pride and prejudices

Pride & Prejudice

Overview

Set in the English countryside in a county roughly thirty miles from London, the novel opens with the Bennet family in Longbourn and their five unmarried daughters. The family itself is not nearly as rich as those they interact with and because they have no sons, the property is entailed to pass to a male heir, in this case, Mr. Collins. Mrs. Bennet is intent on seeing her daughters married off to wealthy men and when Charles Bingley arrives at nearby Netherfield Park she is excited by the prospect of introducing her daughters to him. She immediately sends her husband to visit him on the first day he arrives.

When he next arrives, Bingley brings with him Mr. Darcy and his two sisters, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. Bingley is immediately attracted to Jane Bennet, the oldest of the five sisters. Darcy, unlike the social apt Bingley, is proud and rude, immediately insulting Elizabeth Bennet when someone suggests he asks her to dance, insulting her appearance. Later, at the next dance after witnessing the sharpness of her mind, Darcy displays an attraction to Elizabeth at a second ball, but she refuses him because of how the insults he heaped upon her before.

Jane and Bingley however only become closer and when Jane becomes ill on a visit to Netherfield, she stays there for a few days, asking Elizabeth to join her and help care for her. During her stay, Elizabeth is forced to confront Darcy again and again and while she is still disinterested in him, he begins to fall for her wit and frank approach to conversation, being so used to pretty words from other women. Elizabeth quickly realizes that Miss Bingley largely dislikes the Bennet family and that she only pretends to be friends with Jane.

Soon after, Bingley, his sisters, and Darcy depart for London, announcing to Jane that they have no intentions of returning to Netherfield anytime soon and that Bingley will likely marry another woman, Miss Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s sister. Meanwhile, Elizabeth meets Mr. Wickham who she immediately is drawn towards. He tells her falsehoods about his relationship with Mr. Darcy, that he was cheated out of a piece of inheritance from Darcy’s father. However, Wickham soon takes up with another woman who he plans to marry and Elizabeth, after the careful warnings of her family leaves him be.

Jane goes to stay in London after the Gardiners, her aunt and uncle, arrive and offer their residence for her upon hearing of her plight with Bingley. She tries repeatedly to see him but is rebuked by Miss Bingley from even letting Bingley know she is in London and she slowly begins to accept the rejection.

Elizabeth goes to visit Mr. Collins and her friend Charlotte, recently married and there runs into Darcy again. He proposes marriage to her, but she flatly refuses, citing his treatment of Jane and Wickham. He, however, gives her a letter explaining that Wickham had lied and that Jane had seemed largely disinterested by Bingley so he warned against the match. Elizabeth begins to believe him, but he has already left for London again. She returns home afterward to find that her sister Lydia has been invited to Brighton to stay with a Colonel and the moving army regiment, which she advises her father against allowing. She, however, leaves anyways.

After a planned vacation to the lake country is cut short, Elizabeth spends summer vacation with the Gardiners in Pemberley instead where she once again runs into Darcy. She also meets his sister who is quite nice and finds that Darcy himself is much more agreeable than before. Most of the bad traits she had disliked before seem to have vanished.

She is however called back home quickly when it is revealed that Lydia has run off with Wickham. She returns home while her father and Mr. Gardiner search for the two in London. It’s revealed that Darcy actually finds them eventually and helps to pay the dowry for Wickham to take Lydia in marriage, an act that impresses Elizabeth greatly.

Bingley reappears in Netherfield Park for a short while and resumes courting Jane, while Lady de Bourgh arrives and acts rudely towards the Bennet family, warning Elizabeth against marrying Darcy, as her daughter is supposed to marry him. A few days later Darcy returns himself and proposes to Elizabeth to which she now accepts. Jane and Bingley are also engaged shortly before Elizabeth’s engagement.

The two are married on the same day and Mrs. Bennet is ecstatic. Bingley and Jane move to Derbyshire after a year and Elizabeth and Darcy live together in Pemberley with often visits from many of her friends. The novel ends with everyone trying to get along after so many insults and poor relations.

Characters

Mrs. Bennet – The mother of the five Bennet daughters and an avid matchmaker, she is often described and acts vulgar, embarrassing her daughters and disinteresting suitors and their families. She is often very quick to push them towards potential husbands and acts with minimal intelligence on certain matters, relying on instinct instead.

Mr. Bennet – Largely quiet and witty with his replies, Mr. Bennet is a country gentleman and father of five daughters. He occasionally makes rash and poor decisions but is considered in higher regard than his more crass wife.

Jane Bennet – The eldest of the Bennet daughters is considered very beautiful and shy and often acts without outward emotion, confusing those around her. She is good-natured and only sees the good in others, at times rather naively.

Elizabeth Bennet - The protagonist of the novel and the second Bennet daughter, Elizabeth is considered witty and sarcastic with her streak of pride. She is a little plain compared to her sisters, but has a much keener wit and eventually falls in love with Mr. Darcy despite her early dislike of him.

Mary Bennet - The only sister of the five who do not often participate in social events or leave the house, Mary starts the book in her room reading and ends it in her room reading, with her mother begging her attentions.

Kitty Bennet – As the fourth daughter, Kitty often goes with Lydia to meet with the soldiers. She plays a very small role in the course of the novel save to visit and discuss matters with her other sisters.

Lydia Bennet – The youngest Bennet daughter as well as the least thoughtful of the five. She makes rash decisions and though she is Mrs. Bennet’s favorite, she finds herself shunned by her father and the rest of her family when she runs off and nearly elopes with Wickham.

G eorge Wickham – A childhood acquaintance of Darcy, Wickham is a military officer who pretends to be slighted by Darcy to gain favor with women. He begged money of him and almost eloped with his sister before Darcy cut him off and eventually he does the same with Lydia and the Bennet family.

