Elizabeth is now very annoyed of his arrogance, she is agitated and wants to escape as she was 'vexed and embarrassed'. Collins' opening statement is simply flattery, but the way he just runs it out shows us that he has been practicing. He tells her that he chose her out of her other sisters, which is a lie as he only chose Elizabeth after he realized that she may be married soon. He is false and artificial, "but before I runaway with my feelings on this subject". Collins has no real feelings towards Elizabeth, and there is certainly nothing passionate or romantic about his list of reasons for marrying him, which are that it is his duty as a clergyman to set "the example of matrimony in his parish"; marriage will add to his happiness, which seems a bit selfish; and that Lady Catherine has advised him to marry. He talks about "when we are married", rather than if. Elizabeth is clever in that she suggests that Lady Catherine wouldn't approve of her, but he dismisses this as a reason. After she has refused him for the second time he still thinks she is joking, and gives another list of reasons why she should marry him.
``You are too hasty, Sir,'' she cried. ``You forget that I have made no answer. Let me do it without farther loss of time. Accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me, I am very sensible of the honor of your proposals, but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than decline them.'' We can already see Lizzy has no intentions what so ever to marry Mr. Collins. ``I am not now to learn,'' replied Mr. Collins, with a formal wave of the hand, ``that 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 favor; 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.'' Elizabeth is now even more annoyed of Mr. Collins stubbornness and she thinks of him nothing more than a self-centered person and that he thinks he’s a know-it-all. ``Upon my word, Sir,'' cried Elizabeth, ``your hope is rather an extraordinary one after my declaration. I do assure you that I am not one of those young ladies (if such young ladies there are) who are so daring as to risk their happiness on the chance of being asked a second time. I am perfectly serious in my refusal. -- You could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who would make you so, -- Nay, were your friend Lady Catherine to know me, I am persuaded she would find me in every respect ill qualified for the situation.'' She tells Mr. Collins she is not like other women, also that he cannot make her happy and she is the last woman in the world who would do so.
Jane Austen makes Elizabeth sound very polite, she is still a woman and in the 18th century women would not speak to men in a bad tone, also it is not ladylike of her to do so she stays calm and collective and still gets her point across. Mr. Collins is presented like a very enthusiastic character and is very arrogant thinks everything will just work out as planned. He is made to look like a very stubborn person and a know-it-all. He thinks women will beg at his feet to marry. Jane Austen adds a bit of humor by producing such a character like Mr. Collins. He is a very dull type of person and doesn’t know that he’s been rejected even if it slapped him on the face
Mr. Darcy met Jane in the Meryton ball. They enjoyed each other's company and danced together. But there was an inappropriate interference by Mr. Darcy who thought Jane and Mr. Bingley's relationship was unsuitable. Mr. Bingley moved to London on the say of Mr. Darcy. This shows how influenced Mr. Bingley is by people like Mr. Darcy who is a very powerful character.
Mr. Darcy is socially superior and this is evident at the beginning at the Meryton ball. He stands and dresses in a particular style and he kept his distance from anyone he didn't particularly know. He has contact with very few people, so he is isolated. He feels it is below him to dance. When Mr. Bingley asks if he should be introduced to Elizabeth, he says: "She is tolerable: but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men." His first impressions of her are negative and this shows his arrogance because he doesn't know much about Elizabeth until he meets her but judges her only by rank. He is rude and bitter towards her; this shows how cold his character is. Jane Austen created his character to comment on how important class was.
From the very beginning of Pride and Prejudice we get a very negative impression of Darcy to show us that social expectations are very different between the two characters. When Elizabeth and Darcy meet for the second time, the dynamics of their relationship changes. When Darcy sees Elizabeth walking from Long bourn to Nether field to take care of her sister he is impressed and thinks she is very independent. The more responsive he becomes in his speech the more she insults him and this pleases him because he likes to see she is a courageous character. His interest in her strengthens by this and this leads to his proposal.
The proposal scene begins in a negative manner as Elizabeth has just discovered in the scene before that Darcy caused distress towards Jane by urging Mr. Bingley to move to London, away from the Bennet's. Elizabeth is compassionate towards her sister. This shows that Elizabeth is a very caring person and is prepared to put others before herself. Elizabeth is alone in the parlor when Darcy comes in. She is surprised to see him. Darcy came in and was very nervous. He inquires about the health of her and her family. As Darcy wanders around the room, Elizabeth "answered him with cold civility." This shows that this proposal will not work and Darcy wandering around the room shows his nervousness. He then declares his love for her. It is short, sharp and full of emotion he's being honest and passionate.
