I believe Mr Collins’ statement about Lady Catherine not being proud is wrong. There are many cases of her showing her pride. For instance, when Elizabeth, Mr and Mrs Collins and the rest of their party accept an invitation to visit Lady Catherine, “Her Ladyship received them civilly, but it was plain that their company was by no means acceptable as when she could get nobody else.” This implies that she would have preferred to entertain guests of a higher social status. Also, she does not often show affability or kindness when she has an opportunity to do so. “Lady Catherine observed, after dinner that Miss Bennett seemed out of spirits, and immediately accounting for it herself, by supposing that she did not like to go home again so soon”. After having noticed Elizabeth’s mood, instead of asking what was wrong, Lady Catherine decided that it must be because Elizabeth was leaving Rosings. Lady Catherine could have used this opportunity to speak kindly to Elizabeth. However, her ego prevents her from wishing to hear Elizabeth’s point of view.
Many things lead Mr Collins to believe Lady Catherine to be affable. Charlotte describes her as, “A most attentive neighbour”. You can imagine that she is always interfering in their business. What Mr Collins sees as Lady Catherine being kind and attentive, most people would see as nosy and intrusive. Mr Collins also sees Lady Catherine’s invitation to Rosings as kind. I believe Lady Catherine invited the Lucas’ and Elizabeth in order to meddle in their affairs, rather than out of kindness.
I do not think that we, as readers can trust Mr Collins’ opinions in general when he does not even know how to behave socially; for example in Mrs Phillips apartment, Mr Collins, “declared he might almost have supposed himself in the small summer breakfast-parlour at Rosings”. This offended Mrs Phillips, at least at first. Mr Collins did not understand why this remark would cause offence, showing his ignorance for the feelings of others. Jane Austen also gives us an insight into his nature, “Mr Collins was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been little assisted by education or society”. This not only shows that he does not fit in with this level of society, but also shows his inability to learn from his social mistakes. His constant apologies and flattery of his patroness are self-serving. He is pompous and sycophantic.
Mr Collins finds Lady Catherine awe inspiring. This is to do with the power she holds due to her wealth and the way in which she conducts herself. When in the company of people who do not know Lady Catherine well, he often describes how grand her house is and how very generous she is. He is merely repeating what she says to him. It would, therefore, not be in his interest to tell other people that she is proud.
In conclusion, I believe that Mr Collins’ opinion is biased and therefore not trustworthy. Not only is it in his favour to speak well of Lady Catherine, but he mistakes her nosiness for attentiveness. This is due to him not being a very good judge of character, and also his misunderstanding of the way sociery works. Overall, I disagree with Mr Collins’ view of Lady Catherine, and I believe she is a very proud woman.
