Collins shows up for a visit in part because Lady Catherine encouraged it, but his greater ambition relates to his inheritance of the Longbourn estate. In addition to inheriting the property, he is also keen on inheriting one of the Bennet daughters. In a comical scenario that pokes fun at the courting process (or lack thereof), we see that Collins initially intends to propose marriage to Jane. However, when he discovers that Jane has feelings for Bingley, his sights shift immediately to Elizabeth, and he makes a quick proposal to her. There is no courtship even remotely involved; he pompously assumes that he is a prize and that these women will jump at the chance to accept his proposal. And the sad part is that he is partially right. From a financial perspective, the connection would be extremely helpful to the Bennet family. The estate would stay in the family (as Elizabeth would reside there), and one of the Bennet daughters would be financially taken care of. This arrangement would make Mrs. Bennet exceedingly happy, as one of her five daughters would be taken care of for life. In spite of her mother’s wishes, however, Elizabeth cannot accept Mr. Collins’s proposal. The prospect of marrying Collins is laughable to her, and it is completely counter to her ambition to marry for love.
Demonstrating his love for Elizabeth, his desire to see her happy, and his respect for her intelligence, Mr. Bennet gives his opinion on the matter in one of the great lines of the novel: “An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents.—Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.” This scene demonstrates Mr. Bennet’s qualities as a caring father, who values Elizabeth’s future happiness. Indeed, in this regard Mr. Bennet is a free thinker. He is a part of this new society that is progressive in its thinking about the genders and about marriage. Elizabeth’s refusal of Collins and her father’s reaction to it are pioneering moments for Jane Austen’s time. Mrs. Bennet’s reaction, however, is connected to old English attitudes about marriage, where love does not factor in the equation.
Also part of the old social order is Collins’s next move when he makes another proposal to the family friend and neighbor Charlotte Lucas. Charlotte (like most women of Austen’s day) understands that this may be her only chance in life to receive a proposal, and she accepts for practical reasons, not love. Austen presents us with an old social order (in Charlotte) and a new order (in Elizabeth). Since Austen herself was rumored to have declined at least one marriage proposal, we might view Elizabeth’s refusal of Collins as somewhat autobiographical.
During Mr. Collins’ stay at Longbourn, Elizabeth makes the acquaintance of a Mr. Wickham, a soldier temporarily stationed in nearby Meryton. Social-class issues come back into play as Elizabeth learns that Wickham knows Darcy and that the latter supposedly cheated the former out of a promised inheritance. Being only a soldier was a position in society that would have been held by second and third sons from landed families and members of the middle class who had no inheritance or fortune to support them. Wickham is resentful of Darcy and clearly feels the sting of class inferiority. Elizabeth is quick to give credence to Wickham’s claims, and so we see her feelings for Darcy continue to sour.
As the story within the story goes, Wickham’s father had been Mr. Darcy’s steward, and when the senior Wickham had passed, Darcy was to have taken care of Wickham financially. Wickham’s tale is that he had been raised for a position in the clergy. Darcy was his godfather, and had promised him the living at Rosings Park (now given to Collins). Wickham concludes that Darcy “hates him” and the unfortunate circumstances left Wickham no alternative but to enlist as a soldier. Wickham spends a great deal of energy spreading these rumors hoping to tarnish Darcy’s reputation. These allegations fuel Elizabeth’s poor opinion of Darcy. Egotistically, Wickham concludes that Darcy acted this way out of jealousy.
On the heels of Wickham’s claims about Darcy’s socially superior attitude, the Bennet sisters begin to sense that Darcy and Bingley might be looking down their noses at them. One minute—at a ball thrown by Bingley—Jane is more attached to her host than ever, and there is a clear implication that a proposal of marriage will soon be delivered. As well, Darcy appears to have more substantial romantic feelings for Elizabeth. But in the next instant, Elizabeth receives a puzzling letter from Bingley’s sister Caroline stating that the whole group has left Netherfield and gone to London, and they have no plans to return. The letter states that Charles has business that will detain him indefinitely, and the rest of the group followed to keep him company. There is a hint in the letter that the group looks forward to meeting up with Darcy’s sister Georgiana, and that she is intended to be Charles’s bride. This news is devastating to Jane, and the Bennet sisters have no alternative but to speculate that to the Bingley’s and Darcy’s, the Bennet’s are not financially or socially adequate.
