In Chapter 3 Catherine begins to see another side of Isabella that she does not like. Henry Tilney's older brother, Captain Tilney continues to flirt with Isabella and she returns his attentions, even though she is engaged to James Morland.
Of course, Isabella refuses to acknowledge that she is at fault: "I certainly cannot return his affection, and as certainly never meant to encourage it" (Austen 118).
When they are at the Pump-Rooms, Captain Tilney arrives and distracts Isabella from talking to Catherine at any length. Catherine is sitting next to Isabella and overhears everything they are saying. "Quite out of countenance [she] could listen no longer. Amazed that Isabella could endure it, and jealous for her brother, she rose up, and saying she should join Mrs. Allen, proposed their walking" (Austen 120). Isabella pretends not to hear her suggestion for walking, so Catherine leaves on her own angry for her brother.
Isabella and her Changes:
ReplyDeleteIsabelle, who was once seen as the nice friend to Catherine, is now changing into a nasty women, who flirts with other men while she is engages, and refuses to see any fault in the matter.
This sense of maturity really contrasts with Catherine's. While Catherine was sheltered all her life, Isabella has been engrossed in it her whole life. Unlike Catherine though, she is not changing for the better, to fully understand how the world works, but for the worst.