Do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 34. The fallout from Darcy’s marriage proposal goes from bad to worse. Elizabeth accuses him of insulting her and ruining the happiness of her sister Jane. An angry Elizabeth confronts him about his interference in her sister’s relationship with Mr. Bingley. This appears to be her main reason for refusing his proposal, she could not imagine marrying the man who caused her sister’s unhappiness. Elizabeth is close to Jane whom she thinks is a beacon of goodness and she believes Darcy stood between her sister and her happiness with Bingley. Elizabeth is a woman of integrity whose loyalty to family trumps any proposal of marriage, even from a man as wealth as Darcy.