Mr. Darcy’s proposal starts off "In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." This shows he is nervous and disturbed by his feelings and how desperate he is to let his feelings out. This proposal is rushed but full of feeling. It leaves Elizabeth feeling stunned. She had no idea that Darcy felt this way towards her. He is being honest and her reaction gives hope because she is affected by his sudden outburst, which is full of feeling.
Elizabeth's is astonished and speechless. She has forced herself to hate him as he had troubled her sister. But there was a certain interest between the two characters. Her reaction was prepared; as she knew she was going to cause him hurt. "She was at first sorry for the pain she was going to cause" This gives the reader a negative feeling that this proposal is not going to be successful. His attachment to her must be very strong as he says he is sacrificing his position in society and is boasting about it as if he's done more than she is worthy of. He doesn't really know Elizabeth but is attracted to her because she is original and self-determining. She is disturbed but fascinated by this man. He has done nothing that she could use as an excuse to get married to him. “It is natural that obligation should be felt, and if I could feel gratitude, I would now thank you. But I cannot-" This illustrates Elizabeth's courage in forming down such a prosperous future. Elizabeth forcefully says that she cannot feel appreciation towards him and it is clearly said. She doesn't want to cause him pain but this feeling is wiped out by what he says to her about having to overcome the idea of an inferior marriage.
Mr. Darcy was forcing himself to stay calm and relaxed because he was so puzzled that she had rejected his proposal. "Mr. Darcy, who was leaning against the mantel-piece…At length in a voice of forced calmness he said."
He was in control as his posture was tranquil, but he began to feel tense, as he grew angrier. He was in control at the beginning because he felt it was Elizabeth's privilege to marry him, just as Mr. Collins did. Both men were certain that Elizabeth would accept their proposals and her refusal surprised both of them. Mr. Darcy is particularly disturbed, he says "And this is all the reply which I am to have the honor of expecting! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why with so little Endeavour at civility, I am thus rejected. But it's of small importance."
Mr. Darcy's expectations were not going to be fulfilled by Elizabeth. He says 'honor' because he thinks she is lucky to be proposed to by someone with wealth and reputation. He is angered by the fact that she refused; this is completely different to how Mr. Collins reacted because he wasn't angry after he was rejected. This shows that Mr. Collins had never loved Elizabeth so he didn't care about her refusal. This also emphasizes the measure of tremendous affection Mr. Darcy has for Elizabeth underneath.
Elizabeth is really offended and outraged that according to Mr. Darcy status is significant in a relationship. She is angry so she challenges him. "I might as well enquire', she replied, 'why with so evident design of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your reason and even against your character? Was not this some excuse for incivility if I was uncivil?" She is saying that he is going against his reasons for an ideal marriage but is still proposing to her.
Jane Austen presents the proposal of Mr. Darcy not in a very typical way for 18th century people it is odd for a higher class person to ask for a person like Elizabeth for her hand in marriage. It is even more unlikely that a person of Elizabeth’s class to refuse an offer made by Mr. Darcy.
Wickham and Lydia's marriage is also one of little "understanding of one another's characters," no "good dispositions," no "similarity in feeling and taste" and as we later find out, there is no "financial security" either. The initial attraction was based on good looks and affection for one another. But after the initial attraction, Mr. Wickham becomes disinterested in Lydia and this is even more of a problem. Lydia doesn't understand the shame she has brought upon her family and boasts that all her sisters should "look up" to her because she is a "married woman.
Overall I think the marriage system in Pride and Prejudice is very typical of the 18th century period. If you were a person of high standard and class, the chances of getting married were very likely at the time. It was also very rare for someone to turn down an offer made by a person so wealthy. Another obvious marriage scheme we see is by Wickham and Lydia’s marriage. They were attracted to each other by looks Lydia goes for Wickham because he’s in a soldiers suite, and Wickham for Lydia because she’s a young lady. They ran away and done something which is not expected from people of such high class. It did happen at the time but mainly by working class people, it was not often for it to be seen by people like Lydia and Wickham. This brought shame upon the Bennet family and now Lydia and Wickham has to get married, Lydia being a young and impractical girl does not know what is going on, but Mr. Wickham now regrets getting married to Lydia seeing as how dim-witted she is, likewise Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Bennet is now stuck with her and spends most his time in the library away from Mrs. Bennet and her annoying yelling and screaming. Also Elizabeth and Jane getting a marriage proposal from people like Bingley and Darcy was very unlikely.
