Darcy and Elizabeth Debate Character

During an evening at Netherfield, Darcy and Elizabeth engage in a pointed conversation about the nature of character and forgiveness. Darcy asserts that his good opinion, once lost, is lost forever, a statement that Elizabeth later recalls when judging his actions. Elizabeth, in turn, declares that she 'dearly love[s] a laugh' and enjoys exposing folly. Their verbal duel is both a display of their intellectual compatibility and a deepening of their mutual misunderstanding. Miss Bingley, jealous of the attention Darcy pays Elizabeth, tries to disrupt their conversation.