He says this to Mr Bingley who is commenting on the looks of the women there and how he should dance with Elizabeth. This shows how Mr Darcy feels that Elizabeth is beneath him and that she is not good enough for a man of his power and wealth. Elizabeth overhears this and later on retells the story with humour on her part. This shows how she does not look up to people higher than her in society. She is able to find humour in what they say and she doesn’t mind what they think about her. Elizabeth and Darcy are well suited because he finds that he likes her confident, fiery spirit and her lack of interest in what others think of her. He finds that he likes her intelligent answers and rebuts.
"Elizabeth, having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at his gallantry; but there was a mixture of sweetness arch ness in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody; and Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. He really believed that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger." (ch.10). Mr Darcy thinks this after he asks Elizabeth a question which she makes no answer to and when he repeats, she replies that she heard the first time but that she knew that what ever answer she made, he would have the pleasure in despising her taste. To this remark, Mr Darcy was quite taken with surprise.
The first time Darcy proposed to Elizabeth, he expected her to accept his had in marriage.
‘He concluded with representing to her the strength of that attachment which, in spite of all his endeavours, he had found impossible to conquer; and expressing the hope that it to would now be rewarded with the acceptance of his hand.’ (Page 157, chapter 11 v2)
Darcy has been so used to getting his own way that way that he expected her to be delighted at the chance. Instead he receives an unexpected decline. In this scene especially, Lizzy shows where her priorities lie. She has little care for money as she does for love. Darcy asks for her had in marriage quite forcefully and rudely. Though the shock he gained after his big blow, for once in his life, he had to work for something; it would not be handed out on a plate. This makes Darcy want Elizabeth even more and in the end his success is well earned and honourable. Elizabeth's rebukes after his first proposal to her help him to recognize his faults of pride and social prejudice. It is, in fact, precisely because Elizabeth is not so inhibited by his high social status to be afraid to criticize his character that he is attracted to her. The self-knowledge acquired from Elizabeth's rebukes and the desire to win Elizabeth's love spur him to change and judge people less by their social class and more by their character.
Darcy and Elizabeth are well suited for each other as they both enjoy intellectual conversations and a good debate. Elizabeth wrongly judges Darcy in the beginning of the novel after Mr Wickham tells Lizzy about the jealousy and cruelty he had faced by Mr Darcy. Lizzy believes him which shows that she can sometimes have poor judgement of a character. Lizzy in the beginning, admires and fancies Wickham but as the book progresses, she begins to see his true colours.
Mr Wickham is a handsome member of the militia. In the beginning of the novel there is undoubtedly some chemistry between Elizabeth and Mr Wickham. Wickham is quickly judged to be a good and agreeable man because of his sociability and the effortlessness of his manners. He initially shows a preference for Elizabeth, and she is pleased by his attentions and inclined to believe his story about Darcy. Yet while Wickham has the appearance of goodness and virtue, this appearance is deceptive and false. His true colours begin to show through his attachment to Miss King for purely mercenary purposes (she has ten thousand pounds) and then through Darcy's exposition of his past and through his elopement with Lydia, deceiving her to believe that he intends to marry her.
Lydia is the youngest of all the daughters and is favoured by Mrs Bennet because the two have such similar characteristics. Lydia is a foolish, loud mouthed girl who it flirtatious given up to idleness and the enjoyment of every whim. Lydia is infatuated with the officers in the regiment, and sees no purpose to life beyond entertainment and men. She is a silly girl who lacks any sense of decorum, virtue or good-judgment, as seen in her elopement with Wickham and her complete lack of remorse afterward.
‘Lydia was Lydia still; untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy and fearless. She turned from sister to sister, demanding their congratulations, and when they at length all sat down, took notice in some little alteration and observed, with a laugh, that it was a great while since she had been there’.( p259, chapter9 Volume 3)
This shows how inconsiderate and unthoughtful Lydia was. While she had admiration and ‘love’ for Wickham, her unobservant characteristics stop her from seeing the truth behind her marriage. Wickham had no intention of marriage until he was made an offer for having his debts paid off if he married her. In the end, Lydia’s elopement provides an opportunity for Darcy to prove his value to Elizabeth. He convinces Wickham to marry Lydia, by offering him a large sum of money. When Elizabeth learns of his charitable and considerate deed, she realizes how wrong she his been in her judgement of him and realises her feelings for Darcy. When she sees Darcy again, she apologises and informs him of her appreciation. Darcy’s response to Elizabeth’s humility is to propose to her once again. This time Elizabeth eagerly accepts, bringing the plot to its natural climax.
