As hoped for by Lizzie and Mr Bennet Mr Collins is completely absurd, he is almost laughable. During their first meal he explains to Mr Bennet that his compliments ‘are the kind of little things which please her ladyship (Lady Catherine)… which I conceive myself most peculiarly bound to pay.’ Mr Bennet shows open satire at this point and asks ‘May I ask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from impulse of the moment, or are they the result of some previous study?’ ‘They arise chiefly from what is passing… although sometimes I amuse myself with suggesting and arranging such little compliments… I always wish to give them as unstudied an air as possible.’ It is at this point that we realise what a fool Mr Collins really is; ‘Mr Bennet’s expectations are fully fulfilled. His cousin is as absurd as he had hoped…’ Mr Bennet then carries on with the conversation with ‘the keenest enjoyment, maintaining at the same time the most resolute composure of countenance.’ Mr Collins’ may think these compliments flatter people but they are more likely to make him seem more desperate than polite. Mr Bennet is the opposite of Mr Collins, he is completely reserved and prefers to watch Mr Collins make a fool of himself, rather like a comedy show in which he finds amusement.
At the start of Chapter 15 Austen gives us an acute analysis of Mr Collins’ background and personality: he is 'not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature has been but little assisted by education or society': the effect on him of his father and of 'his' condescending Lady Catherine is that he is 'a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility'. Mr Collin’s personality is shallow and petty and his conversation is riddled with talk of money and material possessions; he adores Lady Catherine and is eager to tell everyone about her. He is like a child; he boasts and seems excited about the smallest of things. His social status prior to his patronage to Lady Catherine was nothing to brag about, yet Mr Collins seems to have forgotten his previously more humble status, and instead takes great pain in telling everyone and anyone his few connections with the aristocracy. He looks down upon people who are his equals by birth right. In this description Austen also comments on his lack of sense shows that he has little sound judgement or reason.
It is also made clear the reason why Mr Collins comes to Longbourne; he has been ordered by Lady Catherine to find and marry a suitable wife, and Mr Collins comes to do just that. His decisions on who he should marry change a lot; firstly he chooses Jane, and then he suddenly changes to the young Elizabeth the following day after his arrival. His similarity to Mrs Bennet is clear in how fickle he is in his choices, ‘Mr Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth- and it was soon done- done while Mrs Bennet was stirring the fire.’ This shows how little time and persuasion it took for him to change his mind from Jane to Elizabeth.
It is that day that Mr Collins accompanies the girls to Meryton; this is where Mr Wickham is introduced. The timing of his arrival is vital to the comparison of Collins and Wickham, Mr Collin’s being almost like a reverse reflection of Mr Wickham. Collins is obsequious and proud, he has an oleaginous manner and shows excessive deference to any of those superior to him, this is quite the contrary to Mr Wickham, who is charming and relaxed and gives a perfect initial impression. The only similarity between the two is that they both show a darker side that is hidden until later in the novel.
‘His appearance was greatly in his favour; he had all the best part of beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure and a pleasing address.’ This is the narrative description of Wickham, quite unlike that of Mr Collins’ which told us simply how he was not a sensible man and it was obvious the Bennet sisters showed no attraction to him. When Mr Wickham is first mentioned he seems to overshadow Mr Collins, in fact Mr Wickham seems to show great superiority over all other men. This becomes clear when Kitty and Lydia are later looking out the window hoping to spot him and instead only see the other officers, who suddenly all become ‘stupid disagreeable fellows.
Despite the fact he is pompous and full of snobbery Mr Collins, still seems shocked by Mrs Philips’ manners and how she took him into the company so easily, whether this is a lack of knowledge of the society or whether he is simply overwhelmed by her countenance is not clear. That chapter finishes with a mention of Mr Collins’ excessive compliments yet again; this seems to accentuate his character as a fool, compared to the rest of those mentioned, such as Mr Wickham who holds a sense of mysteriousness about him. When the girls and Mr Collins go to Mrs Philip’s house, Mr Collins starts his excessive complimenting once more. He compares her apartment to one at ‘dear Rosings’ Mrs Philips seems to enjoy talking to him, and takes great interest in his boasts of his ‘humble abode.’