Mr. Collins – The cousin and nearest male heir of Mr. Bennet, Mr. Collins will receive the property when Mr. Bennet dies. He is a clergyman for Lady de Bourgh’s estate and acts with a degree of self-importance that angers Mr. Bennet.

Charles Bingley – The first gentleman and suitor introduced in the book is Bingley, the young gentleman who moves to within 3 miles of the Bennets and excites their prospects of a strong match with Jane. He falls in love with Jane early but is talked out of the match by his sisters and Darcy due to the low standing of the Bennet family and Jane’s apparent disinterest.

Mr. Darcy – A wealthy gentleman from Derbyshire, Darcy is at first a rude and unpleasant fellow, full of pride and ill will who eventually comes to love Elizabeth and change his mannerisms for her. He shows his love for her by helping her sister in the marriage to Wickham and by being cordial and polite after her refusal of marriage. He eventually succeeds in winning her love in return.

Miss Bingley – Largely interested in Mr. Darcy as a match, Miss Bingley is shallow and petty, pretending to befriend Jane and Elizabeth while bad-mouthing them both behind their backs. Her attitude is considered ill by many of the books other characters and she plays a central role in keeping Bingley away from Jane when they move back to London.

Lady Catherina de Bourgh – An aunt of Darcy and mother of his prospective match, she is very arrogant and domineering and goes so far as to travel to the Bennet home and threaten Elizabeth when she hears a rumor of her possible marriage to Darcy.

Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner – Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle, they are instrumental in assisting with the marriage of Lydia, and the reunion of Darcy and Elizabeth. They are both highly regarded by all members of the family and largely liked.

Chapter 1

The novel opens with an ironic statement about marriage, which is the axis around which the world of Longbourn turns: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”. Presently everyone in Longbourn, Hertfordshire, is excited about the fact that Mr. Bingley, an unmarried, rich young man, is to settle at Netherfield Park, a fine estate nearby. Mrs. Bennet’s excitement is extraordinary, for she has five daughters that she wants to have married, especially the older ones. Her mind is fired with matrimonial speculations, and she tries to persuade her husband to pay a visit to Mr. Bingley as soon as he arrives. Mr. Bennet pokes fun at his wife’s impetuosity and jokes that he will give the newcomer a carte blanche so that he can marry anyone of their daughters, including the little Lizzy. Mrs. Bennet is nettled and accuses her husband of having no compassion for her poor nerves.

Chapter 2

Mr. Bennet is one of the first callers on Mr. Bingley, and he withholds this information merely to vex his wife. Still in the dark about her husband’s visit, Mrs. Bennet seems ludicrously desperate to have her husband call on the new neighbor, and her husband’s incessant talk about Mr. Bingley seems to rub salt over her wounds. As Mrs. Bennet grows more impatient and irritated with her husband, he casually informs his wife and daughters about his visit. They are all astonished at his promptness, and Mrs. Bennet is full of praise for him. She remarks that he is an “excellent father.” Mr. Bennet, disgusted with his wife’s outburst, leaves the room to take refuge in his study.

Chapter 3

Bingley returns Mr. Bennet’s visit and the Bennets invite him to have dinner with them but he declines as he has business in town. When he returns for a nearby ball thrown by Sir William and Lady Lucas, he brings his sisters and Mr. Darcy. The first introduction of Darcy is not favorable as the ladies observe that he is rich and attractive but too proud. He makes his comments on Elizabeth, that she is not quite “handsome enough” for his tastes, turning down someone’s comment for him to ask her to dance. Jane meanwhile dances with Bingley and excites Mrs. Bennet.

Chapter 4

In each other’s confidence, Jane tells Elizabeth that she admires Bingley and that she enjoys his sisters’ company as well. Elizabeth is not so easily charmed and finds her sister too easy to impress, “blind to the follies and nonsense of others”. She finds his sisters proud all by themselves and too eager for Bingley to make his estate (he inherited his money from his father). Miss Bingley, the unmarried of his sisters will live with him in Netherfield and the friendship between Darcy and Bingley is revealed to be rather deep with Bingley having a high regard for Darcy’s intelligence.

Chapter 5

Chapter five introduces more of Sir William and Lady Lucas and their family, which is quite large with many children. Their oldest daughter Charlotte is one of Elizabeth’s best friends and the chapter shows the conversations between the Lucas and Bennet daughters as they discuss Mr. Darcy and his pride, including his unwillingness to talk to a woman he sat beside for as much as half an hour and how rude he was to Elizabeth. They agree however that much of her being upset is because he was rude to her.

Chapter 6

The ladies of Longbourn and those of Netherfield exchange visits. Jane Bennet’s immaculate manners and cheerful disposition please Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, but they do not care much about her family. It is quite obvious to Elizabeth that Jane is succumbing to Mr. Bingley’s charms although she is inclined to think that “her uniform cheerfulness of manner” is a foolproof camouflage to hide her true feelings about anything. Elizabeth confides this fact to her friend Charlotte.

While Elizabeth is preoccupied with Bingley’s attention to her sister Jane, she does not realize that she is becoming the focal point of Darcy’s attention. Darcy, who had earlier written off Elizabeth as a ‘tolerable’ maiden, later realizes that she has lovely eyes and a fine figure. He wishes to know her better and tries to listen in on her conversations with others.

At a party, Elizabeth is goaded to play the piano and sing. She readily obliges and charms the audience with her performance. She is followed at the piano by her sister Mary, who is most eager to showcase her talent. Darcy stands aloof, wrapped in his thoughts. Suddenly, Sir William Lucas draws him into a conversation. Lucas stumps him by suggesting aloud that he must dance with Elizabeth. Darcy beseeches her to dance with him, but Elizabeth spurns him in retribution for his earlier refusal to dance with her. As Darcy stands apart and thinks about Elizabeth, Miss Bingley approaches and asks what he is thinking. He blatantly replies that the subject of his musings is Elizabeth Bennet. Miss Bingley is stupefied and teases him about the probability of having Mrs. Bennet for a mother-in-law.

