Significance of Mr. Darcy’s letter in Pride and Prejudice
“I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”
Pride and Prejudice is a quintessential 19th-century love story that includes social drama, “normal” lives of people, their experiences, and their relationships in society which people can still relate to presently. It begins with the arrival of “a single man in possession of a good fortune” along with his arrogant friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, in the neighborhood of Bennets’ family.
Austen, through this novel, has displayed trenchancy, realism, irony, and the development of characters, psychologically, which adds on to the realism aspect of the novel. The story predominantly revolves around Miss. Elizabeth Bennet’s prejudices against the vain Mr. Darcy who had the “most forbidding, disagreeable countenance”. While Mr. Darcy was wealthy, educated, and a handsome gentleman, Miss. Elizabeth, who belonged to a lower social-status, was an agreeable, lively, and a confident young lady.
First half of the book:
With the unfolding of the first half of the novel, Elizabeth’s aversion towards Mr. Darcy intensifies due to various reasons. Firstly, when they meet each other for the first time, Mr. Darcy’s remark, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me..” was overheard by Elizabeth, which fuels her distaste for Mr. Darcy from the very beginning of the novel. Later, Wickham’s false accusation of Mr. Darcy’s lawlessness further adds to Elizabeth’s prejudice against Mr. Darcy, “..for almost all his actions may be traced to pride; and pride had often been his best friend.”. Mr. Darcy was accused of disregarding his deceased father’s wishes by Wickham which was completely incorrect. And lastly, according to Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Darcy had “saved” his friend (Mr. Bingley) from a thoughtless marriage as “There were some strong objections against the lady” . Hence, these became the central reasons behind Elizabeth’s dislike of Mr. Darcy until he told her how ardently he admired and loved her.
Outcome of the first half:
Elizabeth, initially, further scorned him (Mr. Darcy) by saying that her indifference towards him was completely just because of his part in taking Mr. Bingley away from her sister, Jane, and his role in reducing Mr. Wickham to his present state of poverty. He had insulted her family and his proposal did not turn out to be as vigorous as his feelings. Hence, Elizabeth’s hatred towards Mr. Darcy began and kept on increasing throughout the first half and it came to a halt only after she received a letter from Mr. Darcy.
Arrival of Mr. Darcy’s letter in the second half:
Mr. Darcy’s letter to Miss. Elizabeth Bennet in the second half of the novel strips the misunderstandings and the truth comes out. Mr. Darcy had strived to get the actuality of the events out and he was successful in doing so. The things Mr. Darcy’s reserved personality prevented him from saying earlier were, now, penned down by him miraculously which ultimately led to a pivotal moment in the novel. The letter compels us to re-examine our perspective about Mr. Darcy as well as a few other characters like Mr. Wickham.
He lead off from the first “offense” that he had detached Mr. Bingley from her sister. He explains that Mr. Bingley was in love with Miss. Bennet from the time they met at the ball but Jane was not as expressive as him, so he sensed that Jane did not love Mr. Bingley as much as he did. Therefore, Mr. Darcy was just looking out for a friend when he decided to separate Elizabeth’s sister and his friend, which made Elizabeth realize that it was acceptable and justified at Mr. Darcy’s end to care about what is best for his friend.
Then, he brings the truth about Wickham forward, how he lost everything in gambling after Mr. Darcy’s father’s death, and then tried to elope with Georgiana Darcy later.
Letter’s Outcome:
After reading the letter, Elizabeth is overwhelmed with emotions. She comes to terms with her mistake and re-thinks the course of her disposition against Mr. Darcy. She, finally, sees the “real” Mr. Darcy for what he is and feels conscience-stricken for having prejudiced against him.
It gives the readers a chance to evolve with Elizabeth in terms of their opinion of certain characters in the novel. The letter incorporates themes like introspection, compassion, and forgiveness. Although, the letter does not completely account for Mr. Darcy’s behavior and his actions, it brings into light a renewed perspective of the motivations behind his actions and we are compelled to re-think our opinions.
Hence, this letter becomes a pragmatic form of Mr. Darcy’s expression which cares about Elizabeth’s opinions and feelings with just as much regard, while rejuvenating the whole of the back story of Pride and Prejudice.