However Elizabeth is by no means the worst character in the book, on the contrary, she is shown to be a very good-natured women who is empathic and caring i.e. she walks three miles by herself to stay with and look after her sick sister Jane, she shares Jane’s happiness when she is with Bingley and she stops her teasing of Darcy in Ch 18 when she sees that her mentioning of Wickham has upset him - “…and Elizabeth though blaming herself for her own weakness could not go on.”
Mr Bennet also describes Lizzy as “having something more of quickness than her sisters” i.e. she is intelligent and strong-willed. Elizabeth is also similar to Mr Bennet in the fact that they both enjoy a laugh and speak their minds.
Elizabeth is very much in touch with her emotions, which is displayed in the fact that she wouldn’t just marry for financial or materialistic comfort but for love. Elizabeth, with her warm-heartedness, is romantically inclined and is not interested in her society’s expectations of marriage. This is proven when she refuses Mr Collin’s offer of marriage. When Charlotte Lucas says that happiness in marriage is purely a matter of chance she finds such a notion ridiculous and “not-sound.”
Charlotte, nevertheless, is quite fixed in her opinion of marriage. A dear friend to Elizabeth, Charlotte is a mature woman of twenty seven and is the eldest daughter of Sir William Lucas. We are first introduced to her in Chapter five where we learn that she is “a sensible, intelligent young woman.” So already we can see a similarity between her and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is very forward which is obvious with people such as Darcy. Charlotte, in comparison, is a placid individual. She is polite and civil towards everybody and is described by Bingley to be a “very pleasant young woman.” Mrs Bennet agrees with him but tells him “…but you must own she is very plain, Lady Lucas herself has often so, and envied me Jane’s beauty.” It appears that Charlotte isn’t as attractive as the Bingley girls and is also seen as being unlikely to marry. In Ch 18 for instance, after Mrs Bennet has shared with Lady Lucas her expectation that Jane would be soon married to Mr Bingley, she concludes “with many good wishes that Lady Lucas might be equally as fortunate, though evidently and triumphantly believing there was no chance of it.” Lady Lucas probably thought the same - “…and Lady Lucas who had been long yawning at the repetitions of delights which she saw no likelihood of sharing was left to the comforts of cold ham and chicken.” So we’ve gathered that Charlotte is a bit boring and conventional but she also possesses a traditional yet rational opinion of marriage. In Ch 6 she tells Lizzy that Jane had better show more affection for Bingley than she feels in order to “fix” him. This appears to be a somewhat competitive mindset which would have been common back in those days when there was pressure on women to marry. Charlotte then goes on to say that “it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life” as this risks the relationship ending before marriage, which is the main goal of women such as Charlotte. It looks like Charlotte is willing to overlook any kind of emotional intimacy in order to achieve her goal. It also seems that a mutually respectful and meaningful relationship is not one of Charlotte’s objectives; she merely wants to conform to her society’s “rules” of marrying a well-off man. This desire for conformity is well-expressed in her sudden and unexpected engagement to Mr Bennet’s cousin, the recently ordained clergyman, Mr Collins!
We first hear of Mr Collins’s existence in Ch 13 whenever Mr Bennet reads a letter sent by him to Longbourn. Mr Collins is Mr Bennet’s closest male relative therefore he will inherit the Longbourn estate whenever he dies. He writes about this entail in his letter, in which we receive impressions of Mr Collins strange character. For instance, he makes a big deal out of the fact that he does not wish to disrespect his dead father, that he is in possession of a “valuable rectory”, and that he flatters himself with “highly commendable, overtures of good-will.” Whenever he arrives at Longbourn (on his own invitation oddly enough!) we learn that he is “a tall, heavy-looking man of five-and-twenty” and that “his air was grave and stately and his manners were very formal.” Mr Collins is “not inclined to be silent” and speaks a lot to the Bennet’s. Throughout the novel he appears to be very eager to please others and make a good impression i.e. whenever it appears that he may have offended Mrs Bennet in regards to her making the meal he continues to apologise for “about a quarter of an hour.” In addition, at the start of Ch 15 he is described as being “a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance, and humility” and his behaviour is quite amusing to Mr Bennet whose expectations of his cousin are fully answered whenever he learns that he suggests and arranges “elegant” compliments to be used in everyday conversations with people – “His cousin was absurd as he had hoped.” Mr Collins vanity and desire to impress may be a consequence of his unpopularity. This is shown in many occasions i.e. whenever Mrs Phillips (Elizabeth’s aunt) had invited him to a ball it says “…he had never met with so much attention in the whole course of his life” and when he is at the ball he “sinks into insignificance; to the young ladies he certainly was nothing.” Mr Collins’s “servility and self importance” may just be his way of getting attention and pleasing his ego. As a result, other people have to suffer by being in his company.
