Short note:
Jane
Bennet:
The oldest Bennet sister is Elizabeth's best friend
and hopelessly in love with Charles Bingley—although she'd never admit it.
She's also almost painfully naïve, someone who, as Lizzy says, "never
see[s] a fault in anyone" (4.7). If this were a Disney musical, she'd be
singing over her dust mops.
When Lizzy insists that Miss Bingley is trying to
separate her from Mr. Bingley, Jane "shook her head" (21.17); when
she finally realizes that it's true, she says, "I do not at all comprehend
her reason for wishing to be intimate with me; but if the same circumstances
were to happen again, I am sure I should be deceived again" (26.26); when
the sisters talk about how Wickham's rich girlfriend Mary King broke up with
him, Jane just says, "I hope there is no strong attachment on either
side" (39.13).
We get the picture. She's all wide-eyed innocence
and good nature, and if she weren't so sweet we'd probably find her kind of
irritating. As Mr. Darcy says, she "smile[s] too much" (4.16). Of
course, the problem with smiling at everyone is that it's hard to tell when you
actually like someone. And that's just Jane's problem.
The problem is, Jane is behaving exactly as she's
supposed to. Women weren't supposed to show their interest; they were basically
supposed to wait for men to propose and only then decide that they were
actually in love. By being open and friendly and not distinguishing Bingley,
Jane is protecting her reputation and the reputation of her family—unlike some
other girls, ahem, Lydia.
Ordinarily, all these good qualities—being calm,
sweet, friendly, not flirtatious—would make Jane the big winner. Instead, she
almost loses everything. Austen isn't too keen on the good-quiet-understanding
model of female behavior. Jane is nice and all, but imagine if she were the
main character instead of Elizabeth. Total snooze Ville. Not only that, but it
turns out that there is such a thing as being too demure. Jane is so shy with
showing Bingley how much she likes him that no one around them can tell whether
she's really into him or not. While flinging yourself at guys Lydia-style isn't
the way to go, Jane is too far to the other side of the spectrum.
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