Lizzy and Mr. Collins

     Out of all the relationships in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, I would have to say that the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Collins was the strangest. After knowing each other only a matter of days, Mr. Collins proposes to Lizzy in one of the most humorous scenes in the book. While Lizzy is looking to marry someone that she truly loves, Mr. Collins wishes to marry Lizzy simply because it seems like the right thing to do.

     One way that Austen illustrates the humor of this strange relationship is through her use of irony. When Elizabeth realizes that Mr. Collins is about to make his proposal, she does her best to stop it from happening by telling her mother to stay because it couldn,t be that important. At that moment, it was obvious how much Lizzy disliked Mr. Collins, but he had absolutely no idea how she felt. Elizabeth was unable to avoid the time alone with Collins, so she forced to sit through the most ridiculous proposal you could possibly imagine. The speech that Mr. Collins made was full of irony. In his proposal, he brought up the subject of both of her parents eventual deaths, which is not the best topic in a marriage proposal. After all of this, he says, "nothing remains for me but to assure you in the most animated language of the violence of my affection." (93) How could she possibly believe that he loves her after he spent so much time talking about her parents dying in his marriage proposal? Mr. Collins is completely blind to the meaning of love and the feelings of others, so he just proposes to the first woman that he thinks will marry him and says the things that he believes he is supposed to say.

     There are two different types of people in this novel: those who believe that marriage is about love and those who believe that marriage is simply a business arrangement. Lizzy and Mr. Collins relationship never could have gone anywhere because they were on oppostite sides of this spectrum. The tones of these two characters shows which side they are on. Mr. Collins believes that marriage is a business arrangement, and Austen shows this through the tone that she makes him speak in. When Collins speaks, it is always very straightforward with a lack of true emotion, especially during his proposal to Lizzy. In his proposal, he says, "My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish." (92) This statement shows absolutely no emotion. Rather than talking about his love for her, he talks about setting an example for other people. Clearly marriage is not about love for Mr. Collins.

     When Lizzy talks to Mr. Collins, there is always emotion. Usually there is a sarcastic tone when she talks to him, but this shows that she is not willing to marry him for money because she believes in love. As Lizzy attempts to express to Collins that she honestly doesn't wish to marry him she cries, "Really, Mr. Collins, you puzzle me exceedingly. If what I have hitherto said can appear to you in the form of encouragement, I know not how to express my refusal in such a way as may convince you of its being one." (95) She is baffled by how little Collins understands her that she becomes sarcastic and cries out this statement rather than keeping her usual calm tone. She can't express any further the fact that she won't just amrry a man in the hopes of a stable financial future. She wants to marry someone that she loves so that she will be happy in the future, not just stable.

     The relationship between Mr. Collins and Lizzy was doomed from the beginning, if it ever even really started. Their relationship was so crazy and humorous based on the fact that it was very one sided. Mr. Collins wished to marry Lizzy because it seemed like the right thing to do, but he was blind to the fact that Lizzy didn't like him at all. Jane Austen shows how ridiculous this relationship is through her use of irony and tone.

    

    

Charlotte and Mr. Collins

     Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins' relationship throughout Pride and Prejudice was not romantic like many others in the novel, but merely a comfortable living agreement. Jane Austen characterizes the relationship as such and other characters in the novel can sense the same feeling. Charlotte admits to not loving Collins in a romantic way, and tells her best friend Elizabeth that she just wanted to have a comfortable future, especially being as old as she was, at 27 years old.
     Before the relationship between Collins and Charlotte begins, the relationship between Collins and Lizzy ends essentially. He proposed to Lizzy one day, but she turned down the proposal, telling him that "you could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who would make you so" (94). Although it seems as if Collins won't accept this proposal, the reader is later surprised by the proposal to Lizzy's best friend Charlotte. She had previously told Lizzy at one of the balls, that she would never marry someone if not for love. Austen's marriage between the two however, contradicts this previous declaration.
     When Collins decides to propose to Miss Lucas, he sneaks out of the house and knows that it's not necessarily the best thing for his character. Austen says that Collins was "anxious to avoid the notice of his cousins" (106). Relationships at this time weren't always the best thought out in regards to the emotions of others and this scene furthers this assumption. Collins proposes to Charlotte and she accepts based off of an assurance of a stable, promising future with him. She does not love him, but knows that she needs to marry soon because she doesn't have any wealth on her own. After the proposal, it is said that "Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment" (107) didn't care as to when the marriage was, because she wasn't in love, she just wanted the wealth and a prospective future.
     Later in the day, Lizzy finds out about the proposal and is extremely surprised and doesn't want to believe what has happened. Charlotte tries to reassure her by telling her she is "not romantic, you know, I never was.  I only ask a comfortable home" (110). Collins merely wants a wife and was rejected by Elizabeth and Charlotte needs a husband to dictate her future. Back in these times, friends didn't play into their life decisions unfortunately for Elizabeth. Lizzy doesn't find this a substantial justification for what has happened and can't believe how Mr. Collins could offer a proposal to two different people within a span of three days. Austen also portrays the feeling of obliviousness in the sense that Charlotte doesn't realize how much Lizzy is affected by her previous proposal and the events that followed.

Lizzy and Mr. Collins

In Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet is a character far from the "norm" in her time. Her pride stands in the way of her accepting not one, but two marriage proposals. The first of these is from the rather awkward Mr. Collins. Lizzy and Mr. Collins may have had the shortest so-called "relationship" throughout the novel; so short in fact, their relationship began and ended with Mr. Collins' proposal.

Austen made it clear with her use of formal diction that to Mr. Collins, this whole ordeal was simply a "business deal". Before he even proposed to Elizabeth, the reader is told, "having no feelings of diffidence to make it distressing to himself even at the moment, he set about it in a very orderly manner, with all the observances which he supposed a regular part of the business" (pg. 91). This immediately tells the readers that Mr. Collins is going into this proposal with the sole thought of it being a business deal. Usually a relationship, let alone a proposal is not solely for business purposes, even in the era of Pride and Prejudice, it's no wonder as to why Lizzy reacted in such a way. After the initial part of the proposal Lizzy was "so near laughing that she could not use the short pause he allowed in any attempt to stop him farther" (pg. 92). Lizzy couldn't take this proposal seriously, even from the start of Mr. Collins speech, the reader knew right away this was not going to work out well for Mr. Collins.

In this scene of the novel, Mr. Collins is stating his reasons of wanting to marry Lizzy. Normally in a proposal, you don't "state your reasons" , its usually an I love you, you love me type deal. With Mr. Collins, this is more of a business deal then a romantic relationship, so therefore the tone of this part seems stiff and very unromantic. In all of the reasons that Mr. Collins presents to Lizzy, only one is even remotely close to the reasons two people would marry today. Mr. Collins states, "Secondly, that I am convinced it will add very greatly to my happiness" (pg. 92). Even after he says this marriage would make him happy, Mr. Collins then brings up how Miss De Bourgh told him to marry someone, he also doesn't fail to mention the death of her parents. These are not your typical topics one might bring up in a marriage proposal. This proposal cannot be taken seriously by the reader, let alone Lizzy.

