Chapter 15 Summary

This chapter delves into Collins’ past. He was born to an illiterate and miserly father, which explains his gratitude toward Lady Catherine de Bourgh for her patronage. Nonetheless, Collins becomes a vain, self-occupied man. Although he states that his purpose of visiting the Longbourn estate is to “make amends” with Mr. Bennet, his actual intention is to try and marry one of the Bennet daughters. At first, he is interested in Jane, but he quickly shifts his attention to Elizabeth after learning from Mrs. Bennet that Jane is soon going to be engaged to Mr. Bingley.

Collins accompanies the sisters on their trip to their aunt’s house in Meryton. On the way, they come across Denny, a soldier in the regiment at Meryton. Lydia and Kitty already know Denny, who introduces them to Wickham, a new soldier at the regiment. During their conversation, Bingley and Darcy arrive on horseback. They all exchange pleasantries, but Elizabeth notices that Darcy is distracted and uncomfortable in Wickham’s presence, who also seems to have been taken aback at the sight of Darcy. When Darcy and Bingley leave, Denny and Wickham accompany the sisters, along with Collins, to their aunt’s house. Upon arriving at Mrs. Phillips’ house, the soldiers take leave. Jane introduces Collins to Mrs. Phillips, who invites them all to dinner the next day. She decides to invite Wickham, too. After returning to the Bennet estate, Collins is rather excessive in his praise for Mrs. Phillips and her hospitality.

Chapter 16 Summary

The next day, the entire Bennet family gathers at Mrs. Phillips’ house in Meryton, and they are joined by Collins and Wickham. In his conversation with Mrs. Phillips, Collins once again praises Lady Catherine de Bourgh at length, and Mrs. Phillips seems impressed by her status. Meanwhile, Elizabeth has taken a liking to Wickham and talks to him all evening. She is also curious about Darcy’s connection with Wickham, given the animosity she’d witnessed between the two men the previous day. Wickham obliges; he shares the details of his relationship with Darcy. Elizabeth learns that Wickham’s father was a servant at Darcy’s estate in Pemberley. Darcy’s father had taken Wickham as his godson and had given him a share of his property. Darcy, jealous of Wickham’s closeness to his father, gives away Wickham’s inheritance to someone else after his father’s passing. At this, Elizabeth urges Wickham to publicly humiliate Darcy for his injustice and deception. Wickham refuses to do so; he claims that he still respects Darcy and his family and that he was very fond of the elder Darcy. Both Elizabeth and Wickham criticize Darcy for his pride and snobbishness. Wickham also tells Elizabeth that Lady Catherine de Bourgh is actually Darcy’s aunt and that she plans on getting his daughter, Ms. de Bourgh, married to Darcy to keep their wealth in the family.

Chapter 17 Summary

Elizabeth tells Jane about the conversation she’d had about Darcy with Wickham. Jane, true to her good nature, refuses to think ill of Darcy. Instead, she believes that there must be a misunderstanding between Wickham and Darcy. She also thinks that if what Elizabeth is saying is true, then it might also reflect poorly on Mr. Bingley, as he is Darcy’s friend after all.

Just then, the Bingley sisters arrive with Mr. Bingley. They have come to invite the Bennets to a ball organized by Mr. Bingley, who had earlier promised the younger Bennet sisters that he’d organize another ball. Caroline and Mrs. Hurst are kind to Jane, but avoid Elizabeth. They seem in a rush to leave the Bennet estate. They are there only to extend the invitation, and they are especially avoidant of Mrs. Bennet.

Elizabeth plans to attend the ball with Wickham. She is quite excited about the ball, and as are her sisters. Elizabeth, in her excitement, tells Collins, who is also going to attend the ball, about her plan to attend the ball with Wickham. At this, Collins asks Elizabeth to reserve her first two dances for him. She accepts reluctantly. This dampens Elizabeth’s spirit, and she realizes that Collins might be considering proposing marriage to her. Mrs. Bennet, on the other hand, is thrilled at the prospect; Elizabeth, who’s not thrilled at all by this, refrains from arguing with her mother.

Chapter 18 Summary

The night of the much awaited Netherfield ball arrives. Elizabeth prepares for the evening with great care. However, she soon finds out that Wickham will not be attending the ball. A soldier from the regiment informs her that Wickham had to leave for town on some pressing matter. Elizabeth thinks this might be Wickham’s polite way of avoiding an awkward encounter with Darcy. She decides to keep away from Darcy the entire evening, and discusses her disappointment with her friend, Charlotte Lucas.

