How Did Darcy Declare his Love For Elizabeth?
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Answer
How did Darcy declare his love for Elizabeth?
Jane Austen’s (1775-1817) famous novel “Pride and Prejudice” (1813) tells the love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. In the novel, both the characters must learn to overcome their pride and prejudice so that they can come to love each other.
Darcy’s Flawed Proposal: Mr. Darcy first declares his love for Elizabeth Bennet unexpectedly. During his stay at Rosings Park, Darcy visits Elizabeth at the house where she is staying. He surprises her with a sudden and intense proposal. However, Mr. Darcy’s proposal is flawed because of his sense of social class. Darcy reveals that he loves Elizabeth deeply despite her lower social standing and her family’s behavior.
He emphasizes how he has struggled against his feelings because he sees her as socially inferior. He lists all the reasons why he should not love her but then confesses that he can no longer fight his feelings of love. He says,
In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.
Elizabeth’s Rejection: However, instead of feeling flattered, Elizabeth is offended. Earlier in the story at Meryton’s ball, a prideful Darcy refused to dance with Elizabeth. He commented about Elizabeth:
She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me;
Elizabeth is also upset because she believes Darcy is responsible for ruining her sister Jane’s happiness with Mr. Bingley and because he mistreats Mr. Wickham. So, she rejects Darcy which gives his pride a big shake.
Later, Darcy selflessly helps Elizabeth’s family to save their reputation. Elizabeth also learns through Darcy’s letter that Mr. Wickham is a con artist (criminal). Elizabeth learns to see the goodness in Darcy’s character and the couple reunites.