The Marriage Proposals in Pride and Prejudice.

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Throughout Pride and prejudice, written by Jane Austen, both Collins and Darcy make proposals of marriage to Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Second oldest daughter of the Bennet household. Collins makes one unsuccessful proposal, while Darcy makes two proposals, the second being accepted by Elizabeth. This second Proposal, compared to the earlier two, highlight the change his character has undergone during the novel.

Darcy’s first proposal is curt and self-centred. He tells Elizabeth that his feelings “cannot be repressed”, showing his arrogance when dealing with women, and his ignorance in all matters of love. The point of this first proposal is to show his character progression and to highlight the changes his character goes through. It was also Elizabeth’s pride that prevented her accepting

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Collins, only making one proposal, is very self-confident due to his job security and confidence in his faith. His quote “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” shows his total lack of experience in the art of love, despite his insincere, self-centered, and pompous proposal, it never occurred to Mr. Collins that he was in any danger of Elizabeth’s rejection, simply because his position in life was ...

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