Key Quote
“"You ought certainly to forgive them as a Christian, but never to admit them in your sight, or allow their names to be mentioned in your hearing"”
Mr Collins · Chapter 48 (Letter about Lydia)
Focus: “forgive them as a Christian, but never to admit them”
Collins's letter after Lydia's elopement — a masterpiece of moral hypocrisy. He recommends Christian forgiveness AND permanent banishment in the same sentence, revealing the gap between his religious professions and his actual values.
Technique 1 — OXYMORONIC MORAL LOGIC
The conjunction 'but' creates an oxymoron (self-contradiction) — forgiveness that includes permanent exclusion is not forgiveness at all. Collins uses the word 'certainly' to present this absurd position as self-evident, revealing his characteristic pomposity (inflated self-importance). He adopts the language of Christian charity while recommending its exact opposite.
The escalating severity — 'never to admit them in your sight, or allow their names to be mentioned' — moves from physical banishment to linguistic erasure. Collins doesn't merely recommend avoiding Lydia; he recommends pretending she doesn't exist. This extreme position, delivered in the calm tone of pastoral advice, creates deeply satirical comedy.
Key Words
RAD — STAGNATE
Collins never develops moral complexity — his advice is always a reflection of his patron Lady Catherine's values rather than genuine ethical thought. He is an ideological mouthpiece (a character who speaks someone else's beliefs), parroting social respectability without understanding its moral content. His Christianity is a costume, not a conviction.
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Technique 2 — EPISTOLARY SATIRE
Collins's letter is Austen's finest example of epistolary satire (satire through letters). The letter form allows Collins to condemn himself through his own words without authorial comment. He writes with absolute sincerity, unaware that every sentence reveals his hypocrisy and cruelty. The reader sees what Collins cannot: that his advice is monstrous.
The phrase 'the death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison' (from the same letter) intensifies the satire to near-Gothic extremes. Collins, a clergyman, declares that a child's death would be preferable to social disgrace. Austen uses his words to indict an entire moral system that values reputation above human life.
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Context (AO3)
CLERGY & MORAL AUTHORITY
In Regency England, clergymen were expected to provide moral guidance to their communities. Collins's absurd advice exposes the gap between clerical authority and genuine moral wisdom. Austen consistently satirises clergymen who use religion for social advancement rather than spiritual purpose — Collins embodies this failing perfectly.
HONOUR & REPUTATION
Lydia's elopement threatens the Bennet family's reputation — in Regency society, one sister's disgrace could make all others unmarriageable. Collins's extreme response reflects how seriously society treated female sexual honour, though his recommendation of permanent banishment shows the system's cruelty at its most explicit.
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WOW — PERFORMATIVE RELIGION (Žižek)
Slavoj Žižek argues that much religious practice is performative rather than genuine — people follow rituals and repeat doctrines without believing in them at any deep level. Collins's Christianity is entirely performative: he uses religious vocabulary ('forgive them as a Christian') as a rhetorical ornament rather than a moral imperative. Žižek calls this ideological cynicism — knowing that one's stated values are hollow but continuing to profess them anyway. Collins may not be consciously cynical, but his religion functions as social currency rather than spiritual conviction.
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