This rather unique proposal represents Lizzy and Mr. Collins relationship as a whole. Their relationship, if you can even call it that, did not even have its chance to begin. The overall success is non existent, since there wasn't even a relationship in the first place. Lizzy took Mr. Collins' proposal almost as a joke from the way he came about asking her. Even before he made his move, Lizzy thought the idea of Mr. Collins and her being in any kind of relationship was ridiculous, therefore she didn't even let it begin. Austen utilizes tone and diction to showcase this proposal as one that readers will remember, and not for the better.

Elizabeth and Darcy

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice revolves around the relationship between Ms. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Fitswilliam Darcy. There are several relationships that take shape in the novel, but the dynamic between Elizabeth and Darcy takes much longer to evolve into love. Through blinding pride, they eventually learn to sacrifice some for each other. Austen’s use of irony and conflict characterize the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy.

Irony is used extensively in the dynamic between Elizabeth and Darcy. The first scene between the two is Elizabeth listening in on Darcy’s conversation with Mr. Bingley. When remarking on Mr. Bingley’s suggestion to dance with Elizabeth, Darcy tells Mr. Bingley, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me.” (Austen 13) This is one of the most ironic moments in the novel because it proves to be totally false. Darcy’s response was not a direct attack on Elizabeth, but rather Darcy’s pride coming out to prevent him from dancing with a partner that was not already taken. Soon after, Darcy begins to change his opinion of Elizabeth while she stays at Netherfield to care for Jane. After a visit from Mrs. Bennet and her daughters, Mr. Darcy “could not be prevailed on to join in their censure of her [Elizabeth], in spite of all Miss Bingley’s witticisms on fine eyes.” (Austen 46) Darcy is starting to question his initial impression of Elizabeth, but shows no signs of doing so. The irony comes from Elizabeth, who remains totally unaware of this change in Darcy and continues to act based on her prejudice from his initial remark. Conflicts also play a major role in the development of the relationship dynamic as they show how the two headstrong prides of Elizabeth and Darcy clash with one another. One of the biggest conflicts in the story is Darcy’s statement of love that turns out to be a marriage proposal. Immediately after his profession of love, he talked about “His sense of her inferiority, of its being a degradation, of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination.” (Austen 188) There was also significant irony behind the proposal because it focused not so much on his love for her as much as the sacrifice he was taking towards his image. Elizabeth’s remaining prejudice from their initial encounter led her to reject his proposal, which prompted a total change in Darcy. The next day, Darcy wrote a letter to Elizabeth in defense of himself and admitting some errors in judgment. With this letter, Elizabeth finally begins to change her view of Darcy, which is ironic because it took a more than a marriage proposal to change her image of Darcy. Their next encounter is at Darcy’s place of residence when Elizabeth is visiting. She is surprised to see him because he was expected a day later. Throughout the entire encounter, Darcy was very “civil” and polite, making Elizabeth further question her own opinion of him. Later, Darcy clears up the incident with Lydia and Wickham, which makes Elizabeth feel incredibly indebted to Darcy. Soon after, Elizabeth finally accepts Darcy’s second marriage offer.

Based on the first line of the novel, which reads, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife,” the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy was ultimately successful. (Austen 5) The use of irony and conflict shaped the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. Their first conflict, Darcy’s insulting remark of Elizabeth, set Elizabeth with a prejudice against him. The irony is that as Elizabeth hardened more and more towards Darcy, he was feeling warmer towards her and reconsidering everything he thought of her. His first proposal came as an utter shock to Elizabeth, who rejected it with the same prejudice. The following accidental encounters and Darcy’s saving of the Bennet family name made Elizabeth realize she was wrong about Darcy and that he was indeed to be her husband.

Lizzy and Mr. Wickham

Pride and Prejudice, a novel focused on the importance of first impressions on love, has stood the test of time to become a literary classic.  The book has many different couples and relationships, the most popular of course, being the relationship of Lizzy and Darcy.  They hate each other in the beginning, but grow to love each other as the story progresses, a true fairy tale.  While the relationship of Lizzy and Darcy is one of pride and prejudice, it is not the only one in the novel.  A relationship that may be overlooked in discussions, and film adaptations of the novel, is the relationship of Lizzy and Mr. Wickham.  Joe Wright’s 2005 film adaptation starring Keira Knightly only briefly hints at the relationship.  Their relationship has just as much pride and prejudice as Darcy and Lizzy’s however, it doesn’t get the spotlight it deserves.  This is most likely because it does not have a fairy-tale ending, rather it ends with Wickham marrying Lizzy’s sister, and almost ruining her family.

            When Lizzy and Wickham meet, she is immediately under his spell.  On their introduction, he played the part of the perfect man; she thought that he was “far beyond them [the officers] all in person, countenance, air, and walk (252).”  Officers are a favorite of the Bennets and she puts him even above them.  This shows how much Lizzy cares for Wickham just after meeting him.  Austen also uses situational irony during their introduction.  Just after Wickham is introduced, Darcy and Bingley ride up.  “Mr. Wickham, after a few moments, touched his hat—a salutation which Mr. Darcy just deigned to return.  What could be the meaning of it?  It was impossible to imagine; it was impossible not to long to know (250).”  This choice encounter creates an air of mystery for Wickham, and a perfect reason for him to disclose the “injustices” that Darcy had plagued him.  When Wickham and the girls go to the Phillips’s house, Lizzy is all too eager to have a seat next to Wickham and talk with him.  She felt that “that the commonest, dullest, most threadbare topic might be rendered interesting by the skill of the speaker (252).”  Austen uses descriptive diction, with many adjectives to talk about the relationship between Lizzy and Wickham.  When they finally reach the topic of Mr. Darcy, Wickham tells her,   ““I have no right to give my opinion,’" said Wickham, " ‘as to his being agreeable or otherwise (252).’”  A few sentences later, he goes on to disclose his tale of being forced out of his profession out of the house because Darcy was jealous.  Lizzy is quick to believe Wickham because she does not believe he has a reason to lie.

Lizzy falls under Wickham’s spell, which is crushed only after she learns the truth of Mr. Darcy.  Even when Wickham has relations with Miss King, Lizzy still likes him.  She only grows to see the other side of Wickham after Darcy’s letter, which uncovers the truth to Wickham’s “injustices.”  Even when she reads the letter, she still has some feelings of affability towards Wickham, because she “This must be false!  This cannot be!  This must be the grossest falsehood!  (321)"—and when she had gone through the whole letter, though scarcely knowing anything of the last page or two, put it hastily away, protesting that she would not regard it, that she would never look in it again.  When she finally sees the truth in Darcy’s statements, she wants nothing to do with Wickham.    