Chapter 7

The two youngest Bennet sisters, Kitty and Lydia, visit their Aunt (via their mother) Mrs. Phillips in Meryton. There is a military base of sorts in Meryton and in due time the two become acquainted with the officers in the regiment, learning more on each visit.

Jane is invited to Netherfield to have supper with Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst (not to mention Bingley himself) and is advised by her mother to go on horseback so that if there is rain, she will be invited to stay the night. In the course of the three-mile ride, Jane is soaked by the rain and does stay there, but gets cold in the process. Elizabeth, therefore, visits her to check on her health and ends up staying herself at the request of her sister.

Chapter 8

Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, however, do not fully appreciate Elizabeth and take the opportunity to jab at her pride and lack of manners whenever she is not around. They voice their empathy for Jane as well because of her family and lack of connections. They worry for her chances at making a good match.

That evening, the Bingleys, Hursts, and Darcy have a card game in which more details regarding Pemberley – Darcy’s estate – and his sisters are revealed.

Chapter 9

The rest of the Bennet women arrive to visit Jane – Mrs. Bennet, Kitty, and Lydia – and it is generally decided that she should not yet return home as she is not quite perfectly healthy. Lydia plays her part well and mentions to Bingley that he had made mention of a ball being held at his estate, to which he agrees when Jane is feeling better. Mrs. Bennet discusses the differences between country and city living with the Bingley sisters, after which they once again take to jabs at the Bennet family. Darcy, however, will not take the opportunity himself to join in mocking Elizabeth.

Chapter 10

As Jane continues recovering, with the women reading, writing, and playing music, Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance. She once again turns him down, unwilling to allow him “the pleasure of despising” her and her taste. Miss Bingley grows increasingly jealous of Darcy’s attentions for Elizabeth, a girl she finds beneath her.

Chapter 11

With Jane finally feeling better, she arrives in the drawing-room and spends a few hours of the evening talking with Bingley in the drawing-room. Meanwhile, Miss Bingley engages him in the discussion of the ball, to which he replies that he was serious about having one. She also notices that Darcy does not pay her any attention but that when she asks Elizabeth to walk with her, he takes note.

Darcy and Elizabeth have a conversation of their own on the nature of pride in each of them. She comments that his problem is a “propensity to hate everybody” and he responds by saying that she tries to “willfully misunderstand” those same people.

Chapter 12

Elizabeth writes begging her mother to send the carriage so they may return home. This does not fit into Mrs. Bennet’s plans of them staying a full week and says the carriage is not available. Elizabeth asks Jane to inquiry if Bingley’s carriage was available. Yes, they can leave the next day. Caroline proposes a delay but regrets it. Her jealousy and dislike for one sister exceed the affection for the other. Bingley was deeply sorry that they were leaving. Mr. Darcy was not. Elizabeth had been too long at Netherfield. “She attracted him more than he liked.” Miss Bingley was uncivil to her and teased him even more. He resolved to not give her any reason to suspect his admiration one way or the other. He scarcely spoke ten words to her on the last day even though they were alone together for half an hour. Miss Bingley was civil to Elizabeth only on her parting. Their mother was not pleased to see them at home, but their father was. The conversation at Longbourn had lost all sense. Mary was deep in study with some new thread-bare morality to share. Kitty and Lydia had news of officers. Colonel Forster might get married.

Chapter 13

Mr. Bennet announces, after some playfulness in withholding the name, that his cousin Mr. Collins has written him a letter and will be staying with them for a few days. He is the heir of Mr. Bennet’s estate because he has no sons. For his part, Mr. Collins is guilty over being the next in line for a property that should not rightfully be his. He is a man of the church as well and has been given important patronage. Mr. Bennet does not appreciate the letter however and decides that his cousin is too self-important. When Mr. Collins arrives, he is the picture of perfect manners and compliments and it is soon realized that he intends to marry one of the Bennet girls.

Chapter 14

Mr. Collins has secured his parish through the patronage of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, a wealthy widow with an only daughter. As a result, his attitude towards her is one of fawning subservience, and during his visit to the Bennets, he never stops praising her. Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s daughter is a young lady of delicate health, which precludes her from taking her rightful place in society.

Mr. Collins repeats some of the compliments he has paid to his patroness and her daughter; Mr. Bennet is thoroughly amused -- “his cousin was as absurd as he had hoped.”

After teatime, Mr. Bennet takes his guest into the drawing-room, and a book is offered to him. On discovering that the book is a novel, he cringes in horror and proceeds to read aloud from Fordyce’s sermons. He is interrupted by Lydia, who makes a flippant comment about an army officer. Mr. Collins is offended by the interruption and puts down his book. He spends the remainder of the evening playing backgammon.

Chapter 15

Very quickly, Mr. Collins decides that due to his obligation in the inheritance he will ask for Jane’s hand in marriage, but is dissuaded when Mrs. Bennet tells him that there is another to whom she will likely soon be engaged. Quickly, Mr. Collins changes his choice to Elizabeth. The Bennet sisters, accompanied by Collins take a walk to Meryton where they run across Mr. Denny, one of Lydia and Kitty’s officer friends. He has with him a Mr. Wickham, a recently commissioned corps member of Mr. Denny, whom Elizabeth finds rather appealing. As the group meets and discusses matters, Bingley and Darcy arrives, to which Elizabeth takes note of both Darcy and Wickham’s change in color at meeting each other, with Darcy appearing angry at the officer.

The sisters quickly move on with Mr. Collins to visit Mrs. Phillips, who invites them to dinner the next day. At the dinner, there will bee numerous other guests including some of the officers and Mr. Wickham.

