и не льстил вам, уверяя, что мною движет безусловная, беспристрастная склонность; разум, размышления, все. But disguise of every sort is my abhorrence. Но маскировка любого рода вызывает у меня отвращение. Nor am I ashamed of the feelings I related. Я также не стыжусь своих чувств. They were natural and just. Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections?—to congratulate myself on the hope of relations, whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?” Неужели вы ожидаете, что я буду радоваться неполноценности ваших связей, поздравлять себя с надеждой на отношения, чье положение в жизни столь решительно ниже моего собственного?"

Elizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment; yet she tried to the utmost to speak with composure when she said: Элизабет чувствовала, что с каждым мгновением все больше злится, но при этом изо всех сил старалась сохранять спокойствие, когда говорила:

“You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner.” "Вы ошибаетесь, мистер Дарси, если полагаете, что ваше заявление повлияло на меня как-то иначе, чем избавило меня от беспокойства, которое я могла бы испытывать, отказывая вам, если бы вы вели себя более по-джентльменски".

She saw him start at this, but he said nothing, and she continued: Она увидела, как он вздрогнул, но ничего не сказал, и она продолжила:

“You could not have made the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it.” "Вы не могли сделать предложение руки таким образом, чтобы у меня возникло желание принять его".

Again his astonishment was obvious; and he looked at her with an expression of mingled incredulity and mortification. Его удивление снова было очевидным, и он смотрел на нее с выражением смешанного недоверия и досады. She went on:

“From the very beginning—from the first moment, I may almost say—of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.” "С самого начала - с первого мгновения, можно сказать, почти с самого начала моего знакомства с вами - ваши манеры, внушившие мне полное убеждение в вашем высокомерии, самомнении и эгоистичном презрении к чувствам других людей, были таковы, что сформировали основу для неодобрения, на которой последующие события построили столь неподвижную неприязнь; и я не знала вас и месяца, прежде чем почувствовала, что вы последний человек в мире, за которого меня можно уговорить выйти замуж".

“You have said quite enough, madam. I perfectly comprehend your feelings, and have now only to be ashamed of what my own have been. Я прекрасно понимаю ваши чувства, и теперь мне остается только стыдиться того, что было у меня. Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.” Простите меня за то, что я отнял у вас столько времени, и примите мои наилучшие пожелания здоровья и счастья".

And with these words he hastily left the room, and Elizabeth heard him the next moment open the front door and quit the house. С этими словами он поспешно вышел из комнаты, и Элизабет услышала, как в следующее мгновение он открыл входную дверь и покинул дом.

The tumult of her mind, was now painfully great. Теперь в ее голове царило мучительное смятение. She knew not how to support herself, and from actual weakness sat down and cried for half-an-hour. Она не знала, как себя поддержать, и от сильной слабости села и проплакала полчаса. Her astonishment, as she reflected on what had passed, was increased by every review of it. Ее удивление, по мере того как она размышляла над произошедшим, усиливалось с каждым разом. That she should receive an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy! Она должна получить предложение руки и сердца от мистера Дарси! That he should have been in love with her for so many months! Как он мог быть влюблен в нее столько месяцев! So much in love as to wish to marry her in spite of all the objections which had made him prevent his friend's marrying her sister, and which must appear at least with equal force in his own case—was almost incredible! Так сильно влюбиться, чтобы захотеть жениться на ней, несмотря на все возражения, которые мешали его другу жениться на ее сестре и которые должны были с такой же силой проявиться в его собственном случае, - это было почти невероятно! It was gratifying to have inspired unconsciously so strong an affection. Было приятно, что он неосознанно вызвал столь сильную привязанность. But his pride, his abominable pride—his shameless avowal of what he had done with respect to Jane—his unpardonable assurance in acknowledging, though he could not justify it, and the unfeeling manner in which he had mentioned Mr. Wickham, his cruelty towards whom he had not attempted to deny, soon overcame the pity which the consideration of his attachment had for a moment excited. Но его гордость, его отвратительная гордость, его бесстыдное признание того, что он сделал по отношению к Джейн, его непростительная уверенность в том, что он признал, хотя и не мог оправдать, и бесчувственная манера, в которой он упомянул мистера Уикхема, его жестокость по отношению к которому он и не пытался отрицать, вскоре преодолели жалость, которую на мгновение вызвала мысль о его привязанности. She continued in very agitated reflections till the sound of Lady Catherine's carriage made her feel how unequal she was to encounter Charlotte's observation, and hurried her away to her room. Она продолжала размышлять, пока звук кареты леди Кэтрин не заставил ее почувствовать, насколько она не готова встретить внимание Шарлотты, и поспешно удалилась в свою комнату.