Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth but before hand he asks Mrs Bennet. Mrs Bennet quickly hurries out of the room and insists that Elizabeth stays with Mr Collins. Mrs Bennet does this because she is aware that Mr Collins is going to propose, and she believes it is a good match because he is inheriting Longbourn. This is the same reason why she “insists” Elizabeth stays with Mr Collins. Elizabeth must stay even though she does not want to because her mother has ordered her to; it was unthinkable to disobey your parents. When Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth he uses very verbose language and a formal tone to present his views on marriage, “ He set about in a very orderly manner…a regular part of the business”. This suggests that Mr Collins sees marriage as a business transaction that is for security and not for love. “I came to Hertfordshire with the design of selecting a wife”, suggests to Elizabeth that all he wants is a wife, not particularly her. Mr Collins is also more interested in how much Elizabeth will inherit he lies to Elizabeth “To fortune I am perfectly indifferent”, he has researched how much money she will receive, “One thousand in the 4 per cents”, even after Mr Collins continues to talk about wealth. Mr Collins also uses extremely unflattering language, “I am convinced it will add greatly to my happiness”. Mr Collins cares more about his happiness than Elizabeth’s. Mr Collins’s language conveys to the reader that he is an arrogant man who cares only for himself.
Mr Collins insults Elizabeth in his proposal. The first insult he makes is that Elizabeth is “Not brought up high, but able to make a small income go a long way”, Elizabeth finds this insulting because she doesn’t have that much money. The second insult he makes is that “chose a wife form Longbourn instead of my own neighbourhood, where I assure you there are many amiable young women.” This is an insult because Mr Collins went to Longbourn out of duty. Another indication that Mr Collins wants to marry Elizabeth out of duty is that he says he wants to “Choose a wife from among his daughters, that the loss to them might be as little as possible”. Mr Collins compliments Elizabeth on her personality but not on her beauty. Elizabeth becomes more and more exasperated as Mr Collins continues because he continues to insult her, and he assumes she is going to accept his proposal, “ when we are married”. Elizabeth gets even more exasperated when Mr Collins does not accept that she has declined his offer of marriage, “ it is impossible for me to accept”, Mr Collins then continues to not believe Elizabeth until she can’t take anymore, “to accept them is absolutely impossible. My feelings in every respect forbid it. Can I speak plainer?” Elizabeth does not know how to make herself believed it conveys how exasperated she is.
Mr Collins continues to disbelieve Elizabeth’s refusal. He believes that Elizabeth is playing ‘hard to get’ and being modest, “it is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept.” Mr Collins believes Elizabeth wants to marry him. In reality he doesn’t actually understand women. Mr Collins still chooses to disbelieve Elizabeth up to the point that she has to use forceful language, “I do assure you that I am not one of those young ladies who are so daring as to risk their happiness on the chance of being asked a second time” Elizabeth tries to convince Mr Collins but she fails. Elizabeth begins to be rude towards Mr Collins, “you could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman who would make you so”. Elizabeth emphasises how Mr Collins insulted her by emphasising he would not be happy with her or she with him. Austen tries to make Mr Collins seem comical, she makes him verbose. Also he is pompous and arrogant.
When Mr Darcy proposes to Elizabeth she is very prejudiced against him, even before he enters the room, “intending to exasperate herself against Mr Darcy” shows how desperate she is to be prejudice against him. Elizabeth also tries to find faults from Jane’s letters, “They contained no actual complaint…but in almost every line there was a want of cheerfulness” Elizabeth find no complaints about Mr Darcy in the letters but she can tell that her sister is not happy. Elizabeth is prejudiced against Mr Darcy because she believes he convinced Mr Bingley not to marry Jane, she can feel her sisters pain. Mr Darcy’s actions tell us about his state of mind before he proposes to Elizabeth: “Hurried manner… he sat down for a few moments and then getting up, walked about the room.” Mr Darcy’s actions portray to us how nervous and unsure he is of Elizabeth’s answer before he proposes. Mr Darcy also moves towards Elizabeth in an “agitated manner” this indicates he is nervous and is about to say something important to her. Mr Darcy’s proposal is in direct contrast with Mr Collins’s. Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that he “admires and loves” her where Mr Collins does not. Although there is a contrast there are also some similarities: both men mention Elizabeth’s wealth.
