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  • Essay / The evolving relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy

    The need to reconsider first impressions runs throughout Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy judge each other harshly based on their first impressions, while Elizabeth also makes judgments about Mr. Wickham and Miss Darcy. Throughout the novel, as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy see themselves and others in a new light, more accurate opinions based on facts and understanding replace their earlier opinions based on impressions, rumors and prejudices. Because they allow their ideas to evolve throughout the novel, they open themselves to the possibility and reality of love. The relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy is analyzed in an essay beginning with their first impressions of each other. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayMr. Darcy's initial disdain for Elizabeth is evident when he forms an immediate impression of Elizabeth the first time he sees her at a ball. He said: “It is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me” (Austen 7). Mr. Bingley suggests that Darcy take Elizabeth as a dancing partner, but Darcy refuses on the grounds that she lacks beauty. He also says that he doesn't want to lower himself to the point of dancing with a girl that all the other men at the ball reject. After that, he persists in criticizing her and does not allow himself to see her as pretty. However, his attitude towards him changes quite quickly. In chapter six, he discovers that instead of looking for faults in her, he likes her manners and he notices her expressive eyes, her intelligence and her pretty figure. To her surprise, he “wants to know more about her.” Thus, evolution begins. Elizabeth also begins with a negative first impression of Mr. Darcy, but it takes her a little longer to change her mind. She judges Mr. Darcy too proud shortly after his arrival at the ball, but when she hears the reasons why he did not ask her to dance, she "remains without very cordial feelings towards him." After the dance, Mrs. Bennet comments on Darcy's pride and rudeness, to which Elizabeth responds that she "can safely promise... never to dance with him", clearly demonstrating her initial disdain. Even after Mr. Darcy begins to warm up to Elizabeth, she tells Mr. Wickham that she finds Darcy "very unpleasant." Hearing Mr. Wickham's dismal story, in which Mr. Darcy is the villain, she further judges Mr. Darcy's character to be contemptible. When Mr. Darcy visits the Collins home during Elizabeth's stay at Charlotte's new home, Charlotte observes that without Elizabeth present, “Mr. Darcy would never have come so early to wait for me.” This observation speaks to Darcy's growing affection for Elizabeth. Later, Elizabeth goes to Rosings, Lady Catherine's home, with Charlotte and Mr. Collins. Mr. Darcy visits Rosings at the same time and engages in a very civil, sometimes even playful, conversation with Elizabeth about the woes of prejudice. He reveals that he regrets having made such a hasty judgment of Elizabeth. His feelings of affection for Elizabeth continue to grow until he can no longer suppress them, and he goes to Charlotte to tell her, "With what ardor I admire and love you" and to ask her her hand in marriage (129). Unfortunately, even though he has come to love her, he still views her as beneath him due to her financial and social situation. He makes no effort to hide his feelings of superiority from Elizabeth, leading her to refuse his offer. During his frequent meetings with Mr. Darcy in Rosings,Elizabeth begins to see a more civil side of him, and during her playful conversation with him, he admits that he regrets his hasty judgment of her. However, she still does not consider him a good man due to her misconceptions about how he treats Wickham. Darcy's arrogant marriage proposal infuriates her. She tells him that she cannot express her gratitude for the offer because, she says, "I never desired your good opinion, and you certainly granted it reluctantly" (129). She recognizes that he still views her as inferior to him and that he sees this prejudice as something to be managed rather than expelled. After his rejection by Elizabeth, Darcy writes her a letter in which he assures her that he will not repeat his marriage. proposal, but written to modify his misconceptions about the situation with Wickham, because Wickham told Elizabeth that Mr. Darcy had cheated Wickham out of the money left to him by Mr. Darcy's father. During Elizabeth's visit to Pemberley with her aunt and uncle Gardiner, they explore Darcy's beautiful estate. When Darcy arrives unexpectedly, Elizabeth is embarrassed, but he treats her with the most genuine kindness, care, and concern. He realizes that although his aunt and uncle do not occupy a high social position, they have perfect manners and he loves them much more than Elizabeth's mother, Mrs. Bennet. He invites all three to return to Pemberley and insists that Elizabeth meet his sister who he cares about dearly and to whom he is a father figure, demonstrating how much he wants Elizabeth to be a part of his life. receives Darcy's letter, she initially wants to ignore it, "protesting... that she would never look at it again." She then remembers Wickham's behavior when he told her about all of Mr. Darcy's misdeeds. She realizes for the first time that Wickham's words were inappropriate and that he had had "no qualms about damaging Mr. Darcy's character." As much as she wants to believe the best of Wickham and the worst of Darcy, she can no longer deny that Wickham is clearly wrong and that Darcy must tell the truth. Upon meeting Wickham again, she sees "in the very gentleness which had first delighted her, an affectation and a sameness to disgust and weary." Elizabeth now sees the error in her first impression of Wickham. Pemberley's visit proves to be a real turning point for Elizabeth. A beautiful, natural landscape surrounds Darcy's house. Its elegant furnishings demonstrate exquisite taste, but not ostentatious. His housekeeper has nothing but wonderful things to say about him and confirms Darcy's version of Wickham's story. As Elizabeth stands in his house, she thinks, “Of this place…I could have been the mistress.” Darcy's unexpected arrival surprises and embarrasses Elizabeth, but he treats her with kindness, which leaves her "astonished at the change in his manner since their last separation." When she and her aunt and uncle have dinner with Darcy, she meets her sister and likes her dearly, regardless of her preconception of Miss Darcy's excessive pride. When Elizabeth discovers that her sister, Lydia, has run away with Wickham, Darcy immediately sets out. goes looking for them, and when he finds them, he uses his own financial means to settle a marriage between them. He keeps the secret, but Lydia lets it slip to Elizabeth. When Bingley returns to visit Jane, he brings Darcy with him, giving Darcy and Elizabeth ample alone time together. During a walk, Darcy proposes again, but this time he has become a person capable of doing so without any prejudice about Elizabeth's social and financial situation. Hearing Mr. Darcy's concern and generosity in his sister's scandal cements her new view of him. 1-16.