Wickham and Lizzy’s relationship was destined for failure.  He was a liar, and she was willing to believe him.  However, Lizzy is a smart girl, so she would have found out about his lies eventually.  Their relationship would not have worked out anyway, as Lizzy does not have enough money to offer him for the marriage.  The relationship of Lizzy and Wickham is another example of how prejudice can be harmful, but it also serves as a stepping point to helping Lizzy marry Darcy, so it was not for nothing.

Miss Bingley and Darcy

In the novel, Pride and Prejudice, we are introduced to many different characters and the relationships they have with others. While some of these relationships grow and develop into something deeper and more meaningful, others do not advance and quickly fall short.  While there are a lot of memorable romantic relationships in the novel, there are many that are quickly forgotten. Such an example is the relationship between Miss Bingley and Mr. Darcy. The majority, if not all of the effort put forth, comes from Miss Bingley. Jane Austen makes it very clear that Darcy has no interest in Miss Bingley, while she on the other hand lingers on his every word and movement. Miss Bingley quickly reveals her jealous and very insecure nature as she spends half of her time criticizing Elizabeth, and the other half infatuated with Darcy.

                It can be inferred that the relationship between Darcy and Miss Bingley began due to the friendship between Darcy and Mr. Bingley. When Miss Bingley’s attempts to win over Darcy’s attention and affection fail, she resorts to belittling and attacking Elizabeth, in an attempt to prevent Darcy from forming an attachment to Elizabeth. Miss Bingley’s superficiality peaks through in her comments regarding Lizzy. She frequently comments on her social status, physical appearance, and family in an effort to make Mr. Bingley find her less appealing. “I must confess that I never could see any beauty in her… and in her air altogether, there is a self-sufficiency without fashion which is intolerable.” (226) Austen uses a great deal of detail when describing how Miss Bingley feels about Lizzy. It shows the effort she puts into attempting to make Darcy see Lizzy as unappealing and undesirable. Even though she is harshly criticized by Miss Bingley, Lizzy is seen as a threat to Miss Bingley and her chances of marrying Darcy. "...and Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her [Elizabeth]...Miss Bingley saw, or suspected enough to be jealous; and her great anxiety for the recovery of her dear friend Jane, received some assistance from her desire of getting rid of Elizabeth." (46) There’s a great deal of irony in the situation. As much as Miss Bingley belittles and looks down upon Elizabeth, she ultimately sees her as a threat and competition for the affection of Darcy.

                Miss Bingley demonstrates very desperate behavior while around Darcy. His responses, or more so lack of, show his disinterest in her. While Darcy is writing to his sister, Miss Bingley hovers around him and swoons over his ability to write. The whole conversation that they share consists of compliments from Miss Bingley and dismissing replies from Darcy. Miss Bingley compliments him saying, “You write uncommonly fast.” to which he replies, “You are mistaken. I write rather slowly.” (42) Austen’s use of short, blunt responses from Darcy shows his disdain towards Miss Bingley. The lack of detail and effort in his words shows his unwillingness to give into her compliments and desperation to converse. Austen’s depiction of Miss Bingley’s character shows her insecurity and superficiality, as she never fully engages in a deep meaningful conversation with Darcy. Additionally, her opinions of Lizzy are all based on superficial matters and ideas. Miss Bingley’s jealous, superficial, and obsessive nature ultimately pushes Darcy further away from her and results in the failed relationship.

Lydia and Wickham

                The love story of Lydia and Wickham is perhaps the farthest thing from a love story in the entire "Pride and Prejudice" novel. A majority of their relationship occurs as dialogue between other characters and not with their personal accounts. The relationship's progression is also experienced out of order, with the initial shock of it, the resolution, and then finally the progression. Jane Austen uses dialogue from the other characters, characterization of the couple, and point of view to describe their relationship.

                Their relationship begins quite abruptly and with little forethought, very similar to Lydia's personality. She is a flirtatious and outgoing young girl who does not have much foresight to the consequences of her actions. Running away with Wickham is one of the worst ideas she has ever had, due to it ruining her family's reputation but she sees it all as a good joke. It is also indicated to Elizabeth, that "W.(Wickham) never intended to go there, or to marry Lydia at all." This she learns from her sister relaying information from another soldier. Most of the events surrounding this relationship are passed via gossip of other characters. By doing this, Austen gives this marriage an air of mystery, as well as allowing the reader to feel the same stressful unknowing felt by the Bennets.

                After Wickham and Lydia are found, they end up marrying even though it never seemed possible. Wickham was not a wealthy man and he was only promised five thousand a year when he married Lydia. Elizabeth knows that this is not enough but cannot deduce what changed Wickham's mind. Throughout all of the issues of marriage, Lydia remains blissfully ignorant to all of the trouble she has caused for her family and friends. When she arrives home, she declares that "I am sure my sisters must all envy me. I hope they may have half my good luck." She is completely oblivious to the nature of her marriage, as well as the nature of her husband himself. Due to this being one of the only times the opinion of this marriage is given by Lydia herself, it confirms her flirtatious, ignorant, and simple-minded nature.

                This relationship is resolved in the book without indication of how it was done. At this point, the reader is seeing from Elizabeth's point of view, and are therefore just as ignorant as she as to how Wickham was persuaded to marry Lydia. She knows that Lydia's inheritance was not enough to satisfy him and his debts which was why he had no indications of marrying her in the first place. After their wedding, Lydia lets it slip that Mr. Darcy was present when the two of them were married. This confuses Elizabeth since she knows of the two men's animosity so she inquires about it from her aunt, Mrs. Gardiner. Her aunt then explains that "His (Wickham's) debts are to be paid, amounting, I believe, to considerably more than a thousand pounds, another thousand in addition to her own settled upon her, and his commission purchased." All of this was done by Mr. Darcy to essentially bribe Wickham into marrying Lydia. This event is the perfect example of Wickham's character. He only wanted to marry for money but was willing to pretend to love Lydia because she was young and flirtatious. When it was necessary for him to marry Lydia according to the Bennet family, it requires thousands of pounds from his archenemy to satisfy him enough to marry her.

                The marriage between Lydia and Wickham is the most loveless relationship in Pride and Prejudice. By using dialogue of the other characters, characterization, and point of view, Jane Austen is able to describe the very nature of this relationship. Lydia is an ignorant coquette who sees marriage as something fantastic and fun, with no consequences to herself or her family. Wickham wants to marry for money and until he is bribed into doing so, he has no intentions of ever marrying Lydia, although he does not indicate this to her. Even though a majority of this relationship is experienced from Elizabeth's perspective which keeps the reader ignorant to what is happening, it is obvious that there is no love in their relationship. Wickham loves money and Lydia loves the idea of marrying a soldier, she does not really care who it is. Together, they make a completely horrible and loveless pairing.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet

     The relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet is one that Austen illustrates as the typical husband-wife relationship of our time period. The father, Mr. Bennet, does what he thinks is best for the family and is tries to please his persistent wife. An example of this is early of the novel when Mrs. Bennet begs with the rest of her daughters to have Mr. Bennet meet with Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bennet gets some fun out of playing dumb and pretends to have no intentions of going to see him. Without his family knowing, he does in fact meet with Mr. Bingley and when the conversion turns towards being acquainted with him, Mr. Bennet slips in quite cleverly “but as I have actually paid the visit, we cannot escape the acquaintance now”. Mrs. Bennet and her daughters are overjoyed. Austen seems to create this ironic situation where Mrs. Bennet believes Mr. Bennet will not meet but “he had always intended to visit him, though to the last always assuring his wife that should not go”. Mr. Bennet to find some joy in teasing and poking fun at his wife but does what all husbands eventually do, this being do whatever pleases their spouse.

