Chapter3

The Bennet family had never hired a governess before.

The initiation of the five daughters was completed by Mr. Bennet, and it was very simple for them to learn daily English and basic etiquette.

As the daughters get older, let them do what they like. If you want to read more, you can read as much as you want.

On New Year's Day last year, Brando suggested hiring one or two governesses to go to Longbourn to better nurture the sisters' hobbies or skills.

Mr. Bennet agreed, and no one went in or out.

The first tutor was hired in March last year.

After two months of teaching, she was approached by a lawyer and told she had a £10,000 inheritance to inherit, so she resigned.

A second tutor was brought in last July.

This time, I taught for two and a half months, and was approached by my fiancé, who thought he had died in a shipwreck. The fiancé was fortunately rescued, and after recovering, he returned to the United Kingdom to find his lover to complete the engagement. Naturally, this tutor resigned and got married.

Mr. Bennet: "In February of this year, another governess was hired to live in the house. Aisha Plummer, 21, of the early death of her father, graduated from Hewlett-Packard Girls' School near London, a church-funded charity school. She is good at piano, needlework, and some gardening. ”

These three female governesses are a reflection of the prevalence of the profession in the UK today.

There are always some girls who come from good backgrounds and are considered ladies, but their lives are gradually declining.

For example, the early death of the father or the failure of the family's investment and the family is in the middle of the road; For example, due to various reasons, there is not enough dowry to marry a man of the same class.

Towards the thirties of the 19th century, most people in British society still believed that the daughters of good families did not have to go out to work.

The so-called good family refers to the aristocratic gentry, as well as the squire propertied class who hold their own status.

Women are reduced to servants by selling their labor, but some unmarried ladies have to find work to make a living, and governesses and school teachers are barely decent jobs.

Nominally, a tutor is not a servant, and the actual situation will vary from person to person. Due to the attitude of the employer's family members, the salary and mental treatment of tutors are different.

The Bennet family did not treat the tutor badly, and Aisha was responsible for the education of the five children.

Tutors generally teach basic skills that society believes women should master, such as etiquette, grammar, music, painting, dance, housekeeping, needlework, and so on.

As for academic research, it is still considered irrelevant to women.

Elsa teaches the five Bennet sisters.

Jane, born in 1808, was the first child of the Bennet family and is 21 years old. Elizabeth was 19 years old and Mary was 17 years old.

After Mrs. Bennet gave birth to four daughters, she was damaged for a time. Unexpectedly, there were two more children later, namely 13-year-old Catherine and 12-year-old Lydia.

The tutor is invited and taught, which does not mean that everyone can learn well.

At the moment, Mr. Bennet has a hard time talking, precisely because he knows the inside story but does not care. Thinking about how to speak, I heard that my wife couldn't help but answer first.

"Aisha teaches well."

Mrs. Bennet grabbed the conversation, thinking she could talk about the topic herself. Compared to her husband, who is only responsible for paying for everything, she has seen how the tutor teaches the children.

"Jane and the two sisters in front of her are older, and they have what they want to learn, and if they don't understand, they will ask Elsa. Jane is interested in gardening and can bring several kinds of flowers to life. ”

Mrs. Bennet even boasted: "Don't look at the young age of Lydia and Catherine, they have studied hard and can now play beautiful piano music!" ”

Brando smiled genuinely delighted.

"That's nice. When I return to Longborn, I don't have to worry about being estranged and embarrassed by spending little time with my sisters. The piano would be a good starting point for chatting, thank you mother for providing me with this news. ”

"Huh? Yes! ”

Mrs. Bennet was about to compliment her little daughter a few more words, when she heard Brando's words, and the back of her neck seemed to be violently stuffed with a piece of ice, making her shiver.

Did Lydia and Catherine learn to play the piano seriously?

The answer is no.

Mrs. Bennet habitually favored her little daughter, and did not think that Lydia had a problem with her learning attitude of fishing for two days and drying nets for three days, and from time to time boasted that she had studied well.

I came back to my senses at the moment. The big words that he blew out were believed, and he became a guarantor. Once Brando returns home, he will find out the truth, and he will be quickly slapped in the face.

You can be cheeky.

Mrs. Bennet has never been confident in front of her fourth daughter.

If Elizabeth directly pointed out the partiality of being a mother, she would be able to mess around, but Brando was so sincerely praising her.

Now what? I put myself in the air.

Entering Scarborough, in just ten hours, her emotions went up and down.

One will be moved by romance to the point of dizziness, the next will be sad and almost cry, and the next will be a sentence blocked in my throat.

Mrs. Bennet: Her fragile nerves! I can't stand the stimulation like this.

Did Brando really listen to Mrs. Bennet?

Of course not.

For the vast majority of the nearly two years, she experienced an unspeakable infernal fusion of soul and body, and it was only two months ago that she had fully recovered.

In this case, it is necessary to seize all the time to study intensively. There was a priority, and she didn't have time to go to Longboun.

Therefore, I have only met the five sisters once since the crossing, and it was on New Year's Day this year that they have been together for ten days.