Yet again when Mr Wickham enters Mr Collins is overshadowed, ‘To the girls, who could not listen to their cousin… the interval of waiting appeared very long.’ And ‘That the commonest, dullest, most threadbare topic might be rendered interesting by the skill of the speaker.’ These two comments made by the girls show the blunt differences between Collins and Wickham. It is in this scene that Mr Collins becomes very insignificant, ‘With such rivals for the notice of the fair, Mr Wickham and the officers, Mr Collins seemed likely to sink into insignificance, to the young ladies he certainly was nothing.’
Mr Collins came to Longbourne to marry, and this is what he intends upon doing. When Mr Collins turns his affections towards Elizabeth, they are not slighted by Mrs Bennet- who encourages them, since she herself has no aspirations of love for her daughter, but rather the respect a ‘sensible’ marriage could offer. When Mr Collins does propose to Lizzie, it is almost like a speech that he has learnt and prepared beforehand. ‘Mr Collins made his declaration in form. Having resolved to do it without loss of time…’ His speech is extremely exaggerated and ornate; he speaks of powerful love and passion, which is a complete oddity to his character. ‘The idea of Mr Collins with all his solemn composure, being run away with his feelings, made Elizabeth very near to laughing.’ After his initial ‘poetical rush’, he launches into his reasons for wanting to marry. ‘My reasons for marrying are… it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness.’ Mr Collins even manages to fit in Lady Catherine during his ‘romantic’ wedding proposal to Elizabeth; he is completely in awe of her.
When Elizabeth refuses him, he seems to deny she has said the words at all, and seems to think that it is all part of her girlish charm. ‘It is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man who they secretly mean to accept when he first applies the favour…’ However despite his disbelief at her refusal he does try to persuade her in new ways, he starts to threaten her and insult her by way of scaring her into marrying him. ‘I shall speak in highest terms of you modesty, economy and other amiable qualifications.’ He then goes on to say ‘it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made to you.’ To this Elizabeth finally loses her temper, which Mr Collins sees as ‘uniformly charming.’ Finally Elizabeth walks out of the room ‘astonished by such perseverance in wilful self-deception,’ and goes to call upon her father’s aid.
Mr Collins ‘was not left long to the silent contemplation of his successful love’ the irony of this sentence makes a complete mockery of Mr Collins’ total stupidity and lack of self-doubt. It takes him a long time after Lizzie’s refusal to finally realise that she meant it and it was not a ‘rejection due to the usual practise of elegant females.’ And when he does, he finds it necessary to leave as soon as possible, greeting Elizabeth with a ‘stiffness of manner and resentful silence.’ However his affections have apparently already moved on ‘the assiduous attentions which he had been so sensible of himself were transferred for the rest of the day to Miss Lucas.’ The way Austen changes from his feelings for Lizzie to his feelings for Charlotte in the same paragraph is extremely clever. It shows a fickle decisiveness and volatility of nature that is present in Mr Collins. He seems to move so easily from Elizabeth to Charlotte; however his initial attentions to Charlotte seem to be nothing more than to spite Lizzie- not a very good reason to start a courtship.
There are many vital differences between Lizzie and Charlotte, which Elizabeth does not see at first- which leads to her obvious shock of Charlotte’s acceptance of Mr Collins. Charlotte is pragmatic where Lizzie is romantic, thus when Mr Collins asks her to marry him she accepts. Her fear of being left to die alone, and the fact that she is six years Elizabeth’s elder makes her ignore the fact she knows Elizabeth will be in complete disbelief. Elizabeth could never believe that her friend would fall for such an absurd and obsequious man, whose flattery and charm was just a trap. But Lizzie could not understand the pressure Charlotte felt she was under, the thought of dying an old made was one that terrified her, therefore any marriage- even one to the absurd Mr Collins would be acceptable.
When Charlotte and Mr Collins move away, Elizabeth starts to regret her rash dismissal of her friend and when Sir William goes to visit his daughter, Lizzie goes with him. When Lizzie does go to visit Mr and Mrs Collins, she discovers Charlotte, in a sad and lonely state, with a only pretence of being happy. She realises that Charlotte can never be really content in her marriage- or her solitude, since she barely makes contact with Mr Collins. ‘To work in his garden was one of his most respectable pleasures; and Elizabeth admired the command of countenance with which Charlotte… encouraged it as much as possible.’ It is here that we realise what a difference there is between Lizzie and Charlotte, in personality and ideology. Elizabeth could only ever marry for love, and she has no fear of being called an old maid, while dying single. Charlotte however is satisfied to settle for comfort rather than love, and for a companion and his money rather than a romance and happiness. Mr Collins is the representative of a man whom could have the chance of marrying simply because women of that time were terrified of the consequences if they did not. Mr Collins has money and a respectable status, despite his idiocy and insensible personality he would make a good husband to a woman who was looking for safety, rather than love.
