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Pride and Prejudice Chapter 3 Quotes Page 1
(Chapter.Paragraph)
Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend. (3.5)
Wealth can swing both ways, especially for an audience that's busy calculating how much of this wealth is going to come their way. As soon as it becomes clear that Darcy is totally not interested in this little town, in the eyes of the other characters his income goes from being part of what makes him awesome to being part of what makes him so stuck up.
On reaching the spacious lobby above they were shown into a very pretty sitting-room, lately fitted up with greater elegance and lightness than the apartments below; and were informed that it was but just done to give pleasure to Miss Darcy, who had taken a liking to the room when last at Pemberley.
"He is certainly a good brother," said Elizabeth, as she walked towards one of the windows. (3.1.43-44)
Here, it's Darcy's actions and not his words that are finally doing some actual communicating. As Elizabeth thinks about the way he treats his sister – as evidenced not in some spoken platitudes, but in him actually making some effort to make her comfy in the big estate – she can see more of the man inside the stiff, socially-awkward exterior.
But on returning to the drawing-room, when her letter was finished, she saw, to her infinite surprise, there was reason to fear that her mother had been too ingenious for her. On opening the door, she perceived her sister and Bingley standing together over the hearth, as if engaged in earnest conversation; and had this led to no suspicion, the faces of both, as they hastily turned round and moved away from each other, would have told it all. Their situation was awkward enough; but hers she thought was still worse. Not a syllable was uttered by either; and Elizabeth was on the point of going away again, when Bingley, who as well as the other had sat down, suddenly rose, and whispering a few words to her sister, ran out of the room. (3.8.21)
Finally, we get the kind of communication that only body language can convey, as Elizabeth has no trouble putting together the clues to see what Jane and Bingley are up to. Why do you think we don't get to hear any of the successful proposals? Why only Mr. Collins's ridiculous proposal and Mr. Darcy's major flop?