Chapter 16

The Bennet sisters and Mr. Collins arrive at Mrs. Phillips’ for dinner the next day where Mr. Wickham is as well. Wickham and Elizabeth engage in a long evening of conversation in which the topic of Mr. Darcy is brought up and her disgust with his pride. Wickham speaks highly of Darcy’s father as “one of the best men that ever breathed”, who bestowed upon his son a decent sum that would have kept him well off for as long as he lived. He also reveals that he grew up with Darcy as his father was a steward for Darcy’s father and that in the will Wickham was to receive a post as a Clergy of one the Rectory that Darcy’s family oversees. However, Darcy did not honor the will, which angers Elizabeth to no end. Wickham expands by adding that Darcy’s sister is equally full of pride and that he is Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s nephew and is intended to marry Miss de Bourgh. Elizabeth is left for the evening to dwell on Wickham’s words.

Chapter 17

Elizabeth and Jane discuss Wickham’s revelations from the night before. Jane, as one who always looks for the good, entreats Elizabeth to consider that there might be a misunderstanding somehow as no man would disrespect his father’s wishes in such a manner. Elizabeth believes Wickham however. The Bingley sisters arrive in the meantime to invite everyone to the Netherfield ball, though they leave quickly to avoid speaking with the younger Bennet sisters or their mother. The Bennets are duly excited and all of them agree to attend, even Mary, who never participates in these events. Mr. Collins asks Elizabeth for the first two dances, which she is disappointed by as she had hoped to save those for Mr. Wickham.

Chapter 18

Upon arriving at the ball, Elizabeth realizes that Wickham would likely not attend because of Darcy. Mr. Denny relays that he had to go to town on the business instead. Elizabeth is mortified in the first two dances by Mr. Collins being “awkward and solemn, apologizing instead of attending, and often moving wrong without being aware of it.” Darcy once again asks for her hand to dance and she relents this time, offering him the next two dances.

To throw him off, she breaches conversation during the dance and quickly turns to the topic of Wickham, hoping to disrupt him. He only states that Wickham is very good at socializing and making friends, but has problems with keeping those friends. Sir William drops nearby and hints at future congratulations for Bingley and Jane.

The night continues and Elizabeth is duly embarrassed by her family as her mother uncouthly reminds everyone of Jane and Bingley’s budding relationship and her sister Mary does a poor job of singing. The last to leave, the Bennets are not missed by Bingley’s sisters.

Chapter 19

Mr. Collins arrives in the drawing-room and asks Mrs. Bennet and Kitty for some alone time with Elizabeth. She tries to keep her family with her but realizes that she might as well deal with the inevitable. Collins lays out why he is proposing, including Lady de Bourgh’s advice to do so and proposes to her. Elizabeth however, rejects him as she says they would not make each other happy. Collins finds her rejection to be an attempt at modesty and decides to wait and ask again. Despite her avid declaration that she will continue rejecting him, Collins believes that eventually, he can woo her by asking again.

Chapter 20

Soon after Elizabeth leaves the room, Mrs. Bennet enters and congratulates Collins on the happiest prospect of his becoming her son-in-law. Mr. Collins accepts her good wishes and gives her the particulars of what has happened with Elizabeth. He explains his belief that Elizabeth’s refusal stems from her “bashful modesty and the genuine delicacy of her character”. Mrs. Bennet, who knows her outspoken daughter very well, does believe that her denial is meant as shy encouragement. She explains to Mr. Collins that Elizabeth is headstrong and foolish, but assures him that her daughter will be brought to reason. When Collins hears Mrs. Bennet’s assessment of Elizabeth’s personality, he doubts whether he has chosen the correct daughter and voices his concern. A flustered Mrs. Bennet, who sees a marriage opportunity slipping away, contradicts her prior statements about Elizabeth. She then hurries to tell her husband, asking him to advise Elizabeth to accept Mr. Collins’ proposal. Mr. Bennet tells Elizabeth that her mother will never see her face again if she does not marry Collins, but at the same time, he will not see her face again if she does marry Collins.

Mr. Collins’ pride is finally hurt by Elizabeth’s refusal. He has truly wanted to find an amiable companion among the Bennet daughters and convinced himself that marriage to one of them would be an advantage to all the Bennet family. He says he is sorry that he is misunderstood and apologizes if he has been rude in any way.

Chapter 21

After he withdraws his suit to, Collins quickly begins to ignore Elizabeth in favor of Charlotte. The girls visit Meryton again where they run across Wickham. He relays that his absence at the ball was due to his desire to avoid Darcy. He walks her back home where she introduces him to her parents. Jane receives a letter shortly from Miss Bingley stating that the Bingleys have returned to London indefinitely and that Bingley will hopefully be marrying Georgiana, Darcy’s sister. Elizabeth does her part by relaying that it is likely the doing of Miss Bingley and not Bingley himself and that he will return shortly. However, Jane is incapable of believing that Bingley’s sisters could be so deceiving and so thinks that they must be looking out for what is best for him.

Chapter 22

Elizabeth is grateful that Charlotte entertains Mr. Collins, which keeps him in good humor and away from her. Elizabeth assumes she is simply being kind to Mr. Collins and the Bennets; in truth, Charlotte, who greatly fears to be a spinster, is interested in Mr. Collins as a husband for herself. She does not care if her husband is foolish and vain, as long as she has a husband; she has no romantic ideas that marriage must be based on love. She tells Elizabeth, “I am not romantic you know. . . I only ask for a comfortable home.”

Charlotte’s attention to Mr. Collins pays off for her. In his characteristic garrulous way, he proposes to her and tells her to set the day of the wedding. Sir William Lucas and his wife are delighted with the match, but Elizabeth is horrified when she learns that her friend has consented to marry the detestable man.

Chapter 23

When Sir William arrives to announce to the Bennets that Charlotte and Collins are engaged, Mrs. Bennet is angry all on her own. Charlotte and Elizabeth quickly change in each other’s company and Elizabeth believes they can no longer be truly close in light of what has happened. Mrs. Bennet, along with her anger over Collins, wonders if the Bingleys will return, upsetting Jane further. Elizabeth begins to fear herself that the Bingley sisters might be successful in their attempt to keep Bingley away from Jane.