     Later in the novel though, there is an instant where Mr. and Mrs. Bennet disagree. In this instant, Austen uses the tone of the characters to convey the important of the disagreement. When Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, Mrs. Bennet is infuriated because she sees the marriage and adventurous and tries to force Elizabeth into the marriage to have the family keep their house in the future. She uses am authoritarian tone to tell Elizabeth that if she does not marry Mr. Collins she will never see her again, and she asks Mr. Bennet to order Elizabeth to marry him. Austen then gives Mr. Bennet a challenging tone because he believes that Elizabeth’s morals on marriage are too important to be given up on for the family. He states strongly that he does not want her to marry Mr. Collins and to counter his wife’s threat, replies “your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do”. Ultimately, Elizabeth does not marry Mr. Collins but the significance of the event in terms of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s relationship is that as in every healthy relationship, there is some disagreement.

      Towards the end of the novel when Darcy asks for consent to marry Elizabeth, Mr. Bennet does what all fathers should for their daughter. He checks with Elizabeth to make sure this is what she wants. Finally after being convinced by Elizabeth that she truly loves Darcy, he says to her, “I have no more to say. If this be the case, he deserves you. I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to anyone less worthy.” He is happy for his daughter that she has found someone to love, but he may not have been as shocked or excited as Mrs. Bennet. At first, she is speechless but then after a minute is overjoyed. She says to Elizabeth “Good gracious! Lord bless me! Only think! dear me!...I am so pleased-so happy. Such a charming man!- so handsome! so tall!- Oh, my dear Lizzy!” Although Mrs. Bennet is a little more emphatic than Mr. Bennet, they use similar diction that praises Elizabeth on finding someone she loves. These words show that they both are proud of their daughter because, as parents, the goal is to see their children happy. Austen uses celebratory diction to represent the excitement they feel for their daughter, and this shows they achieved a goal as parents.

     Throughout the novel, Austen uses irony, tone and specific diction to describe the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. They are not only a husband and a wife, but also parents for their six daughters. They are successful in both departments because, as husband and wife, they seem to please each other for a majority of the book and as parents because at the end they have three daughters happily married daughters.

-Alex Finestone

Lydia and Wickham

The marriage shared between Lydia Bennett and George Wickham is far from the other picturesque love stories present in the novel. In fact, Austen uses their relationship as an anti-parallel to Elizabeth and Darcy or Jane and Bingley’s marriages. Lydia and Wickham engage in a marriage based on lust, ignorance, and greed. Although the family’s name and reputation is salvaged by the charity of Darcy, Lydia and Wickham’s marriage is still a devastating blow to the Bennett family. As a result of the foundation of their relationship, the virtues of two people involved, and the disgrace it caused to the family, their marriage is an overwhelming failure. When Lydia first meets Mr. George Wickham, she is instantly enthralled by him. However, her inability to hold her attention on one object for more than a little while applies to men as well. Although Lydia and Kitty are uncontrollably excited to see Wickham at the Netherfield ball, “The happiness anticipated by Catherine and Lydia depended less on any single event, or any particular person, for though they each, like Elizabeth, meant to dance half the evening with Mr. Wickham, he was by no means the only partner who could satisfy them…” (76). This instance serves as foreshadowing to the rest of Lydia and Wickham’s relationship. It shows that if Lydia is unable to be content with having only one dance partner, despite the fact that Wickham is the object of her constant affections, there is no way she could be happy in a marriage of any type at this level of maturity. Austen uses irony in this scene to prove Lydia’s incompatibility for a serious relationship. The reader would think Lydia would be thrilled to have Wickham to herself for the entire ball, but in fact Lydia would feel restricted and needs constant variety in every aspect of her life. As Wickham and Lydia’s relationship progresses, it becomes more clear to the reader that nothing good will come of it. When Lydia begs Mr. Bennett to allow her to go to Brighton with the Forsters, Elizabeth strongly believes it is a terrible idea. Elizabeth tries to convince her father of this, saying that if he allows Lydia to go, “Her character will be fixed, and she will, at sixteen, be the most determined flirt that ever made herself and her family ridiculous,” (195). As it turns out, Elizabeth’s suspicions were correct. When Lydia and Wickham run away together, the Bennett family is overcome with panic. Austen’s choice of diction in Elizabeth’s prediction is accurate. Every member of the family knows their name and reputation are on the line because of Lydia’s “ridiculous” irresponsibility. When Darcy pays Wickham off to marry Lydia and saves the Bennett name, the true characters of Wickham and Lydia are revealed. Lydia marries Wickham because he is a good looking soldier, and Wickham marries Lydia because he is making money off their relationship. The lack of a true connection between the two characters dooms their marriage. Lydia and Wickham share no real feelings for each other. In the end of the novel, the fate of Lydia and Wickham proves to be what was expected of their marriage. With Jane and Elizabeth out of the Bennett house and happily married, Lydia spends a good deal of time with her two oldest sisters. Despite the tension between Darcy and Wickham, Lydia still visits Elizabeth and is, “…occasionally a visitor there, when her husband was gone to enjoy himself in London or Bath,” (325). This shows that Wickham often takes extended trips to the city away from his wife, implying that their relationship is far from the happy marriage a newly wedded couple should have. The lack of an emotional connection between Lydia and Wickham has left both characters unsatisfied and unhappy. Lydia hangs around her older sisters’ houses to insert herself into a happy home filled with love, something she knows she will never have with Wickham in her own life. Lydia and Wickham’s relationship, from start to finish, is a failure that threatens to leave the entire Bennett family in destruction, and also destroys Lydia and Wickham’s own happiness.

 

 

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Bennet and George Wickham

            Some people believe that “love at first sight” is a real thing. Others would dissuade this notion and be practical in saying that love is developed over time and after getting to know a person. The people we first see as amazing individuals may turn out to be the complete opposite once we get to know them better. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice depicts many characters in various stages of relationships throughout the book. In particular,  Jane Austen uses Elizabeth and Wickham to create a happy relationship in which people meet and immediately fall for each other, without even knowing the background of either person. There was never true love between the two characters, but definitely some affinity for one another. It didn't take long for Lizzy to know that Wickham was “the one.”