Last year's New Year's Day, the family was supposed to get together, but Catherine had a sudden severe diarrhea before departure, and it was not suitable for her to travel long distances after she recovered.

The Bennets changed their travel plans at the last minute, leaving their older sisters behind to take care of their younger sister, and the couple were the only ones who came to Scarborough.

Besides, earlier Mr. and Mrs. Bennet had specifically told the five sisters not to disturb their "brothers" who were treating patients on the seashore. The original owner was mentally impaired, and he only learned to read and write simply, and once he replied, his illness would be exposed.

The couple didn't want the family's number one secret to leak out, worried that the children would accidentally leak their mouths, so they simply didn't contact them in the first place.

When Brando crossed over, he restored his mind to "Little Mr. Bennet".

Two years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet shared the good news with their five children, regardless of whether they corresponded or not.

Brando received 23 letters from Jane and 15 letters from Elizabeth. After meeting on New Year's Day this year, Mary sent five letters.

In this way, even after only ten days together, these letters were enough to give her a general idea of how the sisters were doing.

Jane's letter, which arrived in the first month after Brando's sobriety, was almost monthly. The content can be summed up in one sentence - everyone in the family is very good.

I don't see that she has a trace of dissatisfaction with her family members, she looks at everyone for their advantages, and there is no conflict with anyone.

You can find between the lines that she has a soft and kind temperament, and she is used to hiding her joys, sorrows, and sorrows, and has always maintained a calm attitude.

For her tutor Elsa, Jane thinks the gardening she teaches is fun and enjoyable to be close to nature.

Elizabeth and the eldest sister cannot be said to have diametrically opposed temperaments, but they are also very different.

She is confident and bold, skeptical of the standard of the perfect lady defined by this era. has a set of his own ideas, and he dares to speak out about his dissatisfaction.

Elizabeth dared to speak out about her mother's unfairness, she had always favored her younger daughter, and she would even speak directly about her mother's indulgence in her sisters Catherine and Lydia.

It was not uncommon for the two younger sisters to desert in class, stumbling on the piano, and sloppy in grammar, but Mrs. Bennet thought that the children were still very young.

The mother's partiality doesn't stop there.

For example, five daughters make new dresses every year. Lydia loves beautiful clothes, and every time she is coquettish to her mother, she is allowed to buy an extra dress.

At that time, if Elizabeth said that her mother should be fair, and let the five sisters buy it together, the situation would take a turn for the worse.

Originally, Mrs. Bennet smiled and promised to buy her little daughter a new dress, without complaining.

After hearing the words of the second daughter, her face instantly turned cloudy, and she began to talk about her nerves hurting again, and it was not easy to raise her daughter.

Similar situations happen from time to time.

Even if the five sisters had the same number of new dresses in the end, as long as they were not blind, they could see that the mother's attitude towards her daughters was different.

Of course, there are also people in the family that Elizabeth likes, who like the gentleness of the eldest sister Jane, and also like the knowledge of her father.

For the arrival of the tutor Elsa, I can't talk about whether I am satisfied or not. While thanking Elsa for the etiquette she taught, he agreed that she was good at this aspect, but also thought that she was lacking in other knowledge.

Aisha's reading was far worse than Mr. Bennet's, and there were many books in Bennet's study that she had never heard of.

However, Elizabeth admits that Elsa plays the piano well, not only well, but also has a modest personality.

It's not like the third sister Mary, who can't wait to show it in front of people after learning a tune. Sometimes, Mary would play the wrong tone in a hurry to show it.

Brando read the letter and did not assume that it was the whole truth about the Bennet family.

First of all, thank you Elizabeth for being willing to tell the truth, to be able to tell what she thinks are the shortcomings of others, and to show her closeness to her "brother".

However, seeing is not necessarily believing, and people will inevitably be biased. Or rather, to see the underlying causes.

For example, why does Mary like to be eager to show off her skills? Is it just a show of talent?

Brando had met the Bennet family, and Mary's appearance was the most ordinary among a group of beauties.

Mary was the couple's third child, and unlike Jane and Elizabeth, who had been taught by their father for several years, or Catherine and Lydia who had some of their mother's favoritism, she was the neglected one.

Ordinary in appearance and neglected, this childhood made Mary want to show her talents in front of others, that is, she longed for attention in her heart.

In some ways, the original owner is similar to Mary.

The original owner was sent to the seaside town, even if he was not treated badly in terms of money, but there was a serious lack of family affection, and to some extent he was abandoned.

Mary had not sent a letter to Scarborough until we met on New Year's Day this year, and we kept a monthly correspondence, and each letter was very thick.

Write about the details of her hard practice, write about the long theological books she reads, and express a large list of truths she felt from reading, and ask her "younger brother" if he has any recommended books.

Brando knew that the third sister had some inferiority, so he took the step of contact after feeling his gentle attitude at the beginning of the year.

Once Mary started sending letters, she wanted to say everything she could because no one else in the family would listen, and she wanted to find someone to prove that she could shine too.

