Descartes said that love was an intense emotion of the soul. Love prompted the soul to consciously draw near to things compatible with it. Here, "consciously" did not mean desire, because desire was another kind of passion concerning the future.
In fact, "consciously" meant consent. Through it, people believed themselves to have drawn close to what they loved, because they could imagine a whole and see themselves as one part of it, while the beloved thing was the other.
Pomona looked at the popcorn in her hand. She quite liked eating it, but she had never thought of herself and it as a whole.
Then she studied the popcorn in her hand.
Once she ate it, after digestion and absorption, it could indeed become part of her body. But would she become part of the popcorn?
She glanced again at Descartes's book on her knees. In truth, she would rather have read Pride and Prejudice.
Because of Lydia's reckless actions, the reputation of the Bennet family's women might be ruined. Lydia's mother was just as naive as she was. Upon hearing that Lydia had married, she was delighted and ignored the "process."
Mr Darcy had helped Elizabeth's family, even though Wickham had once nearly deceived his sister into eloping with him using the same method.
"Meow."
Pomona lowered her head and saw a cat rubbing against her feet. She picked it up and leaned against the library window with it, enjoying the cool breeze blowing in from the Black Lake.
From his very first appearance, Mr Darcy had not been presented as a witty, humorous figure. Or rather, he had restrained his anger enough to sit down and negotiate with Wickham, resolving "the immediate problem." Otherwise, Mr Bennet would have had to speak with Wickham himself.
Pomona felt that this