What Is The Most Famous Monologue In Pride And Prejudice?

In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy first confesses his love for Elizabeth Bennet in Chapter 34. Pride and Prejudice. To Elizabeth’s utter amazement, Darcy enters the room approaching her “in a hurried manner”. His body language shows he is nervous and agitated. Then he took several minutes to say his true love for her and how ‘ardently’ he ‘admires’ her. However the reader later realizes that his nervousness is not due to his love for Elizabeth, but due to his hesitation, whether it is a good idea to propose considered the inferiority of her family and social background.
Mr. Darcy explains to Elizabeth that ‘in vain’ he has ‘struggled’ to ‘repress’ his feelings towards ‘not to love her’. He expresses his love to her unromantically and is less ‘eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride’. He talks about his ‘sense of her inferiority’ and the ‘family obstacles which judgement had always opposed inclination’.
He means that although he has loved her for a long time, he knows that her family is beneath him. Mr. Darcy considers his wealth and status to be a ‘sufficient encouragement’ for Elizabeth to accept his proposal. Elizabeth ‘could see that he had no doubt of a favorable answer’ as he spoke ‘with apprehension and anxiety’ although his ‘countenance expressed real security’.
Darcy’s speech on this occasion illuminates his complex and compelling yet flawed character. He presents himself as a romantic character caught in a struggle between conventions and feelings. His choice in favor of the latter makes him look better in his eyes and the eyes of many readers. But the monologue also reveals that he is self-centered. Darcy puts his inner conflicts over the feelings of other people.
This marriage proposal fails. Still, it plays a critical role in the novel’s plot. Elizabeth’s rejection urges him to modify his attitude. He needs to become more considerate to others to make the second proposal succeed.