Plot Summary
Chapter 19 of Pride and Prejudice presents one of the novel's most memorable comic scenes: Mr. Collins's proposal to Elizabeth Bennet. Having resolved to propose before his visit ends on Saturday, Mr. Collins requests a private audience with Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet eagerly cooperates, dragging Kitty from the room despite Elizabeth's protests. Left alone with her cousin, Elizabeth braces herself for what she knows is coming.
Mr. Collins delivers a lengthy, methodical proposal that reads more like a business arrangement than a declaration of love. He enumerates his reasons for marrying in precise order: first, that a clergyman should set an example of matrimony; second, that marriage will add to his happiness; and third -- which he admits he perhaps should have mentioned first -- that Lady Catherine de Bourgh has specifically advised him to find a wife. He quotes Lady Catherine's instructions at length, including her directive to "choose properly" and find "an active, useful sort of person, not brought up high." He then explains that he chose to seek a wife among the Bennet daughters so that the loss of Longbourn through the entail might be softened, and concludes by assuring Elizabeth that he will never reproach her for her small fortune.
Elizabeth's Refusal
Elizabeth firmly declines, thanking him for the honor but declaring it impossible to accept. Mr. Collins, however, refuses to take her seriously. He insists that it is "usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept" and that he expects to "lead her to the altar ere long." Elizabeth grows increasingly frustrated, assuring him she is "perfectly serious" and that she could not make him happy, nor he her. She even suggests Lady Catherine would find her ill-qualified for the role.
Collins persists with breathtaking self-assurance, listing reasons why Elizabeth cannot truly mean to refuse him: his situation, his connections with the de Bourgh family, and -- in a remarkably tactless observation -- the fact that her small portion makes it unlikely she will receive another offer. Elizabeth makes one final, direct appeal to be believed as "a rational creature, speaking the truth from her heart," but Collins calls her "uniformly charming" and declares he will seek her parents' authority. Elizabeth withdraws in silence, resolved to appeal to her father if Collins continues.