Chapter 24

Miss Bingley sends yet another letter to Jane, informing her that they will be staying in London for the duration of the winter. Elizabeth finally tells Mrs. Bennet that her constantly talking of Bingley is bringing Jane pain. Caught up on her problems, Elizabeth continues to talk against the marriage of Charlotte and Collins with Jane. She also tries to comfort her though, stating that Bingley’s sisters and Darcy are keeping him away from her. Wickham spends more time with the Bennets and soon the stories of Darcy’s ill-treatment of him become public knowledge.

Chapter 25

Mrs. Bennet’s brother and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, come to spend Christmas at Longbourn. Mr. Gardiner is a sensible, gentlemanly person, and his wife is an amiable, elegant woman who is very fond of her nieces, especially the elder two. Mrs. Bennet airs her grievances to her sister-in-law, stating her distress over her failure to get Jane and Elizabeth engaged or married. Mrs. Gardiner suggests a change of scene for Jane to help get over her disappointment over Bingley. It is decided that Jane will return to London with her uncle and aunt.

While the Gardiners spend the week at Longbourn, there are frequent visitors; Wickham is the most regular one. Mrs. Gardiner views with suspicion Elizabeth’s attraction to Wickham. Mrs. Gardiner has spent considerable time in Derbyshire and knows the area from where Wickham comes. They have mutual acquaintances there, and Wickham can update her with information.

Mrs. Gardiner talks of the Darcy family. She has seen Pemberley, the Darcy estate, which is very impressive. She also speaks very highly of the late Mr. Darcy. She has a vague recollection that his son, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is a very proud, ill-natured young man. This reconfirms Elizabeth’s opinion of him.

Chapter 26

For Elizabeth, Mrs. Gardiner offers advice as to Wickham, stating that she should not become too infatuated as Wickham does not have any money and she will only disappoint her father. Later, Collins returns and Charlotte and he are married. They return to Kent, and Charlotte appeals to Elizabeth to visit her.

It has been four weeks since Jane left for London and she relays in her letters to Elizabeth that she has yet to see Bingley or hear from his sister. She eventually decides that he would have come by then if he cared and that his sister is not a true friend as she continues making excuses not to visit her. Elizabeth responds to Mrs. Gardiner’s letters about Wickham by stating that he has found another woman with the money of her own to lavish his attentions on. She is not nearly upset as she thinks she should be if she was in love with him.

Chapter 27

As March arrives, the winter has been largely uneventful, Elizabeth prepares to visit Charlotte with Sir William and Maria, one of Charlotte’s sisters. On the way to Kent, they stop in London and visit Jane and Mrs. Gardiner. Jane is quite healthy, but Mrs. Gardiner relays that she is often quite upset by the Bingleys and no longer speaks to Miss Bingley at all. Elizabeth also accepts an invitation to spend the summer with the Gardiners on a vacation tour.

Chapter 28

Elizabeth and the Lucases go to Hunsford. They meet Charlotte and Mr. Collins at the parsonage, which adjoins Lady Catherine’s estate, Rosings Park. Elizabeth is warmly welcomed by her girlfriend, who has not changed. She is content with marriage and has learned to gracefully bear her peculiar husband. Mr. Collins is as vainglorious and cumbersome as ever.

The next morning, Maria Lucas enthusiastically points out to Elizabeth two ladies who have arrived at the garden gate. One of them is Miss de Bourgh, a thin, pale, cross-looking maiden; Elizabeth thinks that she would make an ideal wife for proud Darcy. After the guests depart, Mr. Collins says that everyone has been invited to dine at Rosings the next day.

Chapter 29

Collins comments the next day on their luck for so quickly being invited to dine with Lady de Bourgh. On the walk, the Lucases are duly nervous and after arriving Collins makes a show of complimenting everything in Lady de Bourgh’s home, to which she is grateful. She later gives Charlotte her share of advice on running a household and various other domestic concerns. She turns her attention then to Elizabeth, surprised to learn that she grew up with no governess in a house with five daughters and is shocked by Elizabeth’s response to her questions, not as nervous and awestruck as the rest of her guests. She considers the Bennet girls to have been poorly raised, with no proper guidance, training, and poor manners in conversation.

Chapter 30

After seeing that his daughter is well off with her new husband, Sir William returns home. Every so often, Lady de Bourgh arrives to offer advice to Charlotte and invites them to her home for dinner twice a week or so. A few weeks into her stay, Darcy arrives with his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. After a bit, he visits the Collins’ at their household and talks with Elizabeth about how Jane was ignored. She grills him on why he did not visit her in three months, to which he looks confused and states that he did not have the fortune to do so.

Chapter 31

After Darcy and Fitzwilliam arrived, Elizabeth and the others at the Collins household hardly received any invitations to dinner. Lady de Bourgh finally invites them but makes a point of stating that their company was only enjoyable because of the lack of anyone else. Darcy makes a point of seeing how Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam get along during this visit. Settling close to her while she plays the piano, Darcy shows no interest for Miss De Bourgh, his intended future wife.

Chapter 32

While sitting alone the next day, Elizabeth receives a visit from Darcy, who states that he was unaware that she was alone. Elizabeth and he are both embarrassed, so she takes the opportunity to inquire as to whether Mr. Bingley will ever return to Netherfield. Darcy replies that thinks it is unlikely. As soon as Charlotte and Maria return, Darcy leaves. In the future, he visits often with Fitzwilliam in tow. She is completely unsure as to why Darcy keeps coming.

