“You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased” (343).
Darcy makes this proclamation after he and Elizabeth share their true feelings for each other, and they enter into a conversation with explains all of their past actions. The book is accurately titled Pride and Prejudice, because Darcy and Elizabeth respectively exhibited these traits.
Elizabeth was prejudiced against Darcy from their first meeting. She was inclined to believe every piece of negative gossip she heard against his name. The incident with Mr. Wickham is an example of this prejudice. Lizzy’s prejudice is contrasted by Jane’s blind optimism. Jane wanted to see the good in Darcy, and was actually correct that Darcy did have some good qualities.
After reading Darcy’s letter, Elizabeth realized that two of the major reasons for her dislike of him were justified. From this moment on she begins to fall in love with Darcy because she now realizes how prejudiced she was. The only other quality left in Darcy that she dislikes is his pride.
Earlier in the novel when Elizabeth and Darcy were at Netherfield they had a chance to examine each other’s characters. In this conversation Darcy states that “pride–where there is a real superiority of mind–pride will always be under good regulation” (56). This ironic comment forces Elizabeth to turn away in order to hide her laughter. She has observed his pride since the moment she met him. Darcy is able to notice his pride, which he blames upon his wealthy upbringing.
The title of the book is an accurate one because the two main characters each possessed one of the qualities in it. They were also able to cure each other of these bad habits, and were united in love. Elizabeth’s prejudice was cured by Darcy’s justified actions, and Darcy’s pride was cured by Elizabeth’s negative attitude towards his proud personality.
In the end of the novel what does Lady Catherine do as a result of the marriage of her nephew?
A. She only approves of the marriage only out of curiosity to see how Lizzy behaves as a wife
B. She approves completely
C. She never talks to Darcy again
D. She encourages her daughter to marry another man
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