End of Chapter 18 - Settlements are the contrast – how much money is the daughter going to bring to the marriage, and how much will come from the man --- dowry
Actual compatibility between people doesn’t seem to concern Mrs. Bennet at all – she goes straight to wedding clothes and cottages
Mr. Collins making his proposal to Elizabeth
Mr. Collins so far:
- he is the awkward guy who thinks he is funny, he can’t follow social hints
- he thinks he is on the same plain as Lady Catherine, he talks about her ALL the time
- he can’t take no for an answer, he assumes
“Almost as soon as I entered the house I singled you out as the companion of my future life” (103)
- He chooses her, almost as if he is shopping for a wife
o the car doesn’t care who buys it, but the wife has a say – he just assumes that she will accept him because he wants her
- He does attributes personality to her, but her happiness is not a part of the equation, it isn’t factored in
- Is there flattery in his proposal?
o No – he thinks that it is flattering to Elizabeth that she is chosen by him, but he goes on to say that it is also because he thinks it will make him happy and that Lady Catherine told him to find a gentle woman
o His words are not about to sweep her off her feet
o The big treat of their marriage would be that Lady Catherine would visit her – that doesn’t set her heart aflutter
- He brings up her father’s death during the proposal – Elizabeth and her dad are extremely close – not a good move on Collins’ part
o then he even brings up that her mother will die eventually
Her answer to him is polite, respectful – she sees that he is trying to pay him a compliment, but simply says that accepting it would be “impossible” (104)
Why isn’t she more annoyed with him?
He isn’t discouraged by her rejection – he says that this is how women behave, that he should try again and again until she accepts him (seeing as he has SO much experience with women --- sarcasm, of course)
- then he brings up Lady Catherine again
- then he mentions qualifications – as if it were a job interview
- he tried to find logic in love, but there is none – he can’t understand logically why she wouldn’t want to marry him
- he even says that she may not get another proposal of marriage in her life, despite her looks, so she should reconsider
Mrs. Bennet is on the same page as Mr. Collins: “She is a very headstrong foolish girl, and does not know her own interest; but I will make her know it” (108)
When Mr. Collins switches to Charlotte from Elizabeth, she has a hard time with this
- she sees her parents as not real partners with the intimacy of marriage – she doesn’t want that for her friend, has a hard time imagining her friend having a repulsive relationship
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteYou do a nice job summing up class today. I so wish I could have been there to go through Collins' proposal. I always go back to George's declaration of love for Lucy in A Room With A View when I read Collins' proposal of mortification. George's words are passionate and spontaneous. He acknowledges Lucy and speaks to her happiness in their union. Poor Collins does EVERYTHING wrong.
Phil
I know! Honestly, could a guy blow it any more than he does? I feel like he's making some sort of bullet-point list of the reasons Elizabeth should agree to be with him... it's almost as if he knows that she doesn't want to be with him for some reason (though God forbid he isn't the ultimate catch) so he feels that he needs to state clearly why she needs to accept his proposal. I also love how her happiness is no where included in his reasons... yes, his happiness is mentioned, but seeing as he is only one half of this marriage partnership, shouldn't he at least touch upon her contentment at least briefly?
ReplyDeletePoor Collins, so oblivious...
I still can't help liking the toad Collins. His stupidity in full-blown display is oddly delightful for me. I'm not sure what that says about me, but Collins is one of my favorite Austen characters. Watching him "dance" in the A&E movie is priceless.
ReplyDelete