As promised to Collins, Elizabeth dances, rather suffers, the first two dances with him. She is caught off-guard when Darcy asks Elizabeth for a dance. She accepts. Throughout the dance, they exchange witty comments and remarks about each other. Elizabeth also drops clues about her closeness with Wickham, as well as the tension between Darcy and Wickham. She then tries to get Darcy to admit that he can be resentful from time to time. After the dance, which turned out to be a disappointing, unsatisfying encounter for the two, Darcy and Elizabeth part ways. Darcy, who is strongly attracted to Elizabeth, blames Wickham for Elizabeth’s attitude toward him.

Jane informs Caroline Bingley about Elizabeth’s growing fondness for Wickham. Worried, Ms. Bingley advises Elizabeth to stay away from Wickham, calling him a bad influence. Elizabeth, on the other hand, does not believe Wickham is a bad influence. Mr. Bingley also tries to dissuade Elizabeth, stating that it is Wickham who is at fault, not Darcy. Elizabeth dismisses him, too; she thinks he is blindly taking his friend’s side. Meanwhile, Collins, having learned that Darcy is Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s nephew, decides to introduce himself to Darcy. Elizabeth warns him against overstepping boundaries; she suggests that an introduction might be uncalled for. Collins introduces himself to Darcy anyway, much to Darcy’s surprise. Elizabeth notices that Darcy is surprisingly polite in his interaction with Collins before excusing himself. However, Mrs. Bennet, who is thrilled to see Jane and Bingley together, blabbers loudly about the prospects of Jane and Mr. Bingley’s marriage. She embarrasses Elizabeth in the process, who is worried that Darcy might overhear Mrs. Bennet’s incessant gloating. After dinner, Mary accepts invitations to sing and play the piano, much to Elizabeth’s horror, who knows that Mary is not good at it. During the second piece, Elizabeth catches Mr. Bennet’s gaze and pleads with him to intervene and stop Mary. In the end, Elizabeth is utterly embarrassed by her family’s conduct. Mrs. Bennet invites Mr. Bingley to an informal dinner at the Bennet estate. Bingley accepts the invitation and promises to visit after completing his trip to London.

Chapter 19 Summary

Collins wishes to have a word with Elizabeth, and Mrs. Bennet suggests that everyone give the two of them some privacy. Collins tells Elizabeth that he is at the right juncture in life to consider marriage. He proposes to Elizabeth, who declines and prepares to leave despite Mrs. Bennet’s calls for her to stay. Collins, however, thinks Elizabeth’s rejection is just female coquetry. He then tells Elizabeth that since he is poised to inherit the Bennet estate, marrying him would be a good outcome for the Bennets. He also mentions that Lady Catherine, too, has urged him to marry a Bennet. Elizabeth interrupts him and rejects his proposal once again. Collins, however, does not stop. Realizing this, Elizabeth leaves the room to enlist Mr. Bennet’s support to turn down Collins’ proposal.

Chapter 20 Summary

When Mrs. Bennet comments about Elizabeth being headstrong, Collins tells her about Elizabeth’s refusal. She reassures Collins and even asks Mr. Bennet to persuade Elizabeth to accept the proposal. Mr. Bennet tells Elizabeth that if she doesn’t marry Collins, Mrs. Bennet would never speak to her again; however, Mr. Bennet also adds in jest that he would stop talking to her if she does marry Collins. Mrs. Bennet continues to force Elizabeth into accepting the proposal. Meanwhile, Charlotte Lucas exchanges words with Collins, who ultimately concedes defeat and apologizes for the discomfort he’d caused.

Chapter 21 Summary

The next day, Collins is curt and cold toward Elizabeth. His attention is directed toward Charlotte Lucas instead, who seems happy to encourage him.

Later, the Bennet sisters go to Meryton in the hope of seeing Wickham. They meet him on the way, and Elizabeth immediately starts talking to him. Wickham accepts that he had left town to avoid an unpleasant confrontation with Darcy. He then accompanies the sisters back to Longbourn.

Jane receives a letter from Caroline Bingley stating that Mr. Bingley has left for London and that it will be a while before he returns. The letter also states that she and Mrs. Hurst hope that Mr. Bingley gets to meet Darcy’s sister, Georgiana Darcy, and marry her. This news shatters Jane. She conveys as much to Elizabeth, who thinks Ms. Bingley is merely conspiring to prevent her brother from marrying a woman from a lower social class. By doing so, Elizabeth believes Ms. Bingley will also be able to get married to Darcy. Jane, on the other hand, does not give much credence to Elizabeth’s version of things. Nonetheless, when they discuss the letter with Mrs. Bennet, they only mention Mr. Bingley’s departure.

