How Does Elizabeth Bennet Change In Pride And Prejudice

Nathan Tran

Ms. Schroder

English IV

24 February 2023

How Elizabeth Bennet Changed Mr. Darcy In the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy goes from an uncaring, emotionless man to someone who can express love, care, and sacrifice. This is all thanks to Elizabeth Bennet and her independent and rebellious nature, and she helped show him that there was more to life than money, status, and fame. At the beginning of the book, Mr. Darcy is shown to be very socially distanced from everyone and seems angry at everyone. At the first ball, he is just in the corner observing everyone. He refused to dance with anyone because he did not like any of the women there. He only talked to Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Darcy just criticized everyone. One of the criticisms, describing Elizabeth, "she is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" (Austen) displaying Mr. Darcy's inability to appreciate people. He found a way to degrade someone, although there was nothing wrong with Elizabeth. However, this is the first step to Mr.

The more he talked with Elizabeth, the more his character improved. However, why did Elizabeth, of all the girls, change him? She is not "not handsome enough to tempt" (Austen) him, nor is she rich/high status. Her rebellious and independent nature sets her apart from the others. Her ability to not care about what others think of her allowed her to stand up to Mr. Darcy and call him out on his flaws like his “defect is a propensity to hate everybody” (Austen). She does not care about his money or class, only his character. He is not used to talking to such an intelligent woman who does not chase him. He is chasing now because Elizabeth does not care about his status and money. Darcy has to get her another way which is by changing his