Chapter 12 #2
Jane gently asked, “Girls… it seems you believe that the Gardiners are happy and our parents unhappy. Are we agreed?”
Everyone nodded.
“I barely understand now, and had no idea at your age, how long your lives will be. You are 15-16, which seems a very long time. You will likely live another 50-60 years. Are you willing to sacrifice 50 years of happiness for a few hours of amusement? Would it not make sense to emulate those who are happy, rather than those who are miserable, or worse yet, ruined—or worse?”
Lydia jumped up, but thought better of it at a stern look.
They sat in contemplative silence for a moment.
Lydia asked, “I am not saying I agree; but suppose I did want to behave more like a lady. How would I learn?”
Jane laughed. “You have ample teachers. I will help you, as will Lizzy and Aunt Gardiner. All you need do is ask, or even listen when we offer advice. While you are learning, let me suggest a simple trick. Whenever you mean to do something suspect, try to picture in your mind Aunt Gardiner doing the same. If you cannot, then do not do it. Can you picture her running through the house with a stolen bonnet, claiming it looks better on her than its owner?”
“Hear, hear,” Elizabeth and Mary whispered.
A few minutes later, being entirely fed up with maudlin thoughts, Lydia said, “Jane, I will give your advice due consideration if you do something for me.”
“What do you wish, Lydia?” Jane asked with a laugh.
Lydia was back to her cheerful self. “I want to know what kind of revenge you plan for Mr Bingley. I can think of dozens of things to make his life miserable.”
Everyone turned to Jane. Lydia was the first to say it, but far from the first to think it.
Jane gave a small lopsided smile that was less like her usual—in fact, it was a new expression. “I thought on it for some time.” She leaned over conspiratorially and whispered, “I even read some suggestions from the library.”
The younger sisters gasped that anyone other than Dull Mary or Odd Lizzy would do such a thing, but both wondered for just a second if Aunt Gardiner would voice such a thought, and the moment passed.
Jane said, “Here is what I shall do.”
All her sisters, and even Mr Collins, leaned nearer to hear her words.
Jane kept them waiting for a moment, drew a deep breath, and said dramatically, “Nothing!”
“Nothing?”
Whether in surprise, disappointment, or both; everyone gasped at the answer.
“But why?” Lydia asked.
“Let me tell you something I read. The oldest piece of advice was from a Chinese philosopher named Confucius[xiii] from nearly 2,000 years ago. He is, for China, rather what Aristotle and Plato are for us. He said, ‘Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.’”
Everyone thought about that for a moment while Jane waited.
Finally, Elizabeth said, “Very wise, I think. I can see at least two meanings. Which do you take, Jane?”
“I only see one,” Lydia said.
Jane asked, “Which do you see?”
“Suppose I steal a ribbon from Kitty, so she gets angry and takes a better ribbon in revenge, so I take revenge by taking even better lace, and it goes round and round until one of us steals an entire dress.”
Everyone laughed, and was even more impressed that Lydia had used an analogy.
“That is an excellent expression of one of my thoughts. Revenge often leads literally to death. One man kills another, so someone kills him in revenge, and the cycle continues. That has happened many times in history, as in Hamlet, but as you showed, it happens all the time on a smaller scale with lesser consequences.”
Everyone nodded in understanding, especially since Lydia’s example was not necessarily abstract.
Kitty said, “So, the two graves mean that if you take revenge by killing someone, their friends or family are likely to kill you.”
Mary said, “That is the literal interpretation. The other is more figurative—Jane?”
“Some would say the second grave is for your soul or principles. Once you embark on a journey of revenge, you become someone who seeks revenge—a different and usually worse person—so the second grave is for your conscience.”
Kitty asked, “What if they deserve what they get?”
“All actions have consequences. If someone were trying to kill you, and you killed them defending yourself, it would not make you a murderer, but it would make you someone who has killed and is capable of doing so again. Sometimes you must seek vengeance to deter someone from future aggression, and that is all right so long as the motivation is right. If I revenged myself on those people, I would not be the person I want to be. I do not care to dig the grave for myself. Therefore, I will follow another old aphorism from George Herbert among others: ‘Living well is the best revenge.’”
“So, you are going to be… happy?”
“Yes! That is why my cannonball crashed into the mine and left me happy. I can no longer concern myself with those that were here before—because they are not important. My best revenge will be to show their insignificance by moving on with my life, and that is what I intend to do. London has over a million inhabitants. I will go there with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner and see if I can meet gentlemen who I have not known since their greatest pleasure was pulling our hair. I am 22, so it is time I acted like a grown woman.”
Everyone was slightly surprised when Mr Collins stood and clapped. “Brava!”
Lydia and Kitty looked thoughtful for once, and it was time to let them think. Jane suggested a walk to Meryton. Everyone was dressed and on the road within a quarter of an hour. They arrived in fine spirits, full of life and lively conversation, and fortunately mud-free.