P & P ch. 17-20

Stephen Simmons
AP English 11/Mr. George
11/4/09
P&P

"Let me recommend you, however, as a friend, not to 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"(72).

This quotations informs the reader of a couple of things. One of which being that Mr. Wickham is in fact not who he says he is. The other being that Miss Bingley, although relatively jealous of Elizabeth informs her of Wickhams faultiness. Wickham is first introduces as a very well presented person, however, after realizing who he truly is one gets the sense that he abuses love or opportunity, which he does by lying to Elizabeth. Furthermore although Miss Bingley pleads for the attention of Mr. Darcy herself, she finds it in the best interest to help Elizabeth, which promotes the idea of classes supporting each other.

"Her cousin prefaced his speech with a solemn bow, and though she could not hear a word of it, she felt as if hearing it all, and saw in the motion of his lips the words 'apology,' 'Hunsford,' and 'Lady Catherine de Bourgh.'-It vexed her to see him expose himself to such a man...and Mr. Darcy's contempt seemed abundantly increasing with the length of his second speech"(74).

This quotation portrays the obnoxious nature of Mr. Collins and even the humblest and controlling individual is even vexed by his presence. In this short section Collins approaches Darcy and insists on continuously speaking to him when it is quite obvious that the feelings are not mutual. This resembles Collins' inability to accept rejection whether it be spoken directly or alluded to indirectly. In addition, this also resembles the very controlled character of Mr. Darcy. Throughout Collins' excessive speeches Darcy develops feeling of anger and becomes annoyed, however, he does not say a word against Collins and establishes to us further that he is the greater gentleman.