PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
ONE SHOT
Talk with the Bennets
The suburban home was brightly lit, as no natural sunlight shone through the windows of the family room. Andrea ignored the light couches and bookshelves as she had a heated discussion with a friend over the speaker phone. They were arguing about Mr. and Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.
"We are never going to agree, Jamie." Andrea finally threw up her hands, even though her friend couldn't see her. "I blame them both. He withdrew into his library and his humor. He should have been more assertive and responsible, and not mocked his wife all the time. I concede that much. But it's absurd to act as if Mrs. Bennet had no power in her own home. She could have spoken up and stood up for herself. She may not have been as well-read as her husband, but I don't think she was dumb either. She could have tried to learn and improve herself, and she certainly could have managed her money better." Andrea rolled her eyes at her friend's reply and repeated, "Like I said, we'll never agree on this, so let's just agree that the book is well-written and call it a night." With that, she wished her friend a good night, hung up the phone, and went into the kitchen.
The kitchen and dining area were one large space, separated only by a long bar. Andrea gathered up the few dishes that were there, expecting nothing more than to wash them and go to bed. But she got a shock when she heard a lady's voice say, "You are correct."
"What the..." Andrea's head snapped up, shocked to see Mrs. Bennet sitting at the dark kitchen table with her hands clasped together.
"I am sorry, I should have waited until you were done with your dishes, I suppose." Mrs. Bennet sighed, but Andrea told her not to worry.
"Right about what?"
"I should have been more frugal and sensible while my children were growing up, and I should have learned a few basic subjects from a book. It would not have hurt me." Mrs. Bennet said.
Andrea was about to reply, but she was stunned when Mr. Bennet walked into the room and sat next to his wife. "I should not have hidden behind my books. I was too obsessed with having a son." He reached over and laid a hand on his wife's hand, then looked at Andrea. "You are precisely on point. We both contributed to our marital problems while our children were at home. It was not one-sided."
"May I ask you a question?" Andrea asked Mrs. Bennet, who nodded. The twenty-first century lady wanted to know why she had laughed at herself so much. "Don't get me wrong, I've done it myself, but I can't help but feel that there was more to it than what met the eye, with the way things were with your family."
"I was running." Mrs. Bennet sighed and, uncharacteristically, according to the book Andrea had read, struggled to continue. "My father was an extremely abusive man. I masked my insecurities by laughing and spending money." She sighed and looked at Mr. Bennet. "It is to my husband's credit that he did not divorce me. I'm surprised my siblings turned out so well, and married as well as they did. But then again..." She sighed. "I have always been...different...from the rest of my siblings, so maybe his anger was directed only at me. Maybe he could not handle my...strangeness."
"If that is the case, your father was no man." Andrea did not hide her opinion. "Every child has their own personality; you should not have been treated harshly for yours."
"Be that as it may, it is water under the bridge at this point." Mrs. Bennet finished speaking and her husband took over.
"My wife is correct about the water part. And as for me? Mrs. Bennet gives me too much credit, I fear. Any favor I did by staying was outweighed by my lack of authority when needed." Thomas apologized for seeming to make fun of people, including his own wife. "I have apologized to Mrs. Bennet long ago." He looked at Andrea. "I was mocked as a youth growing up in the schools I attended, even by a private tutor my parents hired for a short time. It was a habit I developed as a defense mechanism when my father died and my mother remarried. The man was horrible and mocking him made my life bearable. It was not a habit I should have brought into my marriage."
"What changed things for you?" She asked the couple.
"Lydia's elopement." Thomas and his wife said at the same time; he let Mrs. Bennet speak first when she quietly asked for permission.
"I realized too late that I had never worked on myself. I had let Lydia become what I should have prevented. I admitted to myself that I had a large share of the blame for the state of my marriage, not just Mr. Bennet. So, I looked in the mirror and confessed that it was nothing short of a miracle that Mr. Darcy had loved Elizabeth enough to help the family out, and that Jane and she were able to marry respectably. I also realized that the only hope, I felt at least, that Mary and Kitty had, apart from Lydia's departure, was for their own mother to get her act together. So, I started to read books, nothing big mind you, but books nonetheless, and cut down on my spending…" Mrs. Bennet chuckled, as did Mr. Bennet. "Much to the dismay of Kitty. You should have heard the complaints."
"She came to me thinking that I would not put my foot down as I had in the past." Mr. Bennet shook his head. "But it was not just my wife who was reflecting on her life and marriage. I did not let Kitty have her way, and supported her mother on not going to town to buy what my daughter wanted. Plus…" He grinned. "When my wife started to read books, even when I knew that she did not always understand the answers I gave to the questions she asked, I did not mock her."
"So, have the reflections made your marriage great?'
"Well, I do not know if you can say great." Mrs. Bennet sighed as she closed her fingers around Mr. Bennet's. "But..." She gave a soft smile. "Our marriage is better?" She looked at her husband hoping her part in changing had indeed helped.
"It is better." Mr. Bennet patted her hand as he gave a gentle smile and then looked at Andrea happy his part had helped out too. "And getting even better." With that the two left Andrea to finish cleaning and turn in for the night.