Pride and Prejudice and Falling in Love

One of the most famous extracts from the novel, Austen allows her two protagonists to take each other on in a battle of words and wits, showing up the intellectual superiority of the two in sharp contrast to the superfluous nature of the people around them. Miss Bingley's attempts to attract Darcy's attentions are lost in an extract that enhances Austen's themes, develops her narrative and allows the romantic readers to catch their breath as we see Darcy and Elizabeth begin to fall for each other, despite their independent states of denial.

By way of context, the dialogue between Darcy and Elizabeth takes place following Miss Bingley's attempt to show up Elizabeth's ill breeding by parading around the room in front of Mr Darcy. In Miss Bingley's mind, as they walk their figures would be shown off and hers would emerge as the more desirable because of her tall stature and good breeding. However quite the opposite happens. Darcy takes no notice of either of their figures (or at least this is not mentioned by the narrator) but rather turns his focus to an intellectual exchange with Elizabeth regarding the flaws of their respective natures. This interchange allows Austen to prove the intellectual superiority of both Darcy and Elizabeth as they are the only two who are able to hold such a conversation in a society that has up to this point been shown as largely frivolous, an array of parties, backstabbing, gossip-mongering and Mrs Bennet's relentless pursuit of five men in possession of `a good fortune' (page 1) to marry her daughters.

Picking up halfway through the conversation Darcy comments, "[y]es, vanity is a weakness." This statement is directly pointed at the trivial nature of Miss Bingley's walk around the room. He is cri...

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shade in a character. But you have chosen your fault well. - I really cannot laugh

at it. You are safe from me.'

`There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil, a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome.'

`And your defect is a propensity to hate everybody.'

`And yours,' he replied with a smile, `is wilfully to misunderstand them.'

`Do let us have a little music,' - cried Miss Bingley, tired of a conversation in which she had no share. - `Louisa, you will not mind my waking Mr Hurst.'

Her sister made not the smallest objection, and the piano-forte was opened, and Darcy after a few moments' recollection, was not sorry for it. He began to

feel the danger of paying Elizabeth too much attention.