| Chapter | Summary | Key Themes | Character Development | Narrative Conventions |
| 19 – Ben |
Mr Collins asks for a private audience with Elizabeth, much to the delight of Mrs Bennet. Unsurprisingly, he asks for her hand in marriage, and even more unsurprisingly, she declines, but not before Collins lists every reason under the sun for them to get married except love and a desire to be committed to each other. Collins, not to be disparaged by reality, convinces himself Elizabeth is only declining his first offer because she is secretly obsessed with him, which Elizabeth attempts to discourage, but ultimately she realises she cannot compete with Mr Collins’ pride, and goes to appeal to her father for intervention. |
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Collins, in equal parts, becomes increasingly sinister and laughably ignorant/self-important.
‘The violence of my affection’ (p.g. 91). Elizabeth, despite immediately and repeatedly standing up for herself and making her feelings clear, becomes more aware of her inability to achieve anything in her male-dominated society. ‘To apply to her father, whose negative might be uttered in such a manner as must be decisive’ (p.g. 94). |
Breaks the narrative convention of a romantic proposal by removing all romance from it. Furthermore, it is rejected immediately, removing the drama created by a typical proposal scene. |
| 20 – Izabella | Mrs Bennet rushes in to congratulate Mr Collins but is shocked to hear that Elizabeth refused him. She runs to Mr Bennet and demands that he convinces his daughter to accept it. |
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Although women could refuse a proposal, they were not expected to. Elizabeth shows her dedication to her happiness, putting herself first. | Disregards the ideology that men hold power in stereotypical relationships, however in this instance Elizabeth arguably holds the power. |
| 21 – Aimee | Elizabeth meets Mr Wickham in Meryton and he apologises for not attending the ball. She also introduced him to her parents. A letter arrives for Jane from Caroline Bingley to say that they are going back to the city. She also informs her of Mr Bingley’s plans to marry Mr Darcy’s sister. This upsets Jane and Elizabeth comforts her. |
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Jane –
Jane very rarely expresses her affection for Mr Bingley, and we can see that this apparent marriage really upset her |
More focus on domestic setting. |
| 22 – Jazz | Mr Collins sneaks away from the Bennet house to propose to Miss Lucas because she acted kindly towards him. The Lucases are thrilled with this engagement – partially because Mr Collins is due to inherit the Bennets’ wealth. Charlotte herself is satisfied, not with Mr Collins but that she is getting married at all. Valuing her friendship with Elizabeth, Charlotte heads off to tell her privately about the engagement. Elizabeth is shocked that Charlotte had accepted his proposal & feels that she is ‘disgracing herself’ by doing so. |
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Further respect is lost for Mr Collins as we see him use the same technique for proposing on Charlotte as he does for Elizabeth. Elizabeth stresses this point – ‘two offers of marriage within three days’ (pg 108)
Elizabeth’s stance on marriage is further explored with her opinion on Mr Collins & Miss Lucas’ engagement as she feels that Miss L shouldn’t be getting married for ‘worldly advantage’. |
Pg 108 – Elizabeth’s thoughts about the engagement overtake the voice of the narrator
Breaks away from common narrative conventions by not creating tension or conflict with the engagement – all people directly involved act civilly |
| 23 – Jazz | Sir William Lucas (SLW) arrives at the Bennet house to share the news of the engagement. Mrs Bennet & Lydia react ‘boisterously’ and exclaim that it couldn’t be true. Elizabeth & Jane, attempting to stop Mrs B & Lydia’s reactions, congratulate SLW on the news. Mrs B blames Elizabeth for the engagement & it takes her many months to finally forgive her. Jane & Elizabeth begin to worry about Bingley’s absence – Elizabeth in particular worrying that his sisters are managing to convince him to stay in London. To Mrs B’s dismay Mr Collins returns to Longbourne & the sight of Charlotte is ‘odious’ to her, growing paranoid that Charlotte is beginning to make plans to throw out the Bennet’s after Mr B’s death. |
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Mrs Bennet is a lot more emotional in this chapter than previous ones as her hopes for Longbourne estate to remain home to one of her daughters has gone up in smoke. She is furious at Elizabeth, Charlotte & the other Lucases about this. |
Pride and Prejudice – Chapters 19 to 23 Analysis
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