Chapter 33

Having told Darcy that she often walks in the park, Elizabeth cannot understand why he keeps going there and they keep crossing paths. One day, in particular, she comes across Fitzwilliam while walking and they walk for a while, eventually talking about Miss Darcy. He announces that he has joined Darcy in caring for her and she guesses correctly that Miss Darcy is a difficult lady to handle. She asks about Bingley and Darcy and learns that Bingley is in Darcy’s debt for his help to get him out of an unwanted marriage to an undesirable suitor. Elizabeth assumes this to mean the marriage to Jane and is upset as to how Darcy has so much control over other men. The “very strong objections against the lady” assume that Bingley was talked out of the suit. She later refrains from joining the others for a visit to Lady de Bourgh’s that evening.

Chapter 34

While alone with the others at dinner, Darcy visits Elizabeth alone. During this visit, Darcy shocks her by declaring that he not only admires and loves her but wishes to marry her. He has fought against his feelings because of her family’s position and lesser status, but cannot any longer and in his pride assumes she will accept. She, however, does not accept, stating that he should be ashamed of that speech as well as his treatment of Jane and Wickham.

Darcy freely admits to his separation of Jane and Bingley and his contempt for Wickham but cannot understand why Elizabeth would hold to these accusations instead of forgiving him and that she is being prideful about his speech against the inferiority of her family. She not only refuses but assures him that he could not have said anything to make her say yes to his proposal.

Chapter 35

Dwelling on Darcy’s visit the next day, Elizabeth decides to go for a walk. He calls for her as she walks through and she tries to avoid him. He catches her though and gives her a letter to read that states he will not renew his offer, but that he wants to explain the situations she has accused him of ill deeds.

The first accusation about Bingley, Darcy claims that he has seen Bingley fall in love repeatedly in the past. He did not realize that things had progressed so far with Jane until the ball at Netherfield in which every talked about an upcoming marriage. He observed the two and saw that Bingley was infatuated but also saw that Jane was seemingly disinterested. His explanations of Jane’s family status did not affect Bingley, but telling him that she seemed indifferent did finally convince him to leave for London.

In regards to the other charge regarding Wickham, Darcy explains that Wickham received a sum from the will after Darcy’s father’s death. He returned shortly afterward having spent that sum and asked for more. Darcy refused to give him any more and Wickham soon disappeared. Soon enough, there is evidence that the Wickham and Darcy’s sister are close to eloping, which he stops with barely enough time to spare. He asks for her removal of suspicion over Wickham, and that she can converse with Fitzwilliam for corroboration.

Chapter 36

Elizabeth does not believe Darcy immediately regarding the situation with Bingley and Jane, assuming that he only used the argument against their family status. However, when she considers the situation with Wickham, she realizes that she took his word at face value the moment they met and never heard Darcy’s side of the story. She thinks on how improper it was for Wickham to speak on such matters to a stranger and decides that Darcy is likely telling the truth of it. After coming to terms with his description of Wickham, she comes to believe his statements about Jane as she recalls Jane’s seeming indifference. When she finally returns home, she learns that Fitzwilliam and Darcy had stopped by to say goodbye.

Chapter 37

The next morning, Darcy and Fitzwilliam leave Rosings and Lady de Bourgh invite them to dinner. She attempts to keep Elizabeth around for one more month, but Elizabeth is intent on leaving as she had planned. During that last week of their stay, Elizabeth and Maria are invited to the estate often for dinner for advice on traveling and packing for their return trip.

Chapter 38

Collins and Elizabeth are alone on a day shortly before she leaves. He takes the chance to thank her, comment on her luck with Lady de Bourgh’s favor and inform her of his and Charlotte’s happiness. Maria and Elizabeth leave in short order and are soon at Mr. Gardiner’s home where they plan to stay for a few days before returning home with Jane. Elizabeth is excited to see Jane and cannot wait to tell her about Darcy and his proposal.

Chapter 39

Kitty and Lydia wait at the village inn for their elder sisters. On their way back to Longbourn, they tell anecdotes and jokes to Elizabeth and Jane. Lydia reveals that Miss King has gone to Liverpool to break free from Wickham.

Elizabeth and Jane are warmly welcomed by their parents. Mrs. Bennet is pleased to see Jane is still so beautiful, and Mr. Bennet more than once voices how glad he is to have his darling Lizzy back. Mrs. Bennet and her younger daughters are aggrieved because the militia regiment is leaving for Brighton. Elizabeth is relieved on hearing the news for two reasons. First, she does not want to see Wickham in her present agitated state of mind; and secondly, she feels her sisters will not be so capricious with the soldiers gone.

Lydia has been invited to Brighton for the summer, and Mrs. Bennet and the younger girls want Mr. Bennet to take the whole family there. Although Mr. Bennet has no intentions of doing this, his answers are vague and equivocal.

Chapter 40

Elizabeth finally tells Jane what happened with Darcy, deciding to leave out any part of the story that might upset Jane. Jane is appropriately shocked and feels bad for Darcy and the pain of such rejection. Elizabeth relates the story of Wickham and the lies he told and Jane is once again shocked. They decide however that they will not share his wickedness as his regiment is leaving for Brighton very soon. Elizabeth keeps with her decision not to mention Bingley as she notes Jane’s sadness.

Chapter 41

After the officers leave Meryton, Kitty and Lydia are quite upset and set Jane and Elizabeth to task for not caring as much themselves. They push for Mr. Bennet to take them to Brighton, but as soon as Mrs. Forster invites Lydia to stay with her family in Brighton, the entire matter is forgotten as she was pushing the hardest. Elizabeth attempts to tell her father how Lydia is not mature enough to go alone, but he thinks it will be good for her to see how she fits in with the women in Brighton. When Wickham visits on the final day of their time in Meryton, Elizabeth makes a point of pointing out her improved feelings toward Darcy so as not to let him believe they are leaving on good terms. Lydia leaves with the officers back to Meryton to travel with Mrs. Forster.