Lizzy’s first impression of Wickham was one she would never forget. Austen’s use of reverent tone lets the reader know that the officers of the ‘shire were quite respectable. These men had a reputation of honor and flawless character. When Lizzy sees Wickham for the first time, at the Philips’s household, she thinks to herself that, “Mr. Wickham was as far beyond [the other officers] in person, countenance, air, and walk.” (Austen 66) Austen’s use of a reverent tone lets the reader know that Lizzy respects Wickham solely on his looks and not on anything else. Lizzy is quick to judge people and believes that Wickham is a man who is respectable in terms of position and appearance. This is the beginning of a temporary relationship between Lizzy and Wickham. The only problem with this relationship is that Lizzy doesn’t know Wickham’s dark past and that he covers it up by being very jovial and respectful towards others.  

Lizzy is quickly exposed to the other side of Wickham by other characters who know about Wickham’s dark past. Elizabeth was expecting Wickham to be at the Netherfield Ball, but alas he never showed. Miss Bingley hears that Lizzy is quite impressed by Wickham’s persona and goes on to tell Lizzy that there is more to Wickham than meets the eye. Miss Bingley says that Lizzy should, “not give implicit confidence to all his assertions; for as to Mr. Darcy’s using him ill, it is perfectly false; for on the contrary, he has been always remarkably kind to him, though George Wickham has treated Mr. Darcy in a most infamous manner.” (Austen 82-83) Miss Bingley explains to Lizzy that Darcy was never rude to Wickham and that, on the contrary, Wickham was the one who was disrespectful towards Darcy. Lizzy immediately goes on to deny all that Miss Bingley has said and conclude that Darcy is still the bad man. Austen’s use of irony comes into play in these chapters. Lizzy is criticizing Miss Bingley for being prejudiced against Wickham (when in fact, Miss Bingley is telling the truth). On the other hand, Lizzy is being prejudiced towards Wickham and against Darcy. At this point, we can see that Lizzy is starting to consider whether this relationship is based on lies or truths.

Lizzy continues to dissuade the notions that Wickham is a bad person with a dark past until Mr. Darcy proposes to her and tells her the truth about his and Wickham’s past. Austen’s use of characterization depicts Lizzy as a person who judges others like one would typically judge a book, by its cover and not its contents. “Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd. “How despicably have I acted!” she cried.” (Austen 176). Austen’s characterization of Lizzy as being pre-judgmental is accurate because Lizzy thought that Wickham was the best match for her and that Darcy was a creepy, rich man who despised Wickham. At this point in the novel, the “relationship” between Wickham and Lizzy has been shredded and burnt to ashes, figuratively speaking. Lizzy cannot forgive herself for the prejudice that she has shown and (SPOILER ALERT) ends up marrying Darcy in the end of the novel. Overall, the relative success of the relationship between Lizzy and Wickham is none that can be appreciated. 

Lydia and Wickham

            The relationship that develops between Lydia and Wickham is not one that has love as its foundation. Rather is a relationship in which physical desire has become more important than love. In addition, Lydia’s decision to run away with Wickham is one that shows her true character and society’s view on marriage during the time which the novel takes place. When describing their relationship, Austen does not have a direct dialogue between them. Instead it is based off what others say about them, which adds a sense of mystery to the entire marriage. In addition Austen characterizes Lydia as very flirtatious and her relationship with Wickham starts rather abruptly from her excessive flirting.

 Lydia is an energetic young girl who loves social functions and is always in the pursuit for pleasure. Unlike Elizabeth who passively searches for love, Lydia actively and energetically pursues Wickham who she is attracted to simply on the basis that he is an officer and is physically attractive. Although she knows that the two of them do not connect on a romantic level, and that Wickham wants to make his fortune by marrying a wealthy woman, she stakes her claim to Wickham and says “I will answer for it that he never cared three straws for her,”(p.186) after she finds out that he has lost interest in Miss King. The seemingly care free tone from the quote proves how Lydia does not really care about Wickham’s past love interests or even what he is looking for in a woman. She is selfish and only desires Wickham for pleasure and Wickham will never forgo the pleasure of sex when available. He is completely aware that Lydia is “crazy” about him. Looking only for pleasure, Lydia runs of too Brighton with Wickham, unaware of the shame that this action would bring to her family. Elizabeth says “you were aware of the great disadvantage to us all, which must arise from the public notice of Lydia’s unguarded and imprudent manner.”(p.195) In addition Elizabeth also finds out that “Wickham never intended to go there, or marry Lydia at all.”(p.229) This comes as a big shock because in the time period during which the novel took place, it was unheard of for a women to run away with a man if they were not married. Women weren’t even allowed to kiss a man who was not either their husband or family member. Therefore when Lydia ran off with Wickham it ruined her reputation and damaged her families reputation also. By doing so she also ruined her sisters’ chances of having eligible marriages. In order to save their reputation, Wickham was bribed into marrying Lydia

Thus it is evident that relationship between Lydia and Wickham is not one that can be considered as successful. Wickham had no intention of marrying Lydia. Lydia simply threw herself at Wickham and he could not pass up the opportunity to use her for his own pleasure. After they ran away Wickham slept with Lydia. He did not care for her reputation or her families one. However Darcy did care, and therefore paid off Wickham’s debt in order to make him marry her. In the end they do get married, but for all the wrong reasons. The relationship that Austen creates between Lydia and Wickham shows how two unintelligent and selfish people are brought together in marriage based only of physical desire and bribery rather than love. 

