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Article: "The redemption of the world": the rhetoric of Jane Austen's prayers.(Miscellany)(Critical essay)
- Article from:
- Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal
- Article date:
- January 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Jane Austen Society of North America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ONE OF THE LEAST REMARKED but in some ways most significant parts of" all of Jane Austen's much-celebrated novel Pride and Prejudice occurs at the very end of Mr. Darcy's long exculpatory letter to Elizabeth Bennet in the very middle of the novel. After he has explained and justified himself at great length, he closes, very simply, by saying, "I will only add, God bless you" (203). In this final turn, away from himself, Darcy offers the embrace of the Christian community toward the woman whom he fears he has lost. With that gesture, that benediction, we see the world of God's grace in which Jane Austen and her characters dwell.
In the authoritative edition of The ...