Turning Point

Mr. Darcy's letter completely altered my idea of him and of Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth "had been blind, partial, prejudiced,absurd" (156). This whole time I thought that Mr. Darcy was prejudiced because of his pride, but he was actually able to see that Jane was not truly in love with Mr. Bingley, she did not "invite [his attentions] with any participation of sentiment" (148). Despite Mr. Darcy's pride in his social class, which aprehended him from proposing to Elizabeth, he did propose to her. He stopped Bingley's marriage with Jane solely for the well-being of his friend. Darcy was not selfish or prejudiced. He was undoubtedly proud, but this pride did not stop him from proposing to Elizabeth, it merely gave him a "sense of her inferiority" (142).

Elizabeth was actually prejudiced against Mr. Darcy because of his higher social class. She thought he would be like the majority of people with high-ranking positions in society, but he was not. Both Elizabeth and Darcy are exceptions to the typical person in the story, who respects those above their social rank, and looks down on those below their social rank. I think that by exposing us to this unexpected unveiling of Darcy's true personality, Austen completely changes the themes of Pride and Prejudice. Darcy now seems to me like a very good person, despite the arrogance he still probably possesses. For this reason, I do not understand why Elizabeth "could not approve him; nor could she for a moment repent her refusal" (159). I would think she would be feeling sorry that she rejected a man who had perfectly good explanations for the offences of which she accused him.

The movie Pride and Prejudice does a good job of capturing Darcy and Elizabeth's emotions during their confrontation folloing his proposal. The scene takes place in the rain, which was very fitting to the frustration they both felt. Darcy seems confused at her refusal, and "not master enough of [himself] to know what could or ought to be revealed" (152). Elizabeth is pissed. I think it is very imopressive how well Austen creates a mood for the characters in the book. I was pretty much able to picture the movie's scene in my head before I watched it.