Could someone help me understand what Jane Austen meant when she said :
“There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself.” - Pride & Prejudice, Volume 1, Chapter 6.
The speaker is Charlotte Lucas and she is conversing with Jane Bennet.
Ohh. So Bingley’s liking/attachment towards Jane leads to the development of emotions like vanity and gratitude in her and it would not be appropriate (or safe as Charlotte calls it🤔) to be left without some reciprocation.