Brando didn't think Mary had done anything wrong. Even though most of the theological reflections she wrote in the first two months of the letter were stilted, the words rarely had real feelings. It's like making people chew a piece of tasteless bacon, but you can't blindly condescendingly criticize her for her poor learning.

Not good enough to learn. It could be a matter of competence, it could be a matter of attitude, it could be a matter of the environment.

The tutor Elsa cannot be blamed for this, for most of the theological interpretations are not among the popular talents necessary for women, and she was not hired for such a position.

If there was to be someone in charge, it would be Mr. Bennet.

As a father who has a room full of books, it sounds like he is knowledgeable, why can't he guide his third daughter who is addicted to reading? He doesn't work, he's not busy at all, what is he hiding!

Brando, as if he could not see Mrs. Bennet's self-inflicted frustration, threw the question to Mr. Bennet to prevent him from remaining invisible.

"Father, you know, I sent Mary some books before, did she receive them?"

This question sounds a bit of a no-brainer. It's about tutoring, why did you suddenly get to send books?

Mr. Bennet's expression was even more unnatural, and he knew why.

The wife's big words about her partiality for her little daughter came as soon as she opened her mouth, and she didn't want to think about whether Brando knew the inside story.

There was correspondence between the two places, and there was no special concealment from anyone. According to Elizabeth's character, she will definitely tell the truth to Brando.

Right now, Brando is almost putting the truth on the table with the question of delivering books - she has exchanged letters with her sister, don't take her for a fool!

Besides, Brando's book for Mary arrived at the end of March of this year.

It was rich, from mathematics to literature, but not as obscure and lengthy theological books that Mary had been reading in previous years.

Mr. Bennet knew what books Mary had received, but he had not thought of teaching his third daughter carefully. He didn't meet his third daughter who took the initiative to ask, so he put the matter aside.

"The book has arrived."

Mr. Bennet could not answer Mary's progress in school, so he could only change the subject to Mrs. Bennet.

"Brando, your mother has just exaggerated, and she sometimes even thinks that Lydia is the first person to play the piano in Longborn. This is actually the illusion that the mother thinks that everything is good for the child, and it does not match the real situation. ”

With these words, Mrs. Bennet finally found the steps, and it was rare that she did not disagree with her husband.

She immediately said, "Your father is right. In fact, Lydia and Catherine have only been practicing the piano for a few months, and they may not have figured out whether they really like the piano or not. ”

The second time.

Mr. Bennet inadvertently indicated her proximity bias when he heard his wife put her youngest daughter, Lydia, before her fifth daughter, Catherine, in her second salutation today.

Thinking about the previous remarks, the wife mentioned her eldest daughter Jane, and then used "the two sisters in front" to refer to Elizabeth and Mary, putting dislike and disregard in the title.

Mr. Bennet broke out in a sweat.

Since Brando can discover the flowers and tea that his parents like through the details, he is bound to be able to discover the differences in the situation of the sisters in the family from these seemingly inconspicuous words.

The family is not harmonious, not everyone has a good temperament, and the truth about the chicken feathers in the family has been revealed.

At this time, I listened to Hume make up for it.

"It's okay not to like the piano, but to develop other skills, such as being good at managing accounts. In this era, there are some inexplicable so-called truths, saying that "a rich bachelor always has to marry a wife", and it seems that a woman will have nothing to worry about when she marries a rich man.

Rich people want to marry wives, but don't forget that married women have no property rights in law after marriage. The wife has no ability at all, that is, to bet on her husband's sense of responsibility. people, nine out of ten bets lose. ”

Mr. Bennet: I always feel irresponsible when I am scolded.

Brando looked at Mr. Bennet.

As a father and husband, he still has a little sense of responsibility, such as not having a mistress, but he doesn't have much responsibility.

Mrs. Bennet's focus was biased, and Hume said that it would be good not to learn the piano and to take care of the accounts. My God! Do you want Lydia to learn this?

In the twenty-two years since he was married, he never understood the accounts and receipts. Lydia is most like herself, and the chances of learning are too low.

Thinking about it this way, she looked at Mr. Bennet again with a sense of tenderness. The husband is still very good, and he will never use the ledger to stir her brain into a vat of glue.

Mr. Bennet gave his wife a sudden tender look, which he hadn't received for a long time, but he wasn't moved much, but he got goosebumps.

My God! You are so merciful, why didn't you give everyone the skills to do things depending on the occasion. Is it time to be emotional! Everyone, say something to break the quirky atmosphere!

Brando seemed to be very considerate and asked at the right time: "Father, the parliament was reformed a week ago, have you heard?" ”

Mr. Bennet: ?

Puzzled, he shook his head.

He did not know about parliamentary reform. And isn't it talking about education now? Why did the topic suddenly jump to a very distant parliament?

Now, the strange atmosphere that he had hoped for because of his wife had been broken, but it made him even more confused.

Mr. Bennet found himself unable to keep up with Brando's pace, and his mind was challenged a little.

Should he suspect that Brando wasn't a thoughtful solution, or should he be glad that he wasn't challenged by a billion points?