Lydia and Wickham’s marriage is not one of love or security on the part of her side. Lydia has more feelings for Wickham than he has for her which really does reveal Wickham’s greed. Lydia and Wickham have a marriage made out of lust, though in the novel, Lydia seems to have more lust for him than he has in return. Lydia is unaware of this. Though she may seem happy at the end of the story, I think that she would have had to put up with an adulterous husband in the future.
Jane Bennet is the oldest of five. She is renounced for her beauty. Jane is a gentle and sensitive girl who could be seen as naïve as Jane only likes to see the good in people and never has suspect of anyone. Jane and Lizzy are very good friends, despite their differences in character. Jane is also a romantic which allows the two sisters to fantasise about their ideal husband or latest admirer of the time. Jane is not as critical as Lizzy and her gentle spirit can be seen as a shield for her sister’s contentious nature. Elizabeth at times feels that Jane is oblivious to the bad intentions of the Bingley sisters. ‘oh! You are a great deal too apt , you know, to like people in general. While she may be quiet, Jane is the first to see through Wickham and see that Darcy is the genuine of the two.
Bingley can be described as the perfect match for Jane. Bingley is a gentle hearted and kind man who is both physically and mentally attracted to Jane. Jane and Bingley’s temperaments are well suited. Bingley seeks guidance in Mr Darcy as Jane does in Lizzy. Bingley is persuaded to stop the relationship between him and Jane after Darcy tells him to, but after Darcy tells him that she is a good match, he wastes no time in proposing to her. Bingley is a kind and generous man who let Jane stay at his house until she was well again. While their marriage is based on love and friendship, if Bingley had not proposed to Jane, she may have been forced into a marriage for security.
Mr and Mrs Bennet’s marriage is like a pair of old shoes. They are comfortable with each other and know each others limits. Mr Bennet has great fun in winding up Mrs Bennet but he also has pleasure in making her happy. Some people may think that their marriage is superficial and disastrous. I think that their marriage is successful and more loving than many other marriages of that time. While they may seem to be complete opposites, Mr Bennet is quite easy gong whereas Mrs Bennet is always complaining about her nerves; they understand one another and seem to have a lead a fairly happy marriage.
The theme of marriage in this novel is significant to its context. Marriage insured the security of women, for example Charlotte Lucas married Mr Collins for security not love, and social respect for men. Jane Austen shows three aspects of reasons for marriage and allows the reader an insight into marrying for the wrong reasons. Marriage for love seems to show the most successful marriages, though since both Bennet sisters also married into money, it could also be seen as convenient. Marriage for lust can be illustrated by Wickham and Lydia. Their marriage is soon seen be the readers to be unsuccessful and shallow. Marriage for security however is not really frowned upon, as Charlotte Lucas seems perfectly content and happy. Jane Austen wants to show that as Charlotte is not a romantic, marriage for security is a suitable thing for her. She also empathises that love is a very special thing and hard to find. Since so many people in those days married for security, Austen wants to let people know how unique love is and how fortunate people are to find it. Austen portrays people reasons for marriage and points out that some people are satisfied with marrying for security but the ones who marry for love are happier.
Mrs Bennet is relieved when she has three daughters married as she no longer has to worry about entailment. Entailment meant that Mr Collins would inherit Longbourn and that if her daughters were not married off, they would have to rely on the charity of Mr Collins which is why she is so desperate for Lizzy to marry him. Now that she has three daughters married, the remaining two have less pressure and ca marry for love rather than wealth as the elder two daughters had married very well.
The theme of marriage in this novel is recurring which symbolises how important it was seen in society. Women would marry for security which made Lizzy and Jane’s marriages so special and rare. Austen shows how marrying for love rather than just wealth can have greater benefits. Both Jane and Lizzy married for love and into wealth which would keep both parents happy. Austen makes it clear that Lydia’s marriage will not be successful by showing that Wickham is not very interested in her. Though Charlotte Lucas did not marry for love but for security, Austen does show that one can still be satisfied but there is an emphasis on the unity of two people in love and that they will be more happy and satisfied.