Jane Austen and the Narrator

Though Austen and the narrator don't exactly have what we'd call a relationship in the traditional sense of the word, they do have a dynamic that is worth examining. The narrator, as, well, the narrator, has a lot of influence over our opinion of the story and the characters, and we often assume them to be truthful. However...can we actually trust the narrator? This is the first question that must be asked when considering Austen's true stance on love and relationships. Keeping in mind the fact that Austen was never married, we need to take the narrator (who is NOT equivalent to the author) with a grain of salt. For example, his/her bold claim at the very beginning of the novel that "a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife"(volume I, chapter 1) seems not to be genuine advice; rather its place is to serve as irony. Love is not something that can be planned.
This opinion isn't obvious at first; after all, we have no reason to suspect the narrator at the outset. However, the narrator soon becomes in a way a sarcastic foil for Austen's own opinions on love and relationships. Take Mr. Collins' extremely rehearsed and tactless proposal to Elizabeth. The marriage itself would be economically advisable for Elizabeth, but Collins and the ideology of practicality he represents are ridiculed. The narrator doesn't present any opinion on Mr. Collins directly, but the underlying derisive humor is obvious. Collins quickly becomes a symbol for the ideology of arranged love. He is full of "perseverance in wilful self-deception"(volume I, chapter 19); he is a clergyman who is apparently less than godly (clergymen traditionally were not to be married), and he is completely socially inept. Elizabeth, who is portrayed as essentially the only sensible character, seems quite justified in rejecting him. This is intentional. The narrator and Austen build up our trust for Elizabeth by showing us her thoughts the most, and we share in her repugnance of Mr. Collins (and subconsciously for what he represents). The narrator seems to try to stay neutral throughout, but Austen's message is clear; arranged love is a joke.
In some cases, the Jane Austen's opinion on marriage isn't obvious. There are marriages throughout that "work" even though they don't match the type of marriage Austen seems to be trying to advocate; for example, Collins did in fact marry Charlotte Lucas, and even though there is obviously no love between them, Charlotte was "happy enough", according to the narrator. Jane and Mr. Bingley's marriage began as the construct of Mrs. Bennett, and the marriage seemed to work merely due to overwhelming good naturedness and naiveté on both sides. However, this non-clarity simply exaggerates Austen's apparent opinion that a marriage that "works" isn't enough. For example, once Collins did find a wife in Charlotte Lucas, their relationship was cold, to say the least. As for Charlotte, the narrator remarks that "When Mr. Collins could be forgotten, there was really a great air of comfort throughout, and by Charlotte's evident enjoyment of it, Elizabeth supposed he must be often forgotten"(volume II, chapter 5). The only aspect of the marriage that worked was the money. By showing the reader the difference between an "acceptable" marriage and an actually successful and happy one, Austen reinforces her point that fake love is worse than no love.
Throughout most of the novel, the narrator played a limited role; mostly, Austen chose to let the characters and their thoughts do the talking. When the narrator did take a stance, however, it was to condemn (directly or indirectly) the idea of creating love. Austen's "relationship" with the narrator served solely to inject a bit of sense into this fictitious age of false courtship and effective gold digging. The moral? It's possible to arrange a marriage. It's possible to convince yourself that you love someone. It might even give you what you want materially. But real love can't be manufactured, and attempting to do so will only lead to unhappiness.    

Jane and Mr. Bingley

In Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, Austen examines the social customs of her time, specifically regarding the institution of marriage. By creating and developing several very unique relationships throughout the novel, she paints a portrait of how marriage worked during her time. She depicts a wide range of relationships- ones that aren’t meant to be, ones that are for business rather than love, some that take a long time to blossom, and some that take on a fairytale- like quality. Of all the relationships she describes in the book, the one between Jane and Mr. Bingley is certainly the fairytale- like one. Austen relies heavily on dialogue and characterization to develop and depict their wonderful and pure relationship throughout all of its stages-the beginning where they started to fall for each other, the inevitable conflict in which they were separated, and the resolution, in which they withstood the test of separation and tied the knot.
     When the two first met, Austen used that combination of dialogue and characterization to show the readers how perfect the two of them were together. Right away, the description of him was that “Mr. Bingley was good looking, and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners” (Austen 12). Furthermore, after first meeting him, Jane says that “He is just what a young man ought to be… sensible, good humored, lively; and I never saw such happy manners!- so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!” (Austen 16). The descriptions the characters provide of Mr. Bingley clearly shows that he is a good man. As Bingley makes his impressions, Jane is doing the same. Others describe her by saying, “Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld!” (Austen 13) and “Miss Bennet was therefore established as a sweet girl…” (Austen 18). With these repeated characterizations of their compatible personalities, Austen is clearly setting up for a blossoming romance. Both of them are sweet, polite, sensible, and clearly have some attraction to each other. Jane and Bingley’s romance is most certainly of the stereotypical ‘beautiful maiden and handsome prince’ type, and the reader can clearly see that through her choice of literary devices. Austen also does something very subtle with the dialogue to further make her point- she barely depicts Jane and Bingley talking face to face; rather, the dialogue comes from what others say about them, and what one of them says about the other to someone else. The lack of dialogue between the two especially emphasizes a very key aspect of Jane’s personality- it emphasizes her naturally reserved character. Jane is described as having “…united with great strength of feeling, a composure of temper and an uniform cheerfulness of manner, which would guard her from the suspicions of the impertinent” (Austen 22). That means that she withholds her feelings from the rest of the world so well that she might appear indifferent when she’s actually quite in love. Since she is never depicted talking to Bingley, the reader never witnesses what is said between the pair. Perhaps why Austen overlooks their dialogue is because nothing of substance is said between the two, which would further suggest that Jane keeps her feelings to herself.
     Soon after meeting each other, the development of the relationship is halted when Bingley moves away, and of course no dialogue occurs between them at this time; the reader only receives Jane’s input on the subject. Since Austen consistently neglects to include dialogue between the pair even from the beginning, the obvious lack of it during this period makes the separation seem less permanent. If she had included dialogue between the two, the sudden lack of it would seem extremely damaging to the relationship. Since Austen never did, however, it makes it seem like it’s nothing but a minor bump in the road, something that will only delay their inevitable happiness rather than crush it. 
     Then, after a few months Bingley comes back from London. Although awkward at first, the two almost immediately pick up where they left off. Not long after his return, Bingley proposes to Jane. Elizabeth "... had to listen to all he had to say of his own happiness, and of Jane's perfections; and in spite of his being a lover... [she] believed all his expectations of felicity to be rationally founded, because they had for basis the excellent understanding, and super-excellent disposition of Jane, and a general similarity of feeling and taste between her and himself" (Austen 336). This dialogue is directed not to Jane but to Elizabeth, which is how Austen has Bingley express his feelings throughout the story. This consistency of style reflects the consistency of his feelings. To further emphasize how perfect for each other Jane and Bingley are, Austen characterizes them one last time by way of Mr. Bennet, to bring home the idea. "You are a good girl," he replied, "and I have great pleasure in thinking you will be so happily settled. I have not a doubt of your doing very well together. Your tempers are by no means unlike. You are each of you so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your income" (Austen 337).
     This being said, Austen wraps up Jane and Bingley's relationship in a pretty, neat little bow. The perfection of their personalities and dispositions are clearly displayed by characterization, and their likelihood of marital happiness is shown by a clever use of dialogue. Jane and Bingley's relationship is definitively the fairytale-like one of the novel.

