In my opinion if you look at the way Mr and Mrs. Bennet act around and towards each other, it has a strong connection to the statement “ All men in possession of a small fortune must be in want of a wife”. If we look closely at what Mr Bennet says to Mrs Bennet we can detect that not only is there a hint of sarcasm and mockery in the way he speaks to Mrs Bennet we can sense that there could be some weariness in the way he speaks to her, almost as though he wishes that he wasn’t married to her or perhaps even married at all. So by looking at the statement and then and then at the Bennets’ relationship there is a controversial difference between the two. This also is quite important when we look
Another example of the way Mr Darcy is portrayed negatively is found later on in chapter 3 when Mr Bingley is trying to persuade him to dance with Elizabeth; Mr Darcy turns quickly to Elizabeth, until catching her eye, and then back to Mr Bingley and says “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me”. Again Mr Darcy is thinking that he is above his company by saying that Elizabeth is not good enough for him. This is a bad decision made by Mr Darcy because Elizabeth overhears his rudeness and then tells Mrs Bennet. Mrs Bennet seems so angered and hurt by what Mr Darcy has said about her daughter that we feel sorry for Mrs Bennet and feel more angry and negative towards Mr Darcy. Also this relates to the title of the novel. The prejudice Mr Darcy shows offends Elizabeth and affects her pride.*
We get a further insight into Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley’s friendship. This is given to us by the omniscient narrator. It is explained that the two have a very steady friendship, although, there is a huge contrast in character between them, for instance, Mr Darcy is not very easy going he is stubborn and he feels uncomfortable being with people that he considers to be lower than himself. We know this because earlier in the book he does not want to dance or join in because of his high standards. However Mr Bingley is the complete opposite, he is a very easy going person and he is not that shy of being around people he does not yet know properly and likes to meet new people. This part of the book reveals some more personal information about Mr Darcy, because he comes across as a very firm character some people may interpret this as he is a shy person that hides his true feelings and emotions behind his character. This could be one reason why Mr Darcy is such a nasty character simply because he is shy.*
In chapter 6 everyone is gathered for the Lucas’ ball, and Jane Austen, again, uses the omniscient narrator to describe Mr Darcy’s feelings towards Elizabeth , the narrator says “Mr Darcy had, at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; but no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good feature on her face than he began to find that it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression in her dark eyes” This quote shows that Mr Darcy has now changed his mind about how he feels about Elizabeth from the beginning of the book until now. It also shows that Mr Darcy’s emotions have changed a lot throughout the book. He is no longer the cold cruel character the writer first made him out to be, we are seeing a more caring side to Mr Darcy.*
However Mr Darcy is later having a conversation with Elizabeth and Elizabeth says to him “Did you not think that I expressed myself uncommonly well just now when I was teasing colonel Foster into giving us a ball an Meryton?” Mr Darcy replies “with great energy, but it is a subject which always makes a lady energetic”. Darcy has just stated that women always makes a lady energetic”. Mr Darcy has just stated that women always make themselves energetic to get something they want and that Elizabeth has done nothing special. This is quite rude and cold of Mr Darcy and so more negative feelings are created towards him.*