The following spring, a plan is hatched for Elizabeth to visit Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins at their home in Kent, adjoining Rosings Park. While there, Elizabeth visits Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the patroness that Collins earlier could not stop bragging about. Lady Catherine is pretentious and presents herself as stern and intimidating, but in a foreshadowing moment, Elizabeth is not fazed by her. Elizabeth is, however, surprised when Darcy appears unexpectedly, there to visit his aunt.
Unable to contain either her moxie or her pride, Elizabeth continues to stand up to Darcy. Ironically, however, her intelligent wit and cold distancing of Darcy only further kindle his romantic feelings for her. Since Elizabeth is anything but submissive, Darcy’s attraction to her shows that he values her stubbornness, her intelligence, and her lack of subservience. A man ahead of his time, he is not looking for a servant, but rather a woman of capability, a partner in the modern sense. But his chances of pleasing her are considerably lessened when Elizabeth learns from Darcy’s cousin, a Colonel Fitzwilliam, that it was Darcy all along who influenced Bingley to flee from both Netherfield and Jane Bennet. Furthermore, the colonel confirmed Darcy’s low opinion of the Bennet family by unwittingly sharing with Elizabeth that Darcy “lately saved [Bingley] from the inconveniences of a most imprudent marriage.”
Not knowing that the conversation between the colonel and Elizabeth had taken place, Darcy pays an abrupt visit to Elizabeth and confesses, “In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Elizabeth is stunned. As we might expect from a proto-feminist, she confronts him, citing both the influence Darcy had over Bingley to leave Netherfield (and Jane Bennet) and the information she had received about Wickham. On the former count, Darcy doesn’t deny the charge about Bingley. Firmly establishing his elite position in the social hierarchy (and confirming Elizabeth’s notions about his feelings of social superiority), Austen has Darcy state, “Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections? To congratulate myself on the hope of relations, whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?” With her suspicions about Darcy’s arrogance seemingly confirmed, Elizabeth rejects the marriage proposal, and the two separate angrily.
A short time later Elizabeth receives a letter from Darcy that presents his defense. On the matter of Bingley, Darcy elaborates that he believed that Jane did not share Charles’ strong feelings, and so he influenced Bingley to spare him from what Darcy anticipated would be a world of heartache. He feels badly about the hurt to Jane, but states that it was “unknowingly done.” And as for Wickham, Darcy argues that Wickham ultimately was not fit for taking orders in the church and by Wickham’s own admission wished to study law. Darcy assisted him with the amount of £3,000 (worth approximately $250,000), thus settling Darcy’s responsibility to Wickham. Wickham, however, did not study law, but was idle. After three years, Wickham returned penniless and demanded that Darcy restore his living in the church as an ordained clergyman (essentially requesting permanent patronage). Not trusting Wickham, Darcy refused, and Wickham respond
ed by attempting to elope with Darcy’s sister, Georgiana. The move was economically motivated, as Georgiana’s inheritance is worth £30,000 (worth approximately $2,500,000). Wickham’s intention was to become rich and gain his revenge through that one act of marriage, but his plot was detected by Darcy before he could carry it out, and ever since, he has been hostile. As his name might suggest, Wickham turns out to be a wicked character, who demonstrates that greed and jealousy are alive and well in this society of manners.
After multiple readings of his letter, Elizabeth comes to the conclusion that Darcy is blameless. She realizes that she has made a huge mistake in rejecting his proposal and that she had been incorrectly prejudiced against him. The meaning of Austen’s title is now more apparent than ever. The pride she believed Darcy held for his position in society at the head of the social hierarchy caused her to be prejudiced against him. And now Darcy’s proposal of marriage is off the table, and Elizabeth can only fantasize about what it would have been like to be presented to Lady Catherine as Darcy’s future bride.
