Caustic Candor Compounds Confrontation

Lady Catherine's attempt to intimidate Elizabeth gave me a lot to add to a paper based either on humor or love. Lady Catherine is entirely incapable of intimidating Elizabeth to "promise [Lady Catherine] never to enter into...an engagement" with Mr. Darcy" (267). Elizabeth bluntly replies to Catherine's request that " she will make no promise of the kind" (267). Lady Catherine repeatedly tries to make Elizabeth give her the "assurance" she requires "upon having such a report universally contradicted" (265,267). Elizabeth "certainly never shall give it" (267). Lady Catherine is confident her intimidation through social superiority will be successful. Elizabeth's concise, defiant remarks to Catherine's ridiculous requests are hilarious.

Lady Catherine tries to convince Elizabeth that Elizabeth cannot marry Darcy because she lacks "family, connections, [and] fortune," and marrying him would defy "the claims of duty, honour, and gratitude" (267-268). Elizabeth says that none of these "have any claim on" her (268). Elizabeth overturns the concept of social class. The importance of love takes precedent over social class, wealth, and the feelings of any besides the two experiencing the love. I think this is important to Pride and Prejudice, but I think the idea that love transcends pride and prejudice might be too obvious for a paper. As far as humor, I am not sure how I could write a paper on the topic. "The book is funny. The End." Maybe I could write the book on Austen's use sarcasm. The majority of the funny characters use sarcasm, so maybe the use of sarcasm signifies intelligence.