Austen and Durant

What is the importance of the Mr. Collins-character?

Mr. Collins’ character is complex. He interacts with each character differently, based on their rank, and what he wants from them. His concern is always his own gain. But besides this selfish behavior creating a character that readers love to hate, Mr. Collins is also an enormous tool. I think this makes his character very important. It illuminates the saying, “what goes around comes around.” Just as he believes he is milking situations to fit his interests, other people are using him with equal readiness.

To find Mr. Collins self-serving behavior, one can look into almost any action and see an ulterior motive. For example, his renewed friendship with the Bennett family is to find a wife. Throughout the text, his praises for any lady or object is merely to flatter and uphold a humble front.

In exchange, his patroness uses him daily: her little pet, her favorite yes-man. Mr. Bennet uses him for entertainment until he has had his fill, and then sends him away to bother his daughters. Mrs. Bennet saw him as a potential husband for one of her daughters. But it was Charlotte who wed Mr. Collins for “protection” etc…, and by proxy her parents were using him to relieve a burden.

Although Mr. Collins believes himself cunning, it seems that he’s really the one being used. He’s just a lil’ pawn. I think it is important that he is so ill-used. His ignorance and (strange) vanity keeps his tool-status unknown to him. Therefore, tucked into this popular love story is a caution against those qualities as well as reason to keep our intentions in the right, away from karma’s wrath.

How would you describe Durant's view of the importance of philosophy?

To me, Durant’s view of philosophy easily compares to Aristotle’s Golden Mean. He has a very balanced view. He recognizes that philosophy is only as useful as the explanation is communicable. I see this as a very middle-of-the-road approach. Philosophy doesn’t have to be high and lofty; it’s real, and should be kept in real terms. When the teaching of philosophy is too far away from the “middle”, it becomes lost on too many people (me!) to be of value. In Durant’s take on philosophy, the study has something to offer to everyone, as long as it’s written in the right language.