Mr. Collins’ and Mr. Darcy’s first proposals to Elizabeth. How do they :: Free Essay Writer

Mr. Collins’ and Mr. Darcy’s first proposals to Elizabeth. How do they style and the content of the proposals reflect on how these three characters are portrayed in the rest of the novel. In what ways are attitudes to marriage different from today? Pride and Prejudice =================== Compare and contrast of Mr. Collins’ and Mr. Darcy’s first proposals to Elizabeth. How do they style and the content of the proposals reflect on how these three characters are portrayed in the rest of the novel. In what ways are attitudes to marriage different from today? Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ reveals the importance of social status and how marriages affected women at that time. The book opens with the words, ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ This implies that the chief interest in the book will be marriage. The main character is Elizabeth Bennet who, unlike Charlotte Lucas, does not want to marry only for a comfortable and to avoid the stigma of not being married, but also for love. There is a big contrast between Mr Collins’ and Darcy’s proposal and give us insight into these three character. Mr. Collins is a figure of comedy in this novel. He is described as ‘not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society’. He speaks in a very formal way indeed. He is a picture of ‘pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility’ At Longbourn having been told that Jane was likely to marry Mr. Bingley, Mr. Collins decides to propose to Elizabeth Bennet, ‘having no feelings of diffidence’ with ‘all his solemn composure’ because he supposes this is only a ‘regular part of business’. First, he asks for a private conversation with Elizabeth. Before Elizabeth has met Mr. Collins, she was ‘chiefly struck with his extraordinary deference for Lady Catherine de Bourgh’, but after she sees him, her dislike towards Collins is even stronger. At the Netherfield ball, Mr. Collins requests the first two dances with Elizabeth that let her feel ‘herself completely taken in’. In the meantime, she also realizes that her mother is planning a marriage for her, but she has never expected this proposal. Therefore, this proposal gives Elizabeth ‘a blush of surprise’. She immediately tries to avoid for not having a private conversation with Mr. Collins and says ‘I am going away myself’ which shows she wants to escape from the embarrassment. However, her mother insists upon Elizabeth ‘staying and hearing Mr. Collins’’.