Kevin McAdam
AP English 11/ Mr. George
9/ 28/09
Pride and Prejudice Analysis
Mr. Collins’ inability to control his emotions towards Elizabeth kept him from conveying accurate logic which, in turn, halted him from displaying himself as a respectable character.
Mr. Collins’ speech to Elizabeth was doomed from the start because he allowed his emotions to consume him, which stopped him from expressing proper logic. Mr. Collins had already known that he was going to ask Elizabeth to marry him, so his emotions were racing inside the moment he started speaking to her. His thoughts were racing so quickly that he had no time to stop and think if the reasons for his proposal were logical. Mr. Collins’ strategy of saying whatever came to mind first put him in a hole he could not dig himself out of. These illogical statements did not show Elizabeth that he had a strong enough character to be her husband. Also, the fact that Elizabeth strongly disliked Mr. Collins prior to his proposal played an important role in the outcome.
Mr. Collins did not establish himself as a humble and respectable from the beginning, and, in fact, worsened his character as his speech trailed on: “As I must therefore conclude that you are not serious in your rejection of me, I shall choose to attribute it to your wish of increasing my love by suspense, according to the usual practice of elegant females,” (Austen). Mr. Collins’ overbearing emotion and his total lack of common sense in several of his illogical statements to Elizabeth diminished the undesirable character that he had already established before his speech.