Pride and prejudice key passage

 

"If Elizabeth, when Mr. Darcy gave her the letter, did not expect it to contain a renewal of his offers, she had formed no expectation at all of its contents. But such as they were, it may well be supposed how eagerly she went through them, and what a contrariety of emotion they excited. Her feelings as she read were scarcely to be defined. With amazement did she first understand that he believed any apology to be in his power; and steadfastly was she persuaded, that he could have no explanation to give, which a just sense of shame would not conceal. With a strong prejudice against everything he might say, she began his account of what had happened at Netherfield. She read, with an eagerness which hardly left her power of comprehension, and from impatience of knowing what the next sentence might bring, was incapable of attending to the sense of the one before her eyes. His belief of her sister's insensibility she instantly resolved to be false, and his account of the real, the worst objections to the match, made her too angry to have any wish of doing him justice. He expressed no regret for what he had done which satisfied her; his style was not penitent, but haughty. It was all pride and insolence.

(Austen 151).

This passage is a crucial moment in Pride and Prejudice that clearly reflects the book title. Elizabeth is full of prejudice against Darcy when she reads his letter. At first, she doesn't want to believe what he says, and she is so impatient to know what he says that she doesn't even read carefully. As she already thinks he is a bad person she thinks that everything he says is wrong. This shows how prejudice can stop us from knowing the truth sometimes.

At the same time, Darcy's letter is full of pride, he doesn't say sorry and his words don't satisfy Elizabeth. He sounds arrogant and Elizabeth thinks he doesn't really regret his actions. But this letter is also important because it's the first time we see Darcy explain himself. Until now, what we know about him is just what other people say, and now we see his part of the story.

Another interesting idea that we see in this passage is Elizabeth's emotions. She feels many things at the same time: impatience, surprise, frustration... She doesn't understand the letter at the beginning because her feelings are too strong. This moment also represents the first step in Elizabeth changing her thoughts about Darcy. Even if she doesn't know it yet, these words will make her understand that she was wrong about him.

Have you ever let prejudice affect the way you see someone when you first meet them? Were you right about them, or your opinion changed after getting to know them better?