Elizabeth Bennett is a sensible, lively girl, who is the main character of Jane Austen’s book Pride and Prejudice. Within the pages of this literary classic, Elizabeth is faced with a total of three marriage proposals. The first is from Mr. Collins, her second cousin and heir of her family’s estate. The second and third are both from Mr. Darcy, a wealthy young man whose shyness and pride result in rudeness and the appearance of distain. Elizabeth denies the first two proposals directed at her, yet falls in love with Mr. Darcy and accepts his second request for her hand. In comparing Mr. Collin’s proposal and Mr. Darcy’s first proposal, which was more acceptable for the situation in life of Elizabeth in 18th century England? To look at this question in more depth, this paper will examine the logic used by the speaker, the emotion of the proposal, and the character of the man. …show more content…
Mr. Collins approached Elizabeth hoping to make her his wife for three purposes: to make it up to the Bennett family for being the heir of their estate, to keep the estate in the immediate family and more importantly, to please his patroness Lady Catherine. On the other hand, Mr. Darcy proposed to Elizabeth because he loved her. He certainly didn’t ask because of her social class or family, but because he was obsessed with having her as his wife. Upon looking at the logic in the minds of both men, one can conclude that Mr. Collins had more logic and sensibility behind his proposal, while Mr. Darcy was simply obsessed with
In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Elizabeth Bennet, second daughter, is popular as a potential wife. Living in a house with a mother who is trying to marry off her daughters despite age or character, Elizabeth expresses less interest in the practicality of marriage. Although her likelihood of marrying into a high social status is low due to her own middle class status and a poor family reputation, she rejects her first two marriage offers, both by men in beneficial social standings. The first proposal is from a most distasteful cousin, Mr. Collins, while the second two are from Mr. Darcy, a wealthy man who develops from his arrogance into an acceptable fit for Elizabeth. Differing from her sisters and mother, Elizabeth values the character
Thinking that he truly has lost Elizabeth brings out a more sensitive and sympathetic side of Darcy, and he proposes a second time. This proposal however, marks the real release of his prideful ways, and as Austin put it “was as sensibly and as warmly as a man violently in love can be supposed to do"(Austin 157). This proposal marks Darcy giving up his pride about social class, and Elizabeth being hurt by him and his judgments. She accepts, and they finally allow themselves to be happy.
or wealth but a man that she can talk to and who will respect her
Pride and Prejudice Essay Throughout Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett faces many challenges to realize that she was in the wrong and her prejudice against Mr. Darcy was misguided. Austen emphasizes the importance of wisdom through Elizabeth, who faces the challenge of overcoming her prejudiced judgement to reach maturity and recognize the man she loves. At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth Bennett’s first meeting with Mr. Darcy was marred by Mr. Darcy’s pride to which, “Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him.” At the end of the novel, after Elizabeth learns the truth and unravels her prejudice against Darcy, she begins to realize that she does have feelings for him.
Collins’ marriage proposal. Of course, this was in the time period where women were supposed to be in complete subordination to men, and a proposal from a clergyman, who was to inherit Longbourn, was thought to be an easy decision. Although every notion that society could have given her was to say, “Yes” she ultimately stayed true to herself and what she believed. True love was meant to be in the fabric of marriage, not an individual’s bank note, however, as Mrs. Bennet so gracefully reminds her daughters and dear husband throughout the novel, money is king in the culture that society created during that era. Elizabeth Bennet is an independent character, and not one to push over when society blew its influential wind. In addition to Elizabeth’s perceived ungrateful attitude to a clergyman, she also had quite the discussion with Lady Catherine De Bourgh at the end of the novel. During the Regency Era, respect was not earned by the content of an individual’s decisions, but by how much money they had. With that being said, no
Considering his actions as ill-intentioned caused Elizabeth to completely dismiss the growing love and emotion that he had for her, nearly derailing the prospects of a relationship as well as the security of her future. After all, Darcy would’ve been the perfect suitor for Elizabeth: he is wealthy and able to provide for her given that she has no stake in her own family’s wealth, and his similar wit and charm would ensure that she remains content with possibly sharing the rest of her life with him. Had Elizabeth not have been so blunt in her reason for rejecting Darcy, they would’ve parted ways forever and she would’ve been hitched to someone less intelligent and humorous than she is by her marriage-zealous mother, causing Elizabeth’s unhappiness. Truth needs not to be beholden to one’s idealisms and ideology because it is fundamentally objective; there is only one “truth” and trying to mold it to fit your narrative or worldview would simply result in deluding yourself and negatively impacting yourself. As the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy reveals, is is best to hold the objective truth to greater significance in one’s life rather than personal idealisms because the latter may prove to be inaccurate while the former never
Elizabeth's lively, straightforward, daring character and her disregard for considerations of rank show through clearly in her reaction to Darcy's proposal. Her pride is also evident, for the lack of civility in her refusal is due primarily to injured pride resulting from Darcy's frank explanation of his reservations about proposing to her because of her inferior connections.