Chapter 22 Summary

Charlotte Lucas is happy to entertain Collins. The next day, early in the morning, Collins sneaks out of the Bennet Estate, avoiding the Bennet family, and heads to Lucas Lodge. Charlotte comes out of the house at the same moment, pretending that it is a chance meeting. Collins then proposes marriage to Charlotte, which she gladly accepts after finding out that her parents, too, approve of the union. She asks Collins to keep the engagement a secret, as she wants to break the news to Elizabeth herself. Promising to return soon, Collins leaves Longbourn the next day. He also keeps his word: he doesn’t inform the Bennets about his engagement to Charlotte.

Later, Charlotte tells Elizabeth of the engagement, which, expectedly, shocks Elizabeth. Although Elizabeth tries to be supportive, she feels distant and alienated. She is aware of Charlotte’s views on marriage, but had never thought she would accept a proposal based solely on the promise of material comfort.

Chapter 23 Summary

Not long after Elizabeth finds out about Charlotte’s engagement, Sir William Lucas, Charlotte’s father, visits Longbourn estate to officially break the news of Charlotte’s engagement. The Bennets (especially Mrs. Bennet) do not believe Mr. Lucas at first. It is only after Elizabeth’s confirmation that the Bennets accept the news. However, Mrs. Bennet is infuriated at Elizabeth for the missed opportunity. She’d wanted one of the Bennet daughters to marry Collins, and, unsurprisingly, she begins to resent Charlotte.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Charlotte grow more distant from one another. Elizabeth nonetheless grows close to Jane, who is saddened on account of Mr. Bingley’s continued absence.

Collins returns to Longbourn to prepare for the wedding. Whenever Mrs. Bennet sees Ms. Lucas, she cannot bear the thought of her becoming the mistress of the estate someday. She discusses her discomfort with Mr. Bennet, who urges her to have a more positive outlook toward life.

Chapters 15–23 Analysis

These chapters justify the title of the novel. Most of the characters in these chapters are mainly driven by pride and prejudice. In fact, the differences between the Bennets and the Bingleys are a direct result of pride and prejudice. The chapters reveal how pride can also be a matter of social status. The Bingley sisters find Mrs. Bennet’s demeanor ludicrous. Even when they invite the Bennets to the ball, they leave hastily to avoid meeting Mrs. Bennet. Similarly, even Elizabeth, a rather intelligent woman, is unable to get along with Darcy on account of her pride. Her prejudice against Darcy only increases with time.

The chapters introduce a new point of conflict in the plot in the form of Mr. Wickham. He is instrumental in fueling Elizabeth’s prejudice against Darcy. As a result, she becomes excessively rude to Darcy; she is unable to notice Darcy’s admiration for her. In fact, she mistakes his admiration for mocking. It’s also worth noting that Elizabeth is reluctant to consider both sides of the Darcy story, the one about Darcy depriving Wickham of his inheritance. In particular, she fails to see the inconsistency in Wickham’s version. Although he pretends to not talk about Darcy, Wickham brings him up every time he talks to Elizabeth. Darcy, on the other hand, lets his pride take the backseat; rather magnanimously, he overlooks Elizabeth’s barbs.

In this section of the novel, Austen suggests that social class is more important than interpersonal relationships for some characters. Caroline Bingley, who seems genuinely fond of Jane, thinks her brother is not suited to Jane because of their class difference. On the other hand, Collins embodies Austen’s point that the institution of marriage during her time was purely transactional, that it sometimes precluded love altogether. Collins arrives at Longbourn to get married to a Bennet. He first considers Jane, but turns his attention toward Elizabeth after finding out about Jane’s engagement to Mr. Bingley. He proposes to Elizabeth rather mechanically, and upon rejection, shifts his attention to Ms. Lucas.

In this section, Austen also sheds light on women’s attitude toward marriage. She does so especially through the characters of Elizabeth and Charlotte. Charlotte’s pragmatic view of marriage as a means to achieve social and financial stability is in sharp contrast with Elizabeth’s view that marriage should be based on and bound by love. Charlotte is an example of the typical young upper-class woman of the Regency Era.