Elizabeth Bennett is a sensible, lively girl, who is the main character of Jane Austen’s book Pride and Prejudice. Within the pages of this literary classic, Elizabeth is faced with a total of three marriage proposals. The first is from Mr. Collins, her second cousin and heir of her family’s estate. The second and third are both from Mr. Darcy, a wealthy young man whose shyness and pride result in rudeness and the appearance of distain. Elizabeth denies the first two proposals directed at her, yet falls in love with Mr. Darcy and accepts his second request for her hand. In comparing Mr. Collin’s proposal and Mr. Darcy’s first proposal, which was more acceptable for the situation in life of Elizabeth in 18th century England? To look at this question in more depth, this paper will examine the logic used by the speaker, the emotion of the proposal, and the character of the man. …show more content…
Mr. Collins approached Elizabeth hoping to make her his wife for three purposes: to make it up to the Bennett family for being the heir of their estate, to keep the estate in the immediate family and more importantly, to please his patroness Lady Catherine. On the other hand, Mr. Darcy proposed to Elizabeth because he loved her. He certainly didn’t ask because of her social class or family, but because he was obsessed with having her as his wife. Upon looking at the logic in the minds of both men, one can conclude that Mr. Collins had more logic and sensibility behind his proposal, while Mr. Darcy was simply obsessed with
Darcy is portrayed as a selfish, vain man at first and he is the second to propose to Elizabeth and swiftly denied. Mr. Darcy’s overbearing phrase “You must allow me to tell you,” has a dominant tone, implied by the demand: “you must” (Austen 185). Mr. Darcy’s superiority, even in confessing his love, cuts off the possibility of personal attachment by placing him and Elizabeth on two different levels and repels love for him by condescending her with dominance. Elizabeth being a character of independence and strong will, his superiority over her is an insult. Mr. Darcy’s high status gives him credibility as well as his brutal honesty: “In vain have I struggled” (Austen 185). He tells her outright that he has tried to resist his feelings for her, but he cannot, which tells one that he is not lying. Especially with his reputation of not associating outside his social group, the reader understands this must be outside his comfort zone to be “tempted” by one inferior to him. However, his credibility is trodden underfoot by his insulting language and lack of
or wealth but a man that she can talk to and who will respect her
Collins’ marriage proposal. Of course, this was in the time period where women were supposed to be in complete subordination to men, and a proposal from a clergyman, who was to inherit Longbourn, was thought to be an easy decision. Although every notion that society could have given her was to say, “Yes” she ultimately stayed true to herself and what she believed. True love was meant to be in the fabric of marriage, not an individual’s bank note, however, as Mrs. Bennet so gracefully reminds her daughters and dear husband throughout the novel, money is king in the culture that society created during that era. Elizabeth Bennet is an independent character, and not one to push over when society blew its influential wind. In addition to Elizabeth’s perceived ungrateful attitude to a clergyman, she also had quite the discussion with Lady Catherine De Bourgh at the end of the novel. During the Regency Era, respect was not earned by the content of an individual’s decisions, but by how much money they had. With that being said, no
Thinking that he truly has lost Elizabeth brings out a more sensitive and sympathetic side of Darcy, and he proposes a second time. This proposal however, marks the real release of his prideful ways, and as Austin put it “was as sensibly and as warmly as a man violently in love can be supposed to do"(Austin 157). This proposal marks Darcy giving up his pride about social class, and Elizabeth being hurt by him and his judgments. She accepts, and they finally allow themselves to be happy.
It is not unusual for an individual to disagree with social customs or expectations. Some people are only happy when they can rebel against society. Most mature adults eventually realize that compromise is necessary to achieve happiness. This is the case in the early nineteenth century England setting of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. In the novel, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is a lively, independent woman, whose family's financial situation and whose strong mindedness suggest that she may never marry. Mr. Darcy, is a rigid and proper man, who falls in love with Elizabeth, despite their differences. By the end of the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy learn to compromise, and, in doing so, become truly happy. In marrying, they not only fulfill themselves as individuals, but also affirm the principle values of society. The marriage at the end of the novel shows Jane Austen's ideal view of marriage as a social institution.
Darcy’s proposals help to manifest his personal growth by showing the difference in his manner, rationale, and result. His haughty words and actions are the crux of his indifference towards the feelings of others in the beginning of the novel. Although Mr. Darcy is ignorant of his own highfalutin attitude at first, the rejection of his proposal by Elizabeth is just the tocsin he needs to salvage the small amount of respect she still had for him. Through her rejection, he comes to terms with his own pride and prejudice against Elizabeth and her family. Also, he realizes that she is not one to marry for money or social status, but she wants to marry a man that she truly loves, which is a surprise to him. This radical modification of his attitude results in a second marriage proposal for Elizabeth, where he genuinely expresses his feelings. Although he is uncertain of her answer, he simply wants to make his love for her known. The slightly astonished Elizabeth immediately recognizes how much the tone and motive in his second proposal have changed from his first and also reveals her love for him. Mr. Darcy’s two proposals do not simply act as means to communicating his feeling to Elizabeth, but as a documentation of his significant change in
Elizabeth's lively, straightforward, daring character and her disregard for considerations of rank show through clearly in her reaction to Darcy's proposal. Her pride is also evident, for the lack of civility in her refusal is due primarily to injured pride resulting from Darcy's frank explanation of his reservations about proposing to her because of her inferior connections.
