Essay on the Metamorphosis of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice

The Metamorphosis of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice    Introduced to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a good-looking, self-absorbed aristocrat, Fitzwilliam Darcy experiences a change in his personality and character.   Falling in love was what Darcy needed in order to dispose of his existent views on marriage and money.   Although Mr. Darcy was well mannered, he did not know how to treat women with respect, especially those of a lower social status than he.   However, the love of Elizabeth Bennet changed his behavior forever.    Darcy's arrogance shines through at the beginning of the novel in his first appearance at the Meryton ball.   Speaking of Elizabeth Bennet, he so snobbishly set forth that she was, "...tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" (230).   His feelings of superiority to the people of the town lend Mr. Darcy to be judged as a man with a repulsive and atrocious personality.   The women, who had found him dashingly handsome at first appearance, deemed him a man unworthy of marriage because he offered no positive qualities other than wealth and physical attractiveness.   Not only did Darcy refuse a dance with Elizabeth, but he made it apparent that no woman in the room met his standards of a suitable woman stating that, "...there is not another woman in this room, whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with" (229).   Mr. Darcy is concerned only with the wealth and social standing of the people in the beginning of the novel and will not even communicate with the p eople of the town as they are lower than him and undeserving of his presence.   However, as the novel continues on, Darcy becomes more and more accepting of the Bennet family, which he had formerly thought of as nothing ... ...ce.   Ed. Donald Gray.   New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Hennelly, Jr., Mark M. "Pride and Prejudice." Jane Austen: New Perspectives. ed. Janet Todd. New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., 1983. Jane Austen Info Page. Henry Churchyard. U of Texas, Austin. 23 Nov. 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://www.pemberly.com/janeinfo/janeinfo/html>. Monaghan, David.   Jane Austen Structure and Social Vision.   New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980. Poplawski, Paul.   A Jane Austen Encyclopedia.   Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998. Reidhead, Julia, ed. Norton Anthology of English Literature vol. 7, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. Ward, David Allen. "Pride and Prejudice." Explicator. 51.1: (1992). Wright, Andrew H. "Feeling and Complexity in Pride and Prejudice." Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1966. 410-420. Essay on the Metamorphosis of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice The Metamorphosis of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice    Introduced to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a good-looking, self-absorbed aristocrat, Fitzwilliam Darcy experiences a change in his personality and character.   Falling in love was what Darcy needed in order to dispose of his existent views on marriage and money.   Although Mr. Darcy was well mannered, he did not know how to treat women with respect, especially those of a lower social status than he.   However, the love of Elizabeth Bennet changed his behavior forever.    Darcy's arrogance shines through at the beginning of the novel in his first appearance at the Meryton ball.   Speaking of Elizabeth Bennet, he so snobbishly set forth that she was, "...tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me" (230).   His feelings of superiority to the people of the town lend Mr. Darcy to be judged as a man with a repulsive and atrocious personality.   The women, who had found him dashingly handsome at first appearance, deemed him a man unworthy of marriage because he offered no positive qualities other than wealth and physical attractiveness.   Not only did Darcy refuse a dance with Elizabeth, but he made it apparent that no woman in the room met his standards of a suitable woman stating that, "...there is not another woman in this room, whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with" (229).   Mr. Darcy is concerned only with the wealth and social standing of the people in the beginning of the novel and will not even communicate with the p eople of the town as they are lower than him and undeserving of his presence.   However, as the novel continues on, Darcy becomes more and more accepting of the Bennet family, which he had formerly thought of as nothing ... ...ce.   Ed. Donald Gray.   New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Hennelly, Jr., Mark M. "Pride and Prejudice." Jane Austen: New Perspectives. ed. Janet Todd. New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc., 1983. Jane Austen Info Page. Henry Churchyard. U of Texas, Austin. 23 Nov. 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   <http://www.pemberly.com/janeinfo/janeinfo/html>. Monaghan, David.   Jane Austen Structure and Social Vision.   New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980. Poplawski, Paul.   A Jane Austen Encyclopedia.   Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998. Reidhead, Julia, ed. Norton Anthology of English Literature vol. 7, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. Ward, David Allen. "Pride and Prejudice." Explicator. 51.1: (1992). Wright, Andrew H. "Feeling and Complexity in Pride and Prejudice." Ed. Donald Gray. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1966. 410-420.