Elizabeth is undoubtedly one of these people. From his letter she suspects him to be an “oddity” and is certainly not disappointed whenever she meets him. However she gets a bit more special attention than her sisters from Mr Collins. Why? – “Having now a good house and very sufficient income he intended to marry, and in seeking a reconciliation with the Longbourn family he had a wife in view, as he meant to chuse one of the daughter’s.” His first choice was Jane but after learning from Mrs Bennet that she was “likely to be very soon engaged” he sets his sights on Elizabeth. Lizzy then begins to notice his growing affection towards her and she soon becomes aware of the likelihood of him asking her to be his wife. Not a very nice prospect for Elizabeth who is not in the slightest bit interested in him.
It is in Ch 19 that Mr Collins finally makes his offer. After flattering Elizabeth he tells her his reasons for marrying – to set the example of matrimony in his parish, to add to his happiness and to please his patroness who he has (as we have already discovered) an unmistakeable fondness for. It’s interesting to see that these three reasons don’t have much to do with Elizabeth, further showing us Mr Collins vanity and self-importance. During his speech Elizabeth remains silent but when he has finished she tries to let Mr Collins know how she feels and because of her good-nature tries to let him down gently but Mr Collins is oblivious to her sincerity. He believes that Lizzy is only encouraging him – “I know it to be a custom of your sex to reject man on his first application.” Elizabeth, understandably, starts to get frustrated with him. Mr Collins thinks to well of himself which is made very clear whenever he tells Elizabeth “My situation in life, my connections with the family of de Bourgh, and my relationship to your own are circumstances highly in my favour.” He just cannot understand why she is refusing. “To such perseverance in wilful self-deception Elizabeth could make no reply.” From this encounter, we can certainly empathise with Elizabeth who has tried to put him down without being offensive – again, this reveals to us her generous character. Mrs Bennet however, believes she is being “headstrong and foolish” whenever she learns of her refusal. Yes, Lizzy has her opinion which she sticks to but she isn’t foolish, she is just independent. Because of this, she refuses to be pressurised by her mother into accepting Mr Collins. How does Mr Collins feel about it? Well his pride has been hurt but he gets over it. Actually it doesn’t take long for him to make another proposal but this time it is to Charlotte Lucas!
During the days that followed Mr Collins first proposal, he gave Elizabeth the “cold shoulder” and decided to give his attention to Charlotte Lucas who was kind enough to listen to him. But of course Charlotte has an ulterior motive- “This was very amiable, but Charlotte’s kindness extended farther than Elizabeth had any conception of; - its object was nothing else than to secure from any return of Mr Collin’s addresses, by engaging them towards herself. Such was Miss Lucas’s scheme.” She really did have it all planned out and sure enough Mr Collins went to Lucas Lodge one morning “to throw himself at her feet.” Clearly Charlotte has no genuine interest in Mr Collins. She thinks him to be “neither sensible nor agreeable.” She also believes that “his society was irksome and his attachment to her must be imaginary.” It appears that Charlotte has had her happy, or rather “satisfactory” ending and has accepted him “solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment.” I can’t help but feel some sympathy for Charlotte, she has allowed her desire for conformity to come before her emotional needs and her cold and manipulative way of gaining Mr Collins’s affection reveals to us the lengths she was prepared to go in order to secure a rich husband and an “honourable provision.” This is exactly what Elizabeth thinks whenever she learns of her engagement to Mr Collins. Elizabeth was aware that Charlotte had a different opinion of marriage than her own but didn’t think she would be willing to sacrifice so much in order to achieve it. Charlotte is undoubtedly sincere whenever she tells Elizabeth that she is not romantic.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” Both Elizabeth and Charlotte acknowledge this but Lizzy also respects her feelings and emotional needs whereas Charlotte has a more cold and calculated approach to matrimony which is proven whenever she makes the cut and dried statement “happiness in marriage is purely a matter of chance.” Both women stick to their views, which is made very clear whenever Mr Collins enters their lives. When Elizabeth finally confronts Charlotte about the engagement it appears that their friendship may never be the same again – “...Elizabeth felt persuaded that no real confidence could ever subsist between them again.” “Heart vs. Head” aptly describes the differences in Charlotte’s and Elizabeth’s attitudes towards matrimony. The traditionalist Charlotte who lets her head do the talking vs. the free spirit Elizabeth who follows her heart.