Charlotte, serving as a basis for time’s views, allows the reader a glimpse into the institution of marriage in the Regency Era. Charlotte more than emphasizes just how radical Elizabeth was for her time, since she was willing to wait for the perfect man rather than settle. As a contrast, she helps Austen create a unique relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth. Austen disproves Charlotte’s and the general society’s pragmatic belief in a likely unhappy marriage. Through Charlotte’s marriage, Austen gains a more cynical and realist voice; she shows that the heart does not always have to be consulted with for a comfortable union.
Pride and Prejudice Essay Throughout Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett faces many challenges to realize that she was in the wrong and her prejudice against Mr. Darcy was misguided. Austen emphasizes the importance of wisdom through Elizabeth, who faces the challenge of overcoming her prejudiced judgement to reach maturity and recognize the man she loves. At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth Bennett’s first meeting with Mr. Darcy was marred by Mr. Darcy’s pride to which, “Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him.” At the end of the novel, after Elizabeth learns the truth and unravels her prejudice against Darcy, she begins to realize that she does have feelings for him.
This novel is mainly focused on Elizabeth Bennet as she struggles to overcome her prejudices about Darcy, a rich and handsome suitor who has taken a liking to her, while the tales of the other Bennet sisters as they grapple with their own prejudices and search for the truth unfolds concurrently. Jane Austen suggests through events in the novel that structuring the truth to fit one’s personal idealism and prejudices can unfairly color one’s opinion of another and inhibit one from finding self-fulfillment. The interplay between truth and idealism will be explored in this essay by analyzing how idealism influences truth, the difference between the idealistic interpretation and reality in Pride and Prejudice, and the effect of using idealism to construe the
Collins is interested in Elizabeth as well, and wants to marry her for several reasons which he deems proper and just. Mr. Collins is certain that he is worthy of Elizabeth’s acceptance because of his connection to the family of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and his position as a clergyman, but also because he will inherit her family’s estate when her father dies. He has no notion of love or lifelong happiness, which Elizabeth finds ideal in a marriage. He tries to understand her refusal, crediting it to her “wish of increasing [his] love by suspense, according to the usual practice of elegant females.” Elizabeth, for the sake of his understanding fully, says, “Do not consider me now as an elegant female intending to plague you, but as a rational creature speaking the truth from her heart” (108). Austen demonstrates how Mr. Collins considers marriage to him a perfect solution to the problem of the entailed estate, while Elizabeth knows marriage to him would make her miserable. He later finds an acceptable match with the practical Charlotte
Pride and Prejudice is the most enduringly popular novel written by Jane Austen. It talks about trivial matters of love, marriage and family life between country squires and fair ladies in Britain in the 18th century. The plot is very simple. That is how the young ladies choose their husbands. Someone said that "Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the novel, flatly rejected William Collins' proposal, who is the heir of her father's property and manor, and refused the first proposal from the extremely wealthy nobleman Fitzwilliam Darcy later,"(1) all this makes it clear that Elizabeth "seeks no fame nor fortune, but self-improvement and high mental outlook."(1) It's right. From the view point of Austen, Elizabeth's marriage, who finally marries Darcy, as well as Jane-Bingley's, composing money and love, is the ideal marriage people should after. But in other marriage cases in this novel, we can see that if money and love can't be held together in one marriage, love would always make a concession to money because of the special social background. After reading through the whole book, we will find that money acts as the cause of each plot and the clue of its development. It affects everybody's words and deeds, even Elizabeth Bennet. Tony Tanner once said, "Jane Austen, as well as other authors, is very clear that no feeling could be extremely pure and no motive could be definitely single. But as long as it is possible, we should make it clear that which feeling or motive plays the leading role." (2)
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife.” This opening statement form the book “Pride and Prejudice” refers to the most important theme in the book, marriage. This theme is the reason for most of the big events in the book, including the two proposals. Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Collins both proposed to the same girl, Elizabeth, who often went by Lizzy. There were many similarities between the two proposals, but there were also a lot of differences not only in the proposals, but also in the men’s intentions towards Lizzy.
Mr. Bingley is often accompanied by Fitzwilliam Darcy, who is a very proud man. Elizabeth Bennet, who is proud of herself, and Mr. Darcy are not fond of one another from the start, these two characters pose the central conflict in the novel. As the novel progresses, Elizabeth receives a marriage proposal from her cousin, Mr. Collins, and turns him down. Mr. Collins then proposes to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s best friend, who accepts. Elizabeth then leaves home to stay with, the Collins’ who live near Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy’s aunt.
In the 19th century, a controversy arose over what the true foundation and purpose for marriage should be. The basis of this conflict was whether one should let reason or emotion be the guide of their love life and if a balance between the two could be maintained. The relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy in Jane Austen's book Pride and Prejudice depicts such a balance, thus becoming the model for Austen's definition of a perfect couple and for true love. Their relationship is neither solely based on a quest for money on Elizabeth's part or emotions that blind the couple from all other important aspects of life. The significance of having this balance is portrayed through the inability of the other couples in the story to reach an equal amount of happiness as Elizabeth and Darcy because of their pursuit of either reason or passion.