Reader’s Reflections: There is a story of an old Chinese farmer who lived many years ago. He had one old horse that he used to plough his fields. One day, the horse ran away into the hills. His neighbors said, “What bad luck!” The old man replied, “Bad luck, good luck, who knows?” A week later, the horse returned with a herd of wild horses, which now belonged to the old man. His neighbors said, “What good luck!” The old man replied, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?” While his only son was riding one of the wild horses, he fell off and broke his leg.

His neighbors said, “What bad luck!” The old man replied, “Bad luck, good luck, who knows?” The next day, the army came to the village, and took all the strong young men to be soldiers for the emperor. Only the old farmer’s son was spared, because he could not fight with a broken leg. His neighbors said, “What good luck!” The old man replied, “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?” * I’m sure Elizabeth was initially disappointed that she didn’t have a big enough fortune to enable her to hold Wickham’s affections; now it seems that same lack of fortune is what allowed her to dodge the bullet. Certainly Kitty felt it was extremely bad luck that she wasn’t invited to go to Brighton with Lydia; now we see that she was spared the tragedy of bringing agony upon her family, the way Lydia did. Mrs. Bennet is a foolish, self-centered woman, certainly a terrible role model for her daughters; fortunately, this firms the resolve of Jane, Elizabeth – and now Kitty – to distinguish themselves from her, and makes their efforts to become upright young ladies all the more laudable. And now, the horrible situation Lydia has brought upon her mother and sisters, becomes the very vehicle for Darcy to show to Elizabeth the full glory and goodness of his character.