Darcy’s proposals help to manifest his personal growth by showing the difference in his manner, rationale, and result. His haughty words and actions are the crux of his indifference towards the feelings of others in the beginning of the novel. Although Mr. Darcy is ignorant of his own highfalutin attitude at first, the rejection of his proposal by Elizabeth is just the tocsin he needs to salvage the small amount of respect she still had for him. Through her rejection, he comes to terms with his own pride and prejudice against Elizabeth and her family. Also, he realizes that she is not one to marry for money or social status, but she wants to marry a man that she truly loves, which is a surprise to him. This radical modification of his attitude results in a second marriage proposal for Elizabeth, where he genuinely expresses his feelings. Although he is uncertain of her answer, he simply wants to make his love for her known. The slightly astonished Elizabeth immediately recognizes how much the tone and motive in his second proposal have changed from his first and also reveals her love for him. Mr. Darcy’s two proposals do not simply act as means to communicating his feeling to Elizabeth, but as a documentation of his significant change in
Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is well-noted for its ability to question social norms. Most importantly, Austen explores the institution of marriage, as it was in her time, a time where many married for security rather than love. Her characters Elizabeth and Charlotte are renowned even more for their outspoken nature and different views on marriage. Though both Elizabeth and Charlotte yearn for a happy marriage, Charlotte has a more pragmatic and mundane approach while Elizabeth is more romantic and daring with her actions. Through the romantic involvements of both Elizabeth and Charlotte, Austen shows that happiness in marriage is not entirely a matter of chance, but is instead contingent on an accurate evaluation of self and others Elizabeth’s view on Jane and Bingely’s relationship is more hopeful, while Charlotte possesses a more aggressive view.
It is not unusual for an individual to disagree with social customs or expectations. Some people are only happy when they can rebel against society. Most mature adults eventually realize that compromise is necessary to achieve happiness. This is the case in the early nineteenth century England setting of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. In the novel, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is a lively, independent woman, whose family's financial situation and whose strong mindedness suggest that she may never marry. Mr. Darcy, is a rigid and proper man, who falls in love with Elizabeth, despite their differences. By the end of the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy learn to compromise, and, in doing so, become truly happy. In marrying, they not only fulfill themselves as individuals, but also affirm the principle values of society. The marriage at the end of the novel shows Jane Austen's ideal view of marriage as a social institution.
Mr. Bingley is often accompanied by Fitzwilliam Darcy, who is a very proud man. Elizabeth Bennet, who is proud of herself, and Mr. Darcy are not fond of one another from the start, these two characters pose the central conflict in the novel. As the novel progresses, Elizabeth receives a marriage proposal from her cousin, Mr. Collins, and turns him down. Mr. Collins then proposes to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s best friend, who accepts. Elizabeth then leaves home to stay with, the Collins’ who live near Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy’s aunt.
Elizabeth is a romantic, and wants to find a man worthy of her love. On the other hand, Charlotte believes “happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.” Elizabeth laughs at her friend, and replies, “You know it is not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself” (24). However, Charlotte soon enters into a marriage that offers her a good home and security, but a repulsive husband. With these two characters, Austen illustrates the two kinds of marriages most common in the novel: Charlotte’s is an example of a secure, if not pleasant, marriage arrangement. Elizabeth eventually marries Darcy out of genuine love for him, not for want of money or prospects. Unfortunately, others still see the marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth as
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife.” This opening statement form the book “Pride and Prejudice” refers to the most important theme in the book, marriage. This theme is the reason for most of the big events in the book, including the two proposals. Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Collins both proposed to the same girl, Elizabeth, who often went by Lizzy. There were many similarities between the two proposals, but there were also a lot of differences not only in the proposals, but also in the men’s intentions towards Lizzy.
Pride and Prejudice is the most enduringly popular novel written by Jane Austen. It talks about trivial matters of love, marriage and family life between country squires and fair ladies in Britain in the 18th century. The plot is very simple. That is how the young ladies choose their husbands. Someone said that "Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the novel, flatly rejected William Collins' proposal, who is the heir of her father's property and manor, and refused the first proposal from the extremely wealthy nobleman Fitzwilliam Darcy later,"(1) all this makes it clear that Elizabeth "seeks no fame nor fortune, but self-improvement and high mental outlook."(1) It's right. From the view point of Austen, Elizabeth's marriage, who finally marries Darcy, as well as Jane-Bingley's, composing money and love, is the ideal marriage people should after. But in other marriage cases in this novel, we can see that if money and love can't be held together in one marriage, love would always make a concession to money because of the special social background. After reading through the whole book, we will find that money acts as the cause of each plot and the clue of its development. It affects everybody's words and deeds, even Elizabeth Bennet. Tony Tanner once said, "Jane Austen, as well as other authors, is very clear that no feeling could be extremely pure and no motive could be definitely single. But as long as it is possible, we should make it clear that which feeling or motive plays the leading role." (2)
In the 19th century, a controversy arose over what the true foundation and purpose for marriage should be. The basis of this conflict was whether one should let reason or emotion be the guide of their love life and if a balance between the two could be maintained. The relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy in Jane Austen's book Pride and Prejudice depicts such a balance, thus becoming the model for Austen's definition of a perfect couple and for true love. Their relationship is neither solely based on a quest for money on Elizabeth's part or emotions that blind the couple from all other important aspects of life. The significance of having this balance is portrayed through the inability of the other couples in the story to reach an equal amount of happiness as Elizabeth and Darcy because of their pursuit of either reason or passion.