She could not think without anger, hardly without contempt, on that easiness of temper, that want of proper resolution which now made him the slave of his designing friends, and led him to sacrifice his own happiness to the caprice of their inclinations.
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 24. Elizabeth is contemptuous of Charles Bingley’s weakness of character, which allowed his sisters and friend Mr. Darcy to determine his affections. She is referring to his breakup with her sister Jane. Elizabeth’s complaint that Bingley can’t direct his own feelings is ironic, since her affections and feelings are being directed by George Wickham and his lies.