Chapter 42

After the regiment and Lydia leave, Mrs. Bennet and Kitty are largely bored and complain often, making Elizabeth wish that her trip with the Gardiners could arrive sooner. The trip is postponed though and will be shortened to a trip to Derbyshire instead, where Darcy lives with his estate, Pemberley. The Gardiners do finally arrive a few days later and leave their children in the care of Jane as they leave with Elizabeth. When Mrs. Gardiner mentions that she would like to see Pemberley, Elizabeth worries that she will see Darcy when they visit until she learns that he and his family are also on vacation for the summer.

Chapter 43

Elizabeth is excited when she first sees the Pemberley Woods and notes how nice it might be to be the Mistress of Pemberley. The housekeeper greets them and speaks very highly of Darcy, surprising Elizabeth. While walking the grounds, the party does run across Darcy who immediately blushes at her presence. He talks to her though as a gentleman and soon leaves her with the Gardiners to walk the grounds. When he approaches them again he surprises her once again with his manners and asks to be introduced to her friends, a part of her family of which she is not embarrassed. Darcy for his part mentions that he would like to introduce Elizabeth to his sister who will arrive the next day. That night, Elizabeth can think of nothing but Darcy and his manners.

Chapter 44

Instead of waiting a day to introduce her, Darcy arrives the day his sister returns home to introduce her to Elizabeth. She is surprised that Miss Darcy is shy and not excessively proud as Wickham had claimed. Bingley arrives as well, joining the party with his sisters. Elizabeth hopes that the situation will lead to the chance to ask Bingley about Jane as he doesn’t seem to show any interest in Miss Darcy. The Gardiners are surprised by Darcy’s actions and decisions that he is interested in Elizabeth. As he continues trying to please her family, Elizabeth is duly surprised and when he leaves, he invites them to dinner at Pemberley. The next day, Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth will pay a visit to Miss Darcy while Mr. Gardiner goes fishing with Darcy and some other gentlemen on the grounds.

Chapter 45

Elizabeth decides that Miss Bingley is jealous of her, that being the source of her dislike. During the visit, Miss Bingley merely watches and stays quiet along with Miss Darcy, everyone observing how Darcy himself acts around Elizabeth. When she leaves, Miss Bingley takes the chance to assault almost every aspect of her. Darcy and his sister though do not deign to join in with her.

Chapter 46

Elizabeth returns to the hotel to find two letters from Jane, prompting the Gardiners to go for a walk and leave her to the letters. The first letter is in regards to Lydia, stating that she had run off to Scotland to marry Wickham. However, the second letter states that she may not have done so and that Wickham does not plan to marry Lydia at all. The family is thoroughly disrupted of course and Colonel Forster, with whom Lydia was staying, continues searching for her as Jane requests Elizabeth to return home.

As she prepares to retrieve the Gardiners, she meets Darcy at the door, sending a servant to get them and then relays the news of the letters to Darcy. Darcy becomes quiet in his grieve for her family and she worries that their embarrassing behavior is too much for him to want her any further. He decides he cannot help and will be in the way so he leaves, where after she decides that she does indeed love him.

Chapter 47

The trip home is spent pondering what will happen, with both Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth wondering if the two will marry. When they return, they learn that no news has come from Mr. Bennet in London and that Mrs. Bennet is ill. Elizabeth continues discussing whether Lydia would marry Wickham with Jane. Elizabeth now feels bad for not sharing Wickham’s bad deeds with everyone to prevent such a thing from happening.

Chapter 48

Mr. Gardiner leaves for London the next day to see what has kept Mr. Bennet from sending word. Mrs. Gardiner stays with the Bennets to help and in a few days receive a letter from Mr. Gardiner that he and Mr. Bennet are looking for Lydia in the city’s hotels. Mr. Collins sends his letter that tells Mr. Bennet he has heard of what’s happening and that they should throw away Lydia as an unworthy child. Mr. Gardiner’s next letter informs them of his lack of progress and that Wickham has no family and a handful of gambling debts in Brighton. Mr. Bennet finally returns and tells Elizabeth that she was right about Lydia and should be more cautious of his daughters in the future.

Chapter 49

Two days later, Mr. Gardiner writes that he has found Lydia and Wickham and that they are not married and have no intentions to do so. Wickham will, however, marry Lydia for a share of the 5, 000 pounds due to the five daughters when their parents pass on and an extra 100 pounds a year thereafter. Elizabeth is shocked that Wickham will marry her, and Mr. Bennet is appalled that Wickham would ask for so little. He wonders how much Mr. Gardiner might have added to cover it and if he owes him for it. When Elizabeth shares the news with her mother, Mrs. Bennet immediately becomes happy and begins planning the wedding.

Chapter 50

Mr. Bennet is upset by the lack of money he has saved for his daughters, having assumed always that he would have a son someday. He decides he must repay Mr. Gardiner though and writes him accepting the offer of marriage and asking what he owes his brother-in-law. When Mrs. Bennet reappears to start planning the wedding, Mr. Bennet announces that Lydia and Wickham will not be welcome in his home.

Elizabeth for her part is upset that she told Darcy what had happened with Lydia as she worries he will be less likely to admire her in light her family’s actions. She decides she could be happy with him and figures she will never see him again. Mr. Gardiner replies to Mr. Bennet stating that he was happy to help his Niece and will not discuss the matter again. Wickham has decided to move to the North and so Jane and Elizabeth must convince their father to accept Wickham into the home so they can see their sister once more before they head north.

Chapter 51

When they have been married, Lydia and Wickham arrives at the Bennet household where Mrs. Bennet is excited and Mr. Bennet is quiet and unhappy. Lydia is anything but embarrassed of her actions and brags repeatedly of her match, stating “I am sure my sisters must envy me.” She states she will invite them North, but Elizabeth reproaches her sister and tells her she doesn’t approve of her courting methods. Lydia talks about the wedding despite Elizabeth’s disinterest, but when she mentions Darcy having been at the wedding, she becomes very interested. Having not supposed to have said anything, Lydia will not elaborate, so Elizabeth writes a letter to Mrs. Gardiner to ask her about Mr. Darcy’s presence there.