Mr Darcy’s proposal is a great shock to Elizabeth, “Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression: she stared coloured, doubled and was silent.” Elizabeth is very surprised because he has never previously shown interest in her like Mr Collins. Mr Darcy, like Collins, indicates how Elizabeth is lower than him in status, “his sense of her inferiority of its being degradation.” He also insults Elizabeth by telling her how her loves her against his own nature, “You chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, even against your character?” Elizabeth finds this insulting because Mr Darcy is saying he shouldn’t love anyone like Elizabeth. When Elizabeth refuses Mr Darcy reacts in a very negative way and tries to hide his emotions, “His completion became pale with anger, and the disturbance of his mind was visible in every feature. He was struggling for the appearance of composure, and would not open his lips until he believed himself to attain it.” He is shocked and angry about the refusal, he tries to pretend that the rejection is not important but Elizabeth can see that it is to him. Mr Darcy is trying to hide his disappointment and anger. Mr Darcy is shocked and surprised at Elizabeth for refusing his proposal. He would be shocked because he is wealthy and normally if a woman was lower in status than the man who is proposing they would accept.
Elizabeth gives numerous reasons why she refuses Mr Darcy’s proposal. The first reason is that Mr Darcy was rude to her and insulted her in his proposal, “ I have never desired your good opinion, and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly.” This conveys to us that Elizabeth never wanted to speak to Mr Darcy and does not love him. It also shows us that Elizabeth is not impressed by the way Mr Darcy has insulted her. Elizabeth’s second reason is that she believes he interfered with Jane’s happiness, “do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining, perhaps forever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?” Elizabeth is telling Mr Darcy that even if she loved him she still would not accept, because he has interfered with Jane and Mr Bingley’s relationship. The third reason Elizabeth presents is that she does not love him or like him, “My opinion of you was decided”, Elizabeth is prejudiced against Mr Darcy. The final reason she gives is that he was unjust to Mr Wickham, “ Your character was unfolded in the recital which I received many months ago form Mr Wickham. On this subject, what can you have to say?” Elizabeth is being unjust in accusing Mr Darcy of ruining Mr Wickham’s opportunities because Mr Wickham is a liar. Elizabeth has judged Mr Darcy unfairly; I believe this because she does not know what he is like as a person because she does not know him.
When Mr Darcy leaves Elizabeth is in an emotional state, “The tumult of her mind was now painfully great. She knew not how to support herself, and from actual weakness sat down and cried for half and hour.” This indicates to the reader that Elizabeth is unsure of her feelings for Mr Darcy. Even though Elizabeth is in an emotional state she is still flattered by what he has said: “It was gratifying to have inspired unconsciously such strong affection.” Elizabeth is flattered that a man like Mr Darcy with such high status would fall in love with her and propose.
Mr Collins and Mr Darcy’s feelings for Elizabeth are in direct contrast. Mr Darcy is in love with Elizabeth and proposes to her because he wants to, “I admire and love you”. This is unlike Mr Collins who wants to marry Elizabeth because he feels it is the right thing to do because Longbourn is entailed to him. Elizabeth also feels differently about each man. Elizabeth feels that Mr Collins is not the kind of man who can make her happy, and most of all she does not love Mr Collins she sees him as a joke. This is in contrast to Mr Darcy, Elizabeth is prejudiced against him because of his supposedly unjust treatment of Jane and Mr Wickham, but after the proposal she shows signs that she is in love with him but is too afraid to admit it.
In Jane Austen’s society marriage was different from today. Marriage was for money or status and not necessarily for love. A woman who had little or no dowry to give a man was lucky to even receive a proposal, that’s why many women ended up marrying a man they did not love. This in is contrast with today’s woman: in this generation we tend to marry for love, this is because women today are more financially secure because they can work. Women had little power and were lower in status than most men; this is because men had most power. Men had more power because they could propose to a woman when a woman could not, also a man could vote and had the right to a divorce, unlike the woman and also men where more financially and economically independent than woman. Women were expected to marry younger in Jane Austen’s society also, this because when a woman is younger they’re generally more attractive and more likely to receive a proposal, also because they are more fertile when they are younger. Women also married younger to reduce the financial burden on the father and because there were little jobs available they had no real income. The morality of Jane Austen’s society was a harsh and cruel one; you could not have sex with a man before marriage. This is like Lydia and Wickham, they eloped together and lived together without being married, this brought disgrace to the Bennet family. They eventually had to be married to reduce the shame on the Bennet family. Jane Austen’s society in direct contrast to ours.
By Stephanie Batt