A few weeks after Elizabeth’s return home, the army, which has been stationed in Meryton, is moving to Brighton. Lydia Bennet, little sister of Jane and Elizabeth, had become extremely enamored of the soldiers while they were in town. She desires to follow them, having received an invitation from a Mrs. Foster, wife of the colonel of the regiment. Elizabeth argues against her going, fearing Lydia’s “unguarded and imprudent manner,” but ultimately Mr. Bennet consents. As we will see, the decision demonstrates inaccurate judgment on the part of Mr. Bennet. Elizabeth’s assessment will prove to be the correct one. She may have misjudged Darcy, but Austen shows us that Elizabeth’s instincts and intelligence are still highly acute.
Elizabeth gets her next opportunity to travel when she receives an invitation from her relations the Gardiners. Mr. Gardiner is Mrs. Bennet’s brother. He is a well-mannered and well-monied businessman, another representative of the growing class of nouveau riche in English society. On their tour of the countryside, they visit Darcy’s estate, Pemberley, in Derbyshire, and coincidentally Darcy makes a surprise appearance. Elizabeth is thoroughly embarrassed to have Darcy find her on his estate, but Darcy quickly clarifies that he is happy for the visit and treats Elizabeth and the Gardiners with extreme cordiality. Reiterating the importance of social class and the place that the possession of money now has in it, Darcy is impressed by the Gardiners’ manners and nouveau riche status; he clearly finds them to be more socially acceptable than Elizabeth’s mother and sisters.
The enjoyable visit is abruptly cut short when word arrives that Lydia and Wickham left Brighton together and have supposedly eloped to Scotland. Apparently Wickham pursued Lydia romantically while they were both in Brighton. The news is devastating and confirms Elizabeth’s earlier belief that Lydia should not have followed the soldiers to Brighton; Elizabeth had been right all along. The family’s panic at this development could not be overstated, for Lydia’s reputation was not the only one at stake. The marriage-market value of all the daughters would be considerably lessened if Lydia’s indiscretion became public knowledge. When Elizabeth tells Darcy what has happened, she feels as if “her power was sinking; every thing must sink under such a proof of family weakness, such an assurance of the deepest disgrace.” Elizabeth fears that Darcy will avoid her from this time forward as her family’s behavior is proving to be even more unacceptable and lower than Darcy had formerly supposed.
Mr. Gardiner acts on the family’s behalf in searching for Lydia and Wickham. The Bennet family is obviously very tense as they wait for news, but finally they receive a letter from Mr. Gardiner stating that the couple has been found. Apparently they had no intention to marry, but to save face in society, Mr. Gardiner has expressed that if certain minimal financial arrangements are agreed to by Mr. Bennet, that the couple will soon be married. And they are.
When they are delivered back to Longbourn for a visit, Lydia does not apologize for her behavior. Oddly, she does not even seem to acknowledge that she put the reputation of the family in so much jeopardy. To the contrary, she spends her time bragging about being the first married daughter in the family. But then the Bennets learn from Lydia that Darcy had attended their wedding. This detail puzzles Elizabeth, so she questions the Gardiners about Darcy’s presence at the ceremony. In Mrs. Gardiner’s reply, Elizabeth learns that it was Darcy all along who found the couple and arranged for them to be married. In addition, Darcy intended that these details about his involvement be kept from the Bennet family, hoping instead that Mr. Gardiner would receive the credit. Mrs. Gardiner adds how much she likes Darcy and that he was every bit as nice to them during these last interactions as he had been when they saw him at Pemberley.
In his heroic and noble actions, Darcy would appear to validate the point that social class does matter. At great risk and expense to himself, Darcy acts the part of the hero and modestly wishes no acknowledgment. He does not need to brag, nor does he need to be heralded for his honorable deeds. Austen would probably not deny that heroic actions of this magnitude can only be performed by individuals with good breeding, excellent manners, and acute intelligence. However, more to the point, Austen intends her audience to understand that Darcy’s good deeds are a demonstration of his ardent love for, and devotion to, Elizabeth, in spite of the social-class differences. Love, we should learn, is a more powerful force than social hierarchy, and it can overpower social prejudice. Accordingly, Darcy and Bingley make a return to Meryton, and soon after, Bingley proposes marriage to Jane. Now Elizabeth is certain that she is in love with Darcy, but she doubts they could ever have a chance together after her first refusal.
