Pride and Prejudice #1-5

The Title as it Relates to the Text
The title Pride and Prejudice relate back to how the characters act and their view on society. The book begins by stating that "it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" (Austen 1). This statement sets up the major focus of the text: for the Bennet girls to find husbands, preferably of a propitious social class and wealth, so that the prosperity will be well off. The idea of wanting a husband of great wealth and high social class relates back to the word "pride" in the title for in this time period, people would take great pride in the social class they belong to for they believe one's place in the hierarchy of society to be extremely important. Building off of this idea of pride in one's social class, the characters in Pride and Prejudice also highlight the idea of prejudice in how they view others based off of their place in society. With the heavy importance placed on social class, the characters have suppositions about the other classes of society and which class they must belong to in order to be happy. This can be seen when Mrs. Bennet pushes Mr. Bennet to meet with Mr. Bingley because Mr. Bingley is a rich and handsome bachelor and the Bennet's have four daughters that each need a fitting husband. Mrs. Bennet hopes that Mr. Bingley will marry one of her daughters because of her pride and prejudice towards social class; she desires for her daughter to marry rich and be of the highest class possible.

Mr. Collins' Proposal, Chapter 19 pg.105-106
Mr. Collins' proposal to Elizabeth proves unsuccessful. His entire proposal is very focused on himself and comes across as extremely selfish, sycophantic and pompous. Mr. Collins' focuses on the reasons why Elizabeth should marry him rather than any emotional reasons why he wants to marry Elizabeth. This tactic ultimately is rejected by Elizabeth because of her view on marriage and love, as can be seen by her feelings for Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth does not like Mr. Darcy because he is self-centered and does not recognize her beauty; Elizabeth wants to be recognized for her beauty and love her husband. Mr. Collins' proposal does not at all recognize Elizabeth's beauty, which is one of the major reasons his proposal fails. Mr. Collins' narcissism and seeming lack of understanding of the woman he is proposing to causes him to look past Elizabeth's true wants and needs, causing her to reject his proposal.