Jane and Mr. Bingley

     When you hear the novel Pride and Prejudice mentioned, it immediately comes to mind as a love story. The plot revolves around the relationship between Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, but theirs is not the only successful relationship in the story worth mentioning. The relationship between Miss Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley is just as successful, and just as romantic, if not more so. Theirs is a stereotypical almost “love at first sight” relationship. Jane Austen highlights this relationship as one of the most important in the novel, and shows its success with the use of characterization, foreshadowing and selection of detail.
     From the very beginning, readers see Jane and Bingley as a match made in heaven, the perfect couple. Austen emphasizes this in her characterization of both Jane and Bingley. Jane’s beauty is mentioned an innumerable number of times, as is the handsomeness of Mr. Bingley. In addition, Jane is described by Mr. Bingley’s sisters as a “sweet girl” (16). Elizabeth Bennet also describes her sister to be “’a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in general… I never heard you speak ill of a human being in my life’” (14). These descriptions of Jane as a kind, sweet, considerate girl are parallel to descriptions of Mr. Bingley throughout the novel. Bingley is continually said to be gentleman-like  and Austen depicts him as having “a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners” (11). At their first meeting, early in the novel, Jane and Bingley both see these positive characteristics in each other, and see nothing negative to come from their relationship.  There is an immediate connection between the two.
     As the novel goes on, the relationship between Jane and Bingley progresses as well. As a result of a cold and her mother’s scheming, Jane stays at Bingley’s estate for a week, an event neither she nor Bingley dislikes. Their interactions continue, and it is evident to readers as well as the other characters in the novel that Jane and Bingley are to be together. While the two are at a ball hosted by Bingley, Austen uses foreshadowing to portray this concept to readers. Other than within the Bennet family, Sir William Lucas is the first to make such an assumption of Jane and Bingley’s marriage. He says to Elizabeth: “’I must hope to have this pleasure often repeated, especially when a certain desirable event, my dear Miss Eliza (glancing at her sister and Bingley), shall take place. What congratulations will then flow in!’” (81) Their union is mentioned again, when Elizabeth, while at the ball, is imagining Jane and Bingley’s lives together, and how happy they will be together.
     The relationship between Jane and Bingley takes a turn for the worst when Bingley leaves Netherfield to go to London, and it appears to be permanent. Jane learns of this new turn of events through correspondence with Caroline Bingley, who, in every letter, mentions how happy she would be with a marriage between her brother and Mr. Darcy’s sister. While Austen does include excerpts from these letters, which show Miss Bingley’s opinions on the matter, not once in these letters are the words of Mr. Bingley actually discussed. It is rightly decided by Elizabeth that Bingley does love Jane indeed, and the only reason for his absence is his sister’s objections to their relationship. Austen says: “To Caroline’s assertions of her brother’s being partial to Miss Darcy she paid no credit. That he was really fond of Jane, she doubted no more than she had ever done” (115).  Elizabeth closes the conversation on this subject by settling on the idea that “’they [Bingley’s sisters] may wish many things besides his happiness; they may wish his increase of wealth and consequence; they may wish him to marry a girl who has all the importance of money, great connections, and pride’” (118).  Austen’s choice to describe Bingley’s feelings only through his sister’s words leave room for belief in his unrelenting feelings for Jane, which are certainly shown in Elizabeth’s words.
     After a period of time where Jane and Bingley are separated and all hope is almost lost for the relationship, Elizabeth learns the real reason for the separation lies with Mr. Darcy and it is in fact not a loss of feelings on Bingley’s part. Between Elizabeth and Darcy, the problem is resolved, and the love story of Jane and Mr. Bingley has a happy ending. Bingley returns to Netherfield, and after only a short time back, proposes to Jane, and she is more than happy to accept. All possible conflict in the relationship has been resolved, and Jane Austen closes the book on their fairy-tale relationship with Jane and Mr. Bingley living happily ever after. 

Miss Bingley and Mr. Darcy

          When people think of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, the stereotypical love story often comes to mind. The eventual love shared between protagonists Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy has captured the hearts of many readers over the decades. The less successful relationships in the novel tend to be forgotten, however, as all is resolved between Lizzy and Darcy. One of such relationships is between Miss Bingley and Mr. Darcy. After reading the novel, one will not wonder why such a pair never worked out. Interestingly enough, several literary devices are utilized by Austen to highlight the overall failure of the relationship.

            Although readers are not informed of how the relationship between the two began, besides assuming that it was the association between Bingley and Darcy, it can be presumed that Darcy never had much admiration for Miss Bingley. One of the mains reasons factoring into  their failed intimacy is her incessant jealousy of Lizzy, and her premeditated efforts to tarnish Darcy's opinion of her. Her personal attacks on Lizzy often fall to her physical appearance and social status. Such malevolent, rather catty behavior is observed quite often throughout the novel. For example, after Lizzy's novel arrival at Netherfield, colored from exercise and dirtied from the long journey, Miss Bingley is described as "abusing her as soon as she was out of the room" (Austen 36). Austen appropriately utilizes diction and syntax to provide emphasis on such rude mannerisms. For example, Austen chooses to not include the majority of Miss Bingley's gossiping, instead providing a brief overview of her points- that Lizzy's "manners were pronounced to be very bad," and that "she had no conversation, no style, no taste, no beauty" (Austen 36). The lack of direct quotations in this scene perhaps emphasizes how unnecessary and rather unimportant Miss Bingley's voiced opinions are. Seeing no encouragement from Darcy, she speaks directly to him, assuming that Elizabeth's condition had affected his admiration of her eyes. Darcy's reply is rather short, and curt- "Not at all," followed by, "they were brightened by the exercise" (Austen 37). The usage of syntax exemplified by brief sentences  shows Darcy's overall disapproval of Miss Bingley's malicious behavior, and unwillingness to contribute to such banter.

            However, Miss Bingley does not just resort to rude, secretive comments - she also makes several snide remarks directly to Lizzy, while feigning a friendly disposition. While visiting Pemberley, for instance, Miss Bingley noticed Lizzy's attempts to become friendly with Miss Darcy, and angrily comments, "Pray, Miss Eliza, are not the -shire militia removed from Meryton? They must be a great loss to your family" (Austen 262). Austen uses italicized words to create emphasis on the true intentions of the speakers. In this case, Miss Bingley is indirectly insulting Lizzy's lower social status, and intends to introduce Wickham into the conversation, "to whom she believed her partial, to make her betray a sensibility which might injure her in Darcy's opinion" (Austen 262). One knows how poor Miss Bingley's decisions are when even the narrator of the story shows bias on the situation. While again voicing her dislike for Lizzy and attempting to get Darcy to admit that his admiration of her was ruined, it is mentioned that "this was not the best method of recommending herself; but angry people are not always wise" and after Darcy disproves her attempts angrily, it is also mentioned that "Miss Bingley was left to all the satisfaction of having forced him to say what gave no one any pain but herself" (Austen 264). Her actions in this scene ultimately resolves their relationship, by eradicating its possibility entirely. Additionally, while contributing to a conversation between Lizzy and Darcy, she is even referred to by the narrator as "his faithful assistant" (Austen 40). Although novels are often opinionated, their views are often created by the views and actions of the characters. The fact that the narrator of Pride and Prejudice has a clear opinion of Miss Bingley's behavior only strengthens the idea that the relationship will be unsuccessful.

