However, the full reason for his letter becomes apparent later on in the letter, when he says to Mr Bennet about his daughters, “assure you of my readiness to make them every possible amends, - but of this hereafter”. Here he is hinting at a proposal to one of the daughters. I feel that this shows that everything he does is about money and his own happiness. He feels that after meeting the girls for the first time that they will happily marry him and therefore he will receive more money, he feels that he will be easily accepted because they are in such a desperate economical need. He must be very arrogant to think this and this is also shown later on in the story.
In Volume One, Chapter Fourteen, we see the arrival of Mr Collins and the first dinner they have together. Even though Mr Bennet had not seen Mr Collins before, he knew that he would be more than happy to talk about Lady Catherine de Bourgh. When Jane Austin says “Mr Collins was eloquent in her praise.” Shows that he is once again showing off about her and making her out to be a wonderful lady. This makes him look good in the company of Mr Bennet and his family. Here I feel that he feels that he needs to boast about things to make himself sound interesting and important towards the family.
He also talks about Lady Catherine, saying “she had always spoken to him as she would to any other gentleman; she made not the smallest objection to his joining in the society of the neighbourhood, nor to his leaving of the parish occasionally for a week or two, to visit his relations.” Here, he is making out that Lady Catherine is so wonderful that she lets him do all this stuff, when in fact he is entitled to do it in the first place. He doesn’t need her permission, yet says she gives him permission. Here he shows his lack of independence, showing that he allows himself to be influenced by her wealth and social status.
We also see that Mr Collins is not spontaneous, but in fact a person who amuses himself by previously thinking about compliments. He admits this to Mr Bennet, “I sometimes amuse myself with suggesting and arranging such little elegant compliments as may be adapted to ordinary occasions, I always wish to give them as unstudied air as possible.” The way Mr Collins is portrayed here shows him to be a man that likes to impress people, trying to find a way to befriend people by bombarding them with compliments and by talking about how wonderful they are to his friends. He uses this to secure his own advantage.
When Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth, he yet again shows he will use flattery to get what he wants, as he says “adds to your perfections” and “natural delicacy”. Here, you can tell already that he is after something and that he thinks that flattery will get him everywhere, when in fact Elizabeth already knows what he is after. He flatters literally, but what he says next isn’t at all flattering. He also shows that he does not care whether the marriage benefits Elizabeth, but only that he benefits from it. You can tell this, because when he is telling Elizabeth the reasons as to why he wishes to marry her, he says “first, that I think it a right thing for every clergyman”, “Secondly, that I am convinced it will add very greatly to my happiness” and “thirdly -- which perhaps I ought to have mentioned earlier, that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness”. Here, he shows that the most important lady in his life is Lady Catherine and that whatever Elizabeth does, she will never match up to Lady Catherine in his eyes. His marriage proposal is a business concern.
He also is not very tactful, as when he is talking to Elizabeth, he says that Lady Catherine has told him he “must marry”. This is something that Elizabeth would not want to hear, and would make her feel insignificant. This means we learn that Mr Collins does not know how to treat a woman, and that he feels women are only there to improve his social status, not for love.
Yet when Elizabeth declines his offer of marriage, it comes as a shock to him and he says as he feels she cannot afford to turn him down, “it is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he first applies for their favour; and that sometimes the refusal is repeated a second or even a third time. I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere long.” This shows that Mr Collins thinks of himself as a good catch and that anyone who turns him down must have an ulterior motive. Also, he thinks that even though Elizabeth has only met him, that she has already fallen madly in love with him.
In chapter twenty, Mr Collins enters the breakfast-room and talks to Mrs Bennet about the refusal of marriage. When he is talking to her, he says “we are all liable to error. I have certainly meant well through the whole affair. My object has been to secure an amiable companion for myself, with due consideration for the advantage of all your family, and if my manner has been at all reprehensible, I here beg leave to apologise.” Here, he is trying to make Mrs Bennet believe that her daughter is in the wrong for turning down Mr Collins, than Mr Collins proposing so early. Also, he is trying to make out that he does not care that Elizabeth has turned him down and that all he wanted out of his proposal was a companion and that he can find someone else to replace her. He is horrified to think that he has been turned down by someone in their situation and can not believe it.
Overall, Mr Collins is a man who is so wrapped up in himself that he cannot see how inflated his ego is. He also thinks that he is above everyone else both socially and personally. Mr Collins is also arrogant as he expected Elizabeth to accept his marriage proposal and he is also striving to impress as he tries to sweet talk everyone by paying them compliments.