While Elizabeth ponders her fate, she is visited one morning by Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Here is yet another moment where Elizabeth can demonstrate her powerful female qualities. Lady Catherine informs Elizabeth that she is aware of Jane’s recent advantageous marital proposal from Charles, and that she has heard that Elizabeth will soon receive a proposal of marriage from her nephew, Mr. Darcy. This is news to Elizabeth. But Lady Catherine’s purpose is to ensure that Elizabeth has no intention of accepting Darcy’s proposal. Lady Catherine’s reason is that Darcy has been intended to marry her own daughter, Anne de Bourgh. In the English tradition, this would be the acceptable match, as money, alliance, power, and land would be kept in the family. But in Austen’s ideal world, people marry for love, not for contractual agreement. Love in marriage has always been Elizabeth’s goal, and we see now that it is Darcy’s ambition as well. Lady Catherine argues vehemently that Darcy and her daughter are descended from the same nobility, that both their fortunes are extensive, and that they are “destined” to be together. Lady Catherine’s diatribe informs Austen’s reader that she is firmly part of old-world England, where marriages are contractual and nobility must be preserved at all costs; she is desperate!
In her own most heroic moment, Elizabeth tells Lady Catherine that she cannot be influenced. “You have widely mistaken my character,” Elizabeth says, “if you think I can be worked on by such persuasions as these.” Lady Catherine leaves deeply angered. The socially inferior Elizabeth has stood up for herself proudly. Indeed, times are changing. Austen shows that there is more to nobility than social rank. Manners, morals, judgment, and intelligence have as much to do with social superiority as anything else.
When Darcy learns the outcome of his aunt’s visit, he discovers evidence that Elizabeth still has feelings for him. He makes a quick return to Longbourn and confronts Elizabeth. He tells her that his feelings have not changed, and the two finally become engaged. The couple are a new breed in a new Great Britain. But the material trappings of old England are still so ingrained in this society that the Austen reader cannot entirely dismiss them. When Mr. Bennet learns of Darcy’s second proposal and Elizabeth’s acceptance, Austen reminds her reader about the value of material in the lives of her characters and the extent to which Austen’s world is also so significantly about money. Mr. Bennet says
to his daughter, “Oh Lizzy! How rich and how great you will be! What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! Jane’s is nothing to it—nothing at all. I am so pleased—so happy.” Mr. Bennet shows his connection to the older generation that believes Elizabeth successful in marriage because of Darcy’s social and material worth. But the underlying message—the novel’s theme—is that Elizabeth and Darcy are both successful in marriage because (first and foremost) they have found love. The material that comes along with it is certainly important, but to them, we are given to understand, it is secondary.
• • •
The marriages between Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley and Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy provide readers not only with a romantic outcome for characters we care deeply about, but they also provide evidence of an English society that is socially and economically in flux. In both marriages, Austen shows us that love supersedes social-class prejudice. Arguably Charles and Jane fall in love the very moment they first meet. Jane’s feelings remain constant, but Charles allowed societal prejudice and the degree of difference in their fortunes to influence his feelings. English tradition dictates that social alliances (marriages) should be for land, money, and title first. Love is secondary. During much of the novel, Darcy reminds Bingley that reputation and status matter.
In addition to reinforcing for Bingley the patriarchal standards of old England, Darcy must remind himself that it would be beneath him to marry into a family whose social reputation and standing were far beneath his own. And considering Lydia Bennet’s behavior in running off with Wickham, Darcy is provided with no end of evidence that Elizabeth’s social standing is beneath his own. Yet, when the last word is written, these two couples will be joined in holy matrimony first and foremost because they are in love.
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