            In addition to her tendency to gossip, Miss Bingley's obsessive behavior also adds to her flawed character. Such obsessions are an example of situational irony in the novel. For example,  while at Netherfield, the party is trying to pass the time by activities such as playing cards, walking, and reading. Miss Bingley is reading next to Darcy, and her "attention was quite as much engaged  in watching Mr. Darcy's progress through his book, as in reading her own; and she was perpetually either making some enquiry, or looking at his page" (Austen 55). One normally would expect her to be absorbed into her own book, but it is actually quite the contrary. She makes her admiration of him apparent by her incessant interest after what he is doing. She additionally watches him as he writes a letter to his sister, and often makes comments about the length of the letter, his handwriting, and wished of regard to his sister; and receives curt, if any, replies. In this scene, Austen deviated from her previous technique of avoiding detail by including every comment Miss Bingley makes, and every reply she receives. This selection of detail by the author emphasizes just how annoying this behavior is to Darcy. She never fails to be by his side and striving to receive his good opinion. Such behavior is as irritating as it is curious, and it is no wonder that Darcy showed no admiration towards her. 

Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy

Jane Austen takes great care in developing the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.  Although Elizabeth and Darcy initially dislike one another, each develops emotionally to overcome their own pride and see each other for what they truly are and not what society makes them out to be.  In order for readers to understand this relationship and its complexity, Jane Austen uses literary devices such as characterization and conflict.

Conflict between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is central to Pride and Prejudice and essential to the two characters relationship. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are conflicted in their prejudices against one another’s character and social status throughout the novel. For example, in their first encounter, Mr. Darcy calls Elizabeth is “tolerable, but not enough to tempt me.” (Austen 12)  This is an example of Darcy’s heightened pride and expectations.  Yet Elizabeth also has high expectations and prejudices against the proud Mr. Darcy. She comes to detest him and his air of superior rank.  Yet what Elizabeth doesn’t know is that Darcy secretly admires her headstrong mind, and with each conflict feels “the danger of paying Elizabeth too much attention. “(Austen 51)Mr. Darcy is afraid that repeated conflict with Elizabeth will drive her away. In an effort to resolve this, Darcy proposes to Elizabeth. However, Elizabeth’s pride has been hurt by Darcy, and lets her negative feelings show in her rejection to his proposal, stating ““From the very beginning...your manners impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form that groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike.” (Austen 164) The conflict between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy seems almost impossible to break. However, Elizabeth’s accusations and harsh words towards Darcy are exactly what prompts him to eventually reveal to Elizabeth his inner feelings and motives in order to resolve their conflict and win her heart.  It is the strength of the conflict between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth that causes the former to attempt to ignore his prejudices against “his sense of her inferiority” and display his affection for her personality. Without an initial clash between these two headstrong characters, Mr. Darcy would never have seen the necessity to show Elizabeth his true feelings and make her fall for himself and not his superior social status.

                Characterization is key to the development of Elizabeth and Darcy’s relationship. In the novel, Austen develops the personalities of these two characters slowly, particularly in Mr. Darcy’s case. For example, Darcy originally comes off as rude and prejudiced against the lower class. Austen describes him as “to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased.” (Austen 11) It is this impression that causes Elizabeth to dislike Mr. Darcy and feel prejudiced against him. This dislike is later fueled by lies Mr. Wickham tells Elizabeth about Darcy. Thus, the initial relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is minimal and filled with much apprehensive detest. However, Austen’s use of characterization slowly  shifts the gears of this relationship.  Even though Elizabeth’s pride is hurt by Darcy, when he proposes even she cannot feel “insensible to the compliment of such a man’s affection.”  (Austen 161)  Then , after Elizabeth  rejects Darcy’s first proposal, Darcy writes her a letter that sheds more light on his true character. He writes “I shall hope to be in the future secured, after the following account of my actions and their motives has been read.” (Austen 167) The letter reveals that Mr. Darcy is not accountable for hindering Jane and Mr. Bingley’s relationship or preventing Mr. Wickham from pursuing his dreams of the clergy, both circumstances which Elizabeth had originally blamed Darcy for. This letter begins to change Elizabeth’s opinion of Darcy. Elizabeth felt “ashamed of herself, for of neither Darcy or Wickham could she think without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, and absurd.” (Austen 177). The changing feelings of Elizabeth towards Darcy begins to warm their relationship, and it continues to grow throughout the rest of the novel. Each character becomes more accepting of the other’s social class and rank. Austen writes that  “Miss Bennett was the only creature who could suppose there might be any extenuating circumstances in the case, unknown to the society of Hertfordshire; her mild and steady candour always pleaded for allowances and urged the possibility of mistakes—but by everybody else Mr. Darcy was condemned as the worst of men.”  In Mr. Darcy’s case, he accepts Elizabeth’s family and even goes out on a chase to bring her sister back home after she elopes with Mr. Wickham, showing how he cares more for Elizabeth’s family than he does about social status. This act of kindness truly brings Elizabeth to love Mr. Darcy by the end of the novel, and they are happily married in the final chapters. The characterization of these characters  causes each one to see each other in new and more appealing lights as the novel progresses, and shows how each lets down their own pretentious walls  to fall in love at last.

Lizzy and Darcy

Jane Austen sets up quite a different love story between Lizzy and Darcy. Normally a classic love story consists of the two people meeting and instantly falling for each other. However it took a little longer for Lizzy and Darcy to find love for each other. They actually barely tolerated each other when they first met. Austen’s use of a condescending tone sets up this dynamic very well for how this relationship began. When Darcy first notices Elizabeth it says “he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till caching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me…’” (p12) So they start off with Darcy condescending her and Elizabeth being offended by him. It’s not exactly the kindling’s of love.  They’re cold attitude toward each other continues, especially when Elizabeth goes to visit Jane at Netherfield. Elizabeth argued with him and exceedingly tried to offend him by making little jabs at his personality. Austen uses a bit of foreshadowing to set up how Lizzy and Darcy’s relationship will progress. When Lizzy and Darcy were both at Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s, Charlotte said to Lizzy “My dear Eliza, he must be in love with you, or he would never have called on us in this familiar way.”(p153) However Elizabeth declares this impossible for she is too certain of their dislike for each other. This does stem into the irony that Austen uses throughout Pride and Prejudice.  Austen uses irony especially in Lizzy and Darcy’s case. Their whole relationship is ironic because at first they hated each other but they end up falling in love with each other.  From the previous quote, Lizzy couldn’t possibly imagine that Darcy could be in love with her, but then shortly after, he proposed to her.  Once he declared his love for her the book said, “Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression.”(p161) It was very ironic that after she showed him countless times her clear feelings of dislike that he loved her.  Then once Lizzy actually found out the truth about Darcy she fell in love with him, ironically because she thought her dislike of him wouldn’t change. Even when Lizzy told her sister of her and Darcy’s engagement she found it hard to believe “Oh Lizzy! It cannot be. I know how much you dislike him.” (p313) So even her sister found it hard to believe and it was so ironic that Lizzy should end up loving him in the end because in the beginning of their relationship that barely seemed impossible. Through Austen’s use of tone, foreshadowing and irony, the reader sees Lizzy and Darcy’s relationship progress from hardened to dislike to loving each other.