But above all, above respect and esteem, there was a motive within her of good will which could not be overlooked. It was gratitude. – Gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough, to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection. He who, she had been persuaded, would avoid her as his greatest enemy, seemed, on this accidental meeting, most eager to preserve the acquaintance, and without any indelicate display of regard, or any peculiarity of manner, where their two selves only were concerned, was soliciting the good opinion of her friends, and bent on making her known to his sister. Such a change in a man of so much pride, excited not only astonishment but gratitude–for to love, ardent love, it must be attributed; and as such its impression on her was of a sort to be encouraged, as by no means unpleasing, though it could not be exactly defined.

A long passage I know. But I wanted to capture the context. Here Elizabeth realizes her hate for Mr. Darcy vanished long ago, and has been replaced with love. But not the fluffy lovey we think of when reading romance.

Instead of describing the loving feeling, Jane depicts Elizabeth’s affections through the feeling of gratitude.

I never thought of love through the path of gratitude. It seems obvious, things you love are things you’re grateful for, but then, we often take the things we love for granted.

Deep tracks Ms. Austen. Deep tracks.

Austen, Jane. Pride and prejudice. New York, Penguin Publishing Group, 2003. pg 253