After these two reasons, he states his third reason for marrying, which he says he “should have mentioned earlier.” At that point, the reader expects him to say how much he loves Elizabeth, but instead, he says he wants to marry her because somebody else has advised him to do so. This somebody is Lady Catherine, who is a rich woman, and is very concerned about her wealth and status. Mr Collins thinks very highly of her. So highly, in fact, that he spends a long time while he is proposing to Elizabeth talking about her! This shows that Mr Collins is foolish and ignorant, because it is inappropriate to talk about someone else when you are asking someone to marry you. Mr Collins does not think anything of it, proving his ignorance. Mr Collins’ speech sounds pre-rehearsed, and not like a romantic proposal at all. This again shows the reader that Mr Collins is not marrying for love at all, and only marrying because it is the right thing to do.
When Mr Collins has finished talking about Lady Catherine, there is a pause where Elizabeth gives her answer. Up to this point, Mr Collins has not given her enough time to respond to him, showing us again that he is selfish, and egocentric. When Elizabeth politely refuses him, Mr Collins does not take no for an answer. He exclaims that young ladies often refuse offers of marriage when they actually want to accept them, so he is not discouraged. This proves to the reader that he is arrogant, as he has decided that Elizabeth wants to marry him, even before she refuses. She is very polite about this, which suggests that she is well-mannered and patient.
After Elizabeth has refused Mr Collins’ offer four times, Mr Collins then seems to become impatient. He begins to brag about his connections with Lady Catherine, and his wealth. This shows the readers that Mr Collins is foolish, because he has been trying to make himself seem attractive to Elizabeth by putting her down, maligning her, and boasting. Next, Mr Collins says that when Mr Bennet dies, he will take over the house, and so if Elizabeth marries him, she will be able to keep it in the family. He also says to Elizabeth: “it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage ever be made you.” All this reveals that Mr Collins is rude and tactless, because he is talking about Elizabeth’s father dying while he is trying to propose, and he is insulting Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth has to refuse him a fifth time, she is still patient with him, and does not lose her temper. She tells Mr Collins that she would like to be considered as an equal. This shows that she is rational and sensible, and most importantly, secures the reader’s knowledge that she wants to marry for love. Earlier in the novel, she tells her sister that she will not marry for money, or for convenience, and this is evident in her refusal of Mr Collins’ proposal.
The next proposal is Mr Darcy’s in Chapter 34, when Mr Darcy arrives at the house unexpectedly. Mr Darcy asked how Elizabeth was “in a hurried manner”, implying that he was not comfortable in the situation. Elizabeth answers him “with cold civility”. This is unlike her manner with Mr Collins, as she is polite and patient with him, whereas here she is cold and unfriendly. This shows that she acts differently around different people, and that she feels differently towards Mr Collins from the way she feels about Mr Darcy.
Mr Darcy paces round the room for a few minutes, and there is silence, suggesting that Mr Darcy is nervous, and that Elizabeth is being unfriendly, because she is quite capable of making conversation in other parts of the book. Mr Darcy then comes up to Elizabeth in an “agitated manner”, declares how much he loves her, and asks to marry her. Mr Darcy speaks about how marrying Elizabeth would be degradation to his position, yet without realising he is doing so, and failing to notice that he was not making himself attractive to Elizabeth while doing this. Mr Darcy’s proposal is not unlike Mr Collins’ in this instance, because he puts Elizabeth down while trying to recommend himself. Unlike Mr Collins’ proposal, however, Darcy is trying to be kind to her, and not trying to brag. This shows that although Darcy is not doing a good job of it, he is trying to show Elizabeth how much he likes her. Mr Collins had no such feelings.
When hearing this, Elizabeth first feels sorry for Darcy, but then she becomes angry, because she is being put down by him. She thinks that Darcy is only pretending to be anxious, and that he is actually confident that she will say yes to his proposal. This is one of the reasons why when she refuses Mr Darcy, unlike her refusal to Mr Collins, she is rude and ungrateful. This proves to the reader that Elizabeth is prejudiced against Mr Darcy, because although his proposal is more polite than Mr Collins’ is, and Mr Darcy loves her, whereas Mr Collins does not, she is rude to him, and she is polite to Mr Collins when he proposes.
When Elizabeth refuses Darcy’s offer, he becomes angry, proving to the reader that he often gets his own way, and cannot cope with circumstances where he does not. He does, however, try to be calm. He is obviously upset that Elizabeth has rejected him, and that she has been so rude to him. He asks her why he has been rejected. Elizabeth says that her feelings towards him had been decided, showing the reader that she is prejudiced against Darcy, and that even she thinks she is, to an extent. She asks why Darcy has told her about his feelings, and says that to doing so was against his character, which shows the reader that Elizabeth often believes she has judged someone’s character correctly, when she has not.
Throughout the next few paragraphs, Elizabeth tells Mr Darcy, at his request, why she has rejected him. She tells Darcy that Mr Wickham has told her all about him, and blames him for causing Mr Wickham’s misfortunes. She is accusing Darcy of doing all these things, because someone else has told her he did. This shows the reader that she is quick to judge.
Darcy is quite taken aback by all this, and so becomes angry. He tells Elizabeth that he was not lying, and that he truly is in love with her, but he also says that she is inferior to him, and that he does not like her relations. Elizabeth also becomes angry, and she also tries to conceal her rage. This shows for the first time that Elizabeth and Darcy are similar in character, because although they are arguing, they are both quick to anger in the circumstances, and they both try to repress their resentment. Darcy also accuses Elizabeth of being proud. This shows the readers that both Darcy and Elizabeth think that the other is proud, and if either were to overcome this pride, they would be surprised at how similar they actually were.
Throughout the two proposals, Elizabeth’s character changes significantly. When Mr Collins proposes, she remains calm and polite, despite perhaps being frustrated at his inability to realise that she is telling the truth. When Mr Darcy proposes, however, he is more polite than Mr Collins is, and genuinely has feelings for Elizabeth. Elizabeth is ruder to him than she is to Mr Collins, because she thinks that Mr Darcy is too proud. This proves that although Elizabeth is portrayed as being the heroine in the novel, she is actually wrong about many things, and she is quick to judge and to become prejudiced. The first proposal shows that Mr Collins is ignorant and selfish, and so therefore shows the contrast between his marriage to Charlotte Lucas, and Darcy and Elizabeth’s marriage. The proposals reveal that Elizabeth does not want to marry someone she does not love, and that she is quite similar in character to Mr Darcy. The reader also realises that there is a lot more to Elizabeth and Mr Darcy than is first thought.