Charlotte and Mr Collins’ relationship is in sharp contrast of Mr Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s courtship later on in the book. Darcy and Elizabeth’s love is only slowly realised, and it implies that Austen’s view on it is that love is greatly affected by the social forces that surround it. Their love is in contrast with Charlotte’s marriage; she married just for safety; because it was approved by her family. Elizabeth and Darcy however are in love, a love that defies social status and any other prejudice, and they marry simply of this basis. Austen uses Charlotte and Mr Collins to represent the more realistic marriage based just on money, where their hearts do not rule their actions. Another couple in Pride and Prejudice is Mr Wickham and Lydia. Lydia is a foolish girl, one that does not understand the simple courtesies of life. But it still comes as a dreadful shock when the Bennets find she has eloped with Mr Wickham; ‘Who everyone believed to be such a kind gentleman’. Just like Mr Collins, Wickham shows a much darker side, when he takes advantage of Lydia and steals her away.
The news of this elopement must have travelled fast, because before long Mr Collins hears about it, and feels it is his utmost ‘duty’ to send a letter of ‘condolence.’ Mr Collins’ reaction to the ‘terrible news’ if far from one of the Christian faith; he feels the need- due to his ‘relationship and situation in life,’ -to tell the Bennet family his thoughts on the matter. He thinks that ‘the death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison to this,’ the things Mr Collins says in his final letter, are extremely insulting and hurtful to the Bennet family, and it is in this letter that Jane Austen shows the other side of his character, the darker one. For a clergyman, who is supposedly understanding and kind, to say that the death of Lydia would have been preferable to the social shame she brought on the Bennets is a contradiction of terms. Mr Collins’ new found side is one that goes beyond stupidity, into the realm of spite, a morbid revelling in other people’s misfortunes. The final straw is when Mr Collins says ‘you are grievously pitied, in which opinion I am not only joined by Mrs Collins, but likewise by Lady Catherine and her daughter, to whom I have related the affair.’ Mr Collins has not only taken it upon himself to patronisingly ‘sympathise’ with the Bennets, but has also related the news to others to further their humiliation.
Despite Mr Collins not being a central character, he is still a very important figure in the book; he is a connection between Lizzie and Mr Darcy, and is an important character in the issues of marriage and love that are addressed in ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ He is also a representation of the epitome of the clergy during Jane Austen’s life. Mr Collins is also used as the opposite of some other characters, including Mr Darcy, Mr Wickham and Mr Bennet. He is compared to them, and this makes a sharp contrast making it easier to picture their characters. Austen uses Mr Collins change in personality to mirror that of Darcy’s and Mr Wickham’s. Elizabeth judges all these men wrongly, and as Mr Darcy goes up in her view, Wickham and Collins deteriorate. New sides that were once hidden can now be seen, and in Mr Wickham and Mr Collins these sides are much darker, and Collins becomes a much less laughable character. This also shows that despite Elizabeth’s superiority of nature to those around her, such as Mrs Bennet who revels in gossip and is quick to judge, Lizzie also makes mistakes, when her pride makes her blind where Mr Darcy is concerned.
Mr Collins is portrayed in certain parts of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ as a mere comic, but he is also pompous and self-satisfied, he shows excessive deference to any one who is higher in social status to him. Despite his occupation as a clergyman Mr Collins shows little Christian humility or humour. His main motive in life is to constantly discuss money, possession, income and to better his social rank. Austen shows a blunted satire towards Mr Collins, and in certain moments he is portrayed as almost pitiful, his social status despite being superior to some is not to be envied. Mr Collins is constantly oppressed by those superior to him, such as Lady Catherine, and his lack of hindsight makes him a foolish man, who shows many sides throughout Pride and Prejudice, some of which are qualities to be envied. However it is towards the end of Pride and Prejudice that Mr Collins stops being a comic character and shows a hidden darker side that is most unlikely in a ‘man of the church.’
