Jane Austen Quotes

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 56. In the famous showdown scene between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine, Austen presents the two adversaries along with Mr. Darcy as equals. Even if Lady Catherine doesn’t see it that way, Elizabeth does. Here de Bourgh has just suggested to Elizabeth that if she is sensible she would not wish to quit the sphere in which she was brought up. Elizabeth retorts that in marrying de Bourgh’s nephew she would not be be quitting that sphere. Mr. Darcy is a gentleman and Elizabeth is the daughter of a gentleman, she defiantly tells Lady Catherine, who is upset at the idea of her nephew Darcy marrying someone "beneath" him like Elizabeth. Elizabeth is certainly Darcy’s equal in intelligence and wit. She can also stand her ground and hold her own with Lady Catherine and doesn’t view herself as inferior to the aristocratic lady. In Austen’s day class distinction was very much embedded in British society with the aristocracy owning a great deal of wealth and property and wielding a lot of power. While class barriers have been broken down somewhat today, there still is a wealthy and advantaged elite and an aristocracy of lords, ladies, sirs and dames.