Chapter 52

Mrs. Gardiner replies quickly, stating that Darcy had gone to London and found Lydia and Wickham himself, leading Mr. Gardiner to them. He also paid the dowry for her sister to Wickham and gave Mr. Gardiner the credit for doing so and asked to be kept secret. Darcy claims that he helped because he feels guilty for not divulging what he knew of Wickham earlier, but Elizabeth thinks it might also be because of her.

Chapter 53

After Lydia and Wickham leave, Mrs. Bennet learns that Bingley is returning to Netherfield for a couple of weeks. Jane decides she will be friendly with Bingley and ignore everyone’s talk of them. Similar to the first chapter, Mrs. Bennet tells Mr. Bennet to visit Bingley when he arrives and after his refusal decides to invite him to dinner instead. Mrs. Bennet is upset when Darcy arrives with Bingley and everyone is more or less equally upset. Bingley speaks to Jane at length in the visit, but Darcy says very little to Elizabeth.

Chapter 54

The two arrive for dinner again on Tuesday and Jane once again plays down Bingley’s arrival to keep from being disappointed. Mrs. Bennet is excited again though as Bingley sits beside Jane and talks to her at length as he did before. Once again, Elizabeth hopes to talk with Darcy but cannot because he shows little interest once more. Jane claims that she once again will not be successful with Bingley and Elizabeth tells her to quit acting indifferent or stop confiding in Elizabeth at all.

Chapter 55

Darcy returns to London for a few days and Bingley comes again on his own. Mrs. Bennet does what she can to get Jane and Bingley alone together and embarrasses her daughters by doing so. When he comes again, she succeeds though and when Elizabeth returns to socialize with them, she finds that he has proposed to her and she has accepted. Jane goes to Mrs. Bennet and Bingley to Mr. Bennet to announce the new engagement, all of them equally happy with the engagement. Neighbors immediately change their opinion of the family, jealous of the match.

Chapter 56

A week later, Lady de Bourgh arrives to question Elizabeth about the rumors that she is engaged to Darcy. She does not think it a good match because of the inferiority of Elizabeth’s family and shows her anger in doing so. Elizabeth tries to deflect the questions though, angering the Lady who insists that Elizabeth just tell her what has happened insincerity. She states that Darcy is destined to be with her daughter and must know Elizabeth’s intentions. She finally answers the question after irritating Lady de Bourgh, telling her no, but refuses to promise never to become engaged to Darcy, enraging Lady de Bourgh yet again.

Chapter 57

Elizabeth wonders where the rumor must have come from, and worries that Lady de Bourgh will do what she said and keep the match from occurring, talking negatively of her family to turn him against her. Mr. Bennet confronts her the next day with a letter from Mr. Collins congratulating the family on Jane’s engagement and Elizabeth’s future engagement, having originally believed Elizabeth to despise Darcy. He is amused by the confusion, which upsets Elizabeth.

Chapter 58

When Darcy returns, he and Bingley visit the estate and head out on a walk with Jane, Elizabeth, and Kitty. Quickly enough though, Darcy and Elizabeth are left alone when the rest go off on their own. She tells him that she knows of his help with Lydia to which he insists that her family owes him nothing. He reiterates his feelings for her but that he will not mention them again if her feelings have not changed at all. She makes sure he knows that her feelings have changed and that she is happy he are the same as before. She apologizes for how she treated him before and he reiterates that her reproaches were helpful in his changing. He also goes onto admit that he told Bingley of his mistake over Jane and convinced him to propose to Jane.

Chapter 59

The families do not worry about Elizabeth and Darcy being absent, sure nothing could happen despite how long they talk with each other. That night, Elizabeth tells Jane what happened and it takes a while to convince her that Elizabeth has changed her mind and is happy with Darcy. Mrs. Bennet continues railing against Darcy though and when he arrives the next day to walk with Elizabeth she keeps the rest of her family away from him. That day they decide that Darcy will request her hand from Mr. Bennet that evening.

Darcy talks with her father that evening and receives his consent, after which Mr. Bennet questions her about her change in feelings. She must again convince someone that she has changed and her feelings for Darcy are positive now. She also tells him of what Darcy did for Lydia and he is relieved and appreciative. She then tells her mother that she will be married, to which Mrs. Bennet is shocked at first, but then excited as she realizes that three of her daughters will soon be married.

Chapter 60

Elizabeth questions Darcy about his attitudes and reasons for loving her, including why he was so silent when he first returned to visit with her. He states that he was embarrassed and it was the liveliness of her mind that attracted him. The two soon write letters to those far away to announce their engagement, and their various family members arrive to offer congratulations. Collins arrives as well with Charlotte who only wants to escape Lady de Bourgh’s anger over the match.

Chapter 61

Mrs. Bennet is ecstatic on the marriage day of her two oldest daughters, referring to them as Mrs. Bingley and Mrs. Darcy. Mr. Bennet is often in Pemberley to visit his daughter and Jane and Bingley soon buy an estate much nearer to Pemberley. Kitty spends a lot of time with Jane and Elizabeth as well and is disallowed from visiting Lydia in The North. Wickham and Lydia for their part are often in need of money and constantly ask Elizabeth and Darcy for some, which they will often provide. Mary is left alone at home with her mother where she is forced to stop reading and spend time with Mrs. Bennet.

Miss Bingley attempts to be nice to Elizabeth, despite her anger over the match so she can still visit Pemberley, while Miss Darcy lives at Pemberley and becomes close to Elizabeth immediately. Lady de Bourgh’s anger is immense, but after a while, she decides she cannot bear the curiosity and visits Pemberley to see how Elizabeth handles herself. The Gardiners visit often and are favorites of the Darcy’s for bringing the two together.