Pride and Prejudice Marriage Quotes

You ought certainly to forgive them as a Christian, but never to admit them in your sight, or allow their names to be mentioned in your hearing.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 57. Mr. Collins advises Mr. Bennet in his letter that Lydia and Wickham should be shunned, after they ran away together and were finally forced to marry. He notes that they were received at Longbourn following the marriage and hopes that the family will never receive them again. For a clergyman Mr. Collins has an unusual interpretation of Christian forgiveness. Of course he is being ironic without realizing it – his idea of forgiveness is not forgiveness at all. It is also a good example of Mr. Collins being used by Austen as a satirical figure.

That is what makes it amusing. Had they fixed on any other man it would have been nothing; but his perfect indifference, and your pointed dislike, make it so delightfully absurd!

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 57. There is dramatic irony here when Mr. Bennet tries to make light of a letter from Mr. Collins referring to a rumor about a possible engagement between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. Her father thinks that this is hilarious, in view of what he says are Darcy’s indifference to Elizabeth and her complete dislike of him. Little does he know! His daughter’s feelings towards Darcy are quite the opposite. Elizabeth has strong romantic feelings for him and now regrets refusing his marriage proposal.

Elizabeth had never been more at a loss to make her feelings appear what they were not. It was necessary to laugh, when she would rather have cried. Her father had most cruelly mortified her, by what he said of Mr. Darcy’s indifference.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 57. Mr. Bennet doesn’t take seriously Mr. Collins’s letter suggesting a marriage between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. He speaks insensitively about Darcy’s indifference to his daughter and Elizabeth’s dislike of Darcy. He jokes whether Lady Catherine has called to refuse her consent. Elizabeth goes along with the joke and replies with a laugh, but she feels like crying. The irony here is that Mr. Bennet is completely unaware of his daughter’s true feelings for Darcy.

Elizabeth was much too embarrassed to say a word. After a short pause, her companion added, "You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever." Elizabeth feeling all the more than common awkwardness and anxiety of his situation, now forced herself to speak; and immediately, though not very fluently, gave him to understand, that her sentiments had undergone so material a change, since the period to which he alluded, as to make her receive with gratitude and pleasure, his present assurances.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 58. If at first your don’t succeed…the climax of Austen’s classic story of love and misunderstanding arrives with Mr. Darcy’s famous second proposal and Elizabeth’s acceptance of it. Moments before Elizabeth learned that Darcy intervened to save Lydia because of his affection for Elizabeth. She is speechless with embarrassment, and Darcy uses the opportunity to propose again. Elizabeth clearly wasn’t ready to receive Darcy’s first proposal and his declaration of "how ardently I admire and love you." That proposal was also clumsily presented by Darcy, who spoke of how he struggled to repress his feelings and referred to Elizabeth’s inferior social position and family obstacles. But what an insulted Elizabeth didn’t understand then was that Darcy was trying to explain how he loved her in spite of her position and family connections. The second time round when Darcy proposes and Elizabeth accepts, it is more a conversation of equals instead of one or the other thinking that they are superior. Class is not a barrier. Also Darcy’s less prideful second proposal suggests no expectation on his part that Elizabeth will automatically accept him, as clearly was the expectation first time round. Elizabeth sees Darcy in a different light now as well, her stubbornness and prejudice against him having given way to a deeper understanding of his true character: honest and noble and a person of integrity. She has matured and grown to this point where she is ready to accept him.

The happiness which this reply produced, was such as he had probably never felt before; and he expressed himself on the occasion as sensibly and as warmly as a man violently in love can be supposed to do.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 58. Darcy is filled with happiness when Elizabeth accepts his second proposal. He is said to express himself "as warmly as a man violently in love." Does that mean that they embraced, or even kissed? It’s not spelled out, except to say it was "violent" and "warm," and so the debate on how Darcy expressed his love continues to this day.

"You are joking, Lizzy. This cannot be! – engaged to Mr. Darcy! – No, no, you shall not deceive me. I know it to be impossible."
"This is a wretched beginning indeed! My sole dependence was on you; and I am sure nobody else will believe me, if you do not. Yet, indeed, I am in earnest. I speak nothing but the truth. He still loves me, and we are engaged."

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 59. When Elizabeth opens her heart to Jane and tells her of her engagement to Darcy, her sister is flabbergasted. She thinks that Elizabeth who hates Darcy must be deceiving her. But Elizabeth assures her that Darcy still loves her and the engagement is real.

I have given him my consent. He is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse anything, which he condescended to ask. I now give it to you, if you are resolved on having him. But let me advise you to think better of it. I know your disposition, Lizzy. I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable, unless you truly esteemed your husband; unless you looked up to him as a superior. Your lively talents would place you in the greatest danger in an unequal marriage. You could scarcely escape discredit and misery. My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 59. Mr. Bennet tells Elizabeth that he has gives his consent for Mr. Darcy to marry her. But he also warns his favorite daughter that she should think hard before going into wedlock. He emphasizes the importance of a marriage of equals who have respect for one another and he doesn’t want Elizabeth to settle for anything less. Mr. Bennet himself is in a loveless marriage between unequal minds and he has no respect for his wife. He doesn’t want the same for Elizabeth.

Good gracious! Lord bless me! only think! dear me! Mr. Darcy! Who would have thought it? And is it really true? Oh! my sweetest Lizzy! how rich and great you will be! What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! Jane’s is nothing to it – nothing at all. I am so pleased – so happy. Such a charming man! – so handsome! so tall! Oh, my dear Lizzy! Pray apologize for my having disliked him so much before. I hope he will overlook it. Dear, dear Lizzy. A house in town! Everything that is charming!…Ten thousand a year, and very likely more! ‘Tis as good as a Lord!

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 59. A giddy Mrs. Bennet rhapsodizes over Elizabeth’s engagement to Mr. Darcy, hardly able to believe her ears when her daughter announces the good news. She is ecstatic that Elizabeth is going to be rich, even richer than Jane. Her previous dislike of Mr. Darcy all of a sudden vanishes. The person she once described as "a most disagreeable, horrid man" is now "charming" and "handsome." Of course Darcy’s considerable wealth buys a lot of credit with Mrs. Bennet, it is his ten thousand a year income that she finds most attractive in him – "as good as a Lord!" For Mrs. Bennet, pin-money, jewels and carriages are what make Darcy and her daughter a good match. At the beginning of the novel we learned that the business of Mrs. Bennet’s life was to see her daughters married. Now with three of them finding husbands, one of the novel’s most mocked characters has achieved much of what she set out to do.

I am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one with such justice. I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh. Mr. Darcy sends you all the love in the world that he can spare from me. You are all to come to Pemberley at Christmas.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 60. Announcing her engagement to Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth writes a letter to the Gardiners expressing her great joy with her typical Lizzy wit. Now that she is mistress of Pemberley, she invites them there for Christmas.

Miss Bingley was very deeply mortified by Darcy’s marriage; but as she thought it advisable to retain the right of visiting at Pemberley, she dropt all her resentment; was fonder than ever of Georgiana, almost as attentive to Darcy as heretofore, and paid off every arrear of civility to Elizabeth.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 61. Caroline Bingley, who had set her sights on Darcy, is upset at his marriage to Elizabeth. But she thinks the better of it as she wishes to be able to visit Pemberley in the future. So she continues to be deferential to Darcy, shows more fondness for Georgiana and treats Elizabeth with new-found civility and respect. Caroline is an upper class snob who likes to rub shoulders with people of high rank and status.
Close