“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” - Jane Austen. Unfortunately, as Elizabeth Bennet finds, the lady might not be in want of that husband. Elizabeth Bennet is proposed to first by Mr. Collins, and then later by Mr. Darcy, both of whom she denies. The gentlemen are making excellent proposals in their own eyes, but they are certainly not acceptable to Elizabeth. The pride and insensitivity of both of her suitors disgusts and offends her. Most people agree that Mr. Darcy’s proposal was more romantic, and that Mr. Collins is a generally a cringe-worthy character. At the root, however, who’s proposal was more appropriate for the social and financial constraints …show more content…
Collin’s proposal was tasteless and unfeeling, but some people still insist that his was more appropriate than Mr. Darcy’s. The first reason they believe this is because Mr. Collins was already expected to take one of the Bennet daughter’s for a wife. Mr. Collins was the heir of Longbourn, the estate where the Bennet family lived, and he was expected to take one of the Bennet daughter as his wife, in order to keep the house in the family. This would not have been a beneficial marriage for Elizabeth, because Mr. Collins could not offer her any actual happiness as a husband. It would also not be advantageous to her family because Mr. Collins did not offer them anything but providing security for a single daughter and turning them out of house and home. The second reason some people feel that Mr. Collin’s proposal was more appropriate than Mr. Darcy’s was that Mr. Darcy was too proud for Elizabeth to accept him. This is not a good reason because although Mr. Darcy was proud, he was able to see this as a fault in himself, and apologized for it. Mr. Collins was also very proud, even refusing to believe that Elizabeth was denying his proposal, and even insulted her by saying that she would probably not receive a better proposal. If he were to realize he were saying this to Elizabeth, who vows to only marry in the deepest love, he probably would have recoiled this statement. Mr. Collins did not love or even respect Elizabeth to not directly insult her as well as her family in his proposal and he offered her no happiness. He was clearly not a suitable choice for Elizabeth and she deserved much