Miss Bingley / Caroline Bingley

Basic Information

• Original names: Miss Bingley, Caroline Bingley
• Korean rendering: Miss Bingley / Caroline Bingley
• Age: unmarried, estimated to be in her twenties
• Fortune: a dowry of £20,000
• Family: the Bingley family; Charles Bingley’s unmarried younger sister; their father made his fortune in northern trade
• Residence: Netherfield Park, living with her brother → London, with the Hursts
• First appearance: chunk_02 (Chap. 3)

Character Introduction

Bingley’s unmarried younger sister and one of the novel’s most snobbish women. Though fashionably educated, she uses her accomplishments solely to judge others and affirm her own superiority. She seeks a marriage with Darcy and flatters him incessantly, but Darcy does not reciprocate her interest in the slightest. Jealousy of Elizabeth motivates almost everything Caroline does.

She professes friendship toward Jane, but in practice takes an active part in obstructing Jane and Bingley’s relationship. She receives Jane coldly when Jane visits her in London, conceals Jane’s stay from Bingley, and conspires with Darcy to prolong Bingley’s time in London. Yet when Elizabeth marries Darcy at the conclusion, Caroline immediately changes her manner, calculating that she wishes to retain the privilege of visiting Pemberley.

Development by Event

Act I: Rivalry with Elizabeth (Chaps. 3–12)

• EVT-004: as soon as Darcy begins to admire Elizabeth’s “fine eyes,” Caroline becomes wary. She repeatedly disparages Elizabeth, only to produce the opposite effect of stimulating Darcy’s interest further.
• EVT-007: she outwardly welcomes Elizabeth when she comes to nurse Jane at Netherfield, but behind her back mocks the three-mile walk and her muddy petticoat. She grows still more anxious when Darcy praises Elizabeth’s healthy complexion.

Act II: Separating Bingley and Jane (Chaps. 18–27)

• EVT-016: at the Netherfield ball, she continually reminds Darcy of the Bennet family’s lack of decorum.
• EVT-019: conspiring with Darcy, she draws Bingley to London and prevents his return to Netherfield, attempting to weaken his feelings for Jane.
• EVT-021: when Jane visits her in London, Caroline delays before receiving her coldly and does not tell Bingley that Jane is in town.
• EVT-023: she hints to Elizabeth that Bingley may marry Georgiana Darcy, attempting to extinguish Jane’s hopes.

Conclusion

• EVT-049: though furious at Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage, she eventually makes a gesture of reconciliation toward Elizabeth “for her brother’s sake” in order to preserve her connection with Pemberley.

Core Relationships

• Darcy: one-sided courtship; Darcy has no interest in Caroline, but she never entirely abandons the possibility
• Elizabeth: jealousy and contempt; Caroline regards her as the rival who has captured Darcy’s attention
• Bingley, her brother: she tries to control his choice of wife and actively participates in separating him from Jane
• Jane: outward friendship and actual betrayal; Jane resists acknowledging Caroline’s malice to the end
• Mrs. Hurst, Louisa: her married elder sister; acts alongside Caroline, though less actively

Translation Notes

• Caroline’s speech combines outward elegance with inward malice. Preserve a tone that sounds polished on the surface but twisted underneath.
• In the “accomplished woman” discussion in Chap. 8, Caroline’s list of qualities is really self-display intended to attract Darcy’s attention; convey that motive through tone.
• In her indirect disparagements of Elizabeth, such as “her fine eyes” and “that is abominably rude,” capture the jealousy beneath the words.
• Preserve the irony that, despite her origins in a commercial family, Caroline is the character most inclined to criticize other people’s social standing.