Darcy's letter to Elizabeth

Darcy's letter to Elizabeth is the single most transformative document in the novel, a long, closely written letter delivered after Elizabeth's furious rejection of his first proposal. It contains two separate, detailed explanations: first, his account of separating Charles Bingley from Jane Bennet, which he justifies by his genuine belief in Jane's indifference and the impropriety of her family; second, a devastating refutation of George Wickham's character, revealing Wickham's mercenary rejection of the living, his subsequent dissipation, and his attempted elopement with Darcy's fifteen-year-old sister, Georgiana. The letter forces Elizabeth into a painful, humiliating re-examination of her own judgement, shattering her prejudices and initiating her profound moral and emotional growth.

Circumstances of Delivery

The morning after Darcy's disastrous first proposal at Hunsford Parsonage, Elizabeth, still agitated and determined to avoid him, went for a walk in the park. She was on the point of retreating when she saw Darcy approaching; he stepped forward eagerly, called her name, and with a look of haughty composure, held out a letter which she instinctively took. He said, "I have been walking in the grove some time in the hope of meeting you. Will you do me the honour of reading that letter?" and then, with a slight bow, turned back into the plantation and was soon out of sight. With no expectation of pleasure but the strongest curiosity, Elizabeth opened the letter to find an envelope containing two sheets of letter-paper, written quite through in a very close hand, with the envelope itself likewise full. It was dated from Rosings at eight o'clock that morning.

The Explanation Concerning Jane and Bingley

The letter opens with Darcy stating that he writes without any intention of repeating his offers, but because his character requires it. He addresses the two charges Elizabeth laid against him the previous night. The first concerns his role in separating Bingley from Jane. Darcy explains that he first became aware of Bingley's serious attachment at the Netherfield ball, when Sir William Lucas spoke of the match as a certain event. From that moment, Darcy watched his friend's behaviour and also observed Jane. He asserts that her look and manners were "open, cheerful, and engaging as ever, but without any symptom of peculiar regard," and that he remained convinced from the evening's scrutiny that though she received his attentions with pleasure, she did not invite them by any participation of sentiment. He admits he was desirous of believing her indifferent, but insists he believed it on impartial conviction. He then states his objections to the marriage: the want of connection, and more importantly, the "total want of propriety so frequently, so almost uniformly betrayed by herself, by your three younger sisters, and occasionally even by your father." He adds that from what passed that evening, his opinion of all parties was confirmed, and every inducement heightened to preserve his friend from what he esteemed a most unhappy connection. He explains that he went to London with Bingley's sisters, and there readily engaged in pointing out to his friend the certain evils of such a choice. He confesses that he did not believe his remonstrance would have ultimately prevented the marriage had it not been seconded by his assurance of Jane's indifference, which he gave without hesitation. He admits to one part of his conduct he does not reflect on with satisfaction: he condescended to conceal from Bingley that Jane was in town, though he knew it himself. He concludes this section by saying that if he has wounded Jane's feelings, it was unknowingly done, and he has not yet learnt to condemn his motives.

The Refutation of Wickham's Story

The second, and more weighty, accusation concerns Wickham. Darcy refutes it by laying before Elizabeth the whole of Wickham's connection with his family. He states that Wickham is the son of a very respectable man who managed the Pemberley estates for many years. Darcy's father supported Wickham at school and afterwards at Cambridge, and intended to provide for him in the church. Darcy himself, however, had long known Wickham's true character: "The vicious propensities—the want of principle, which he was careful to guard from the knowledge of his best friend, could not escape the observation of a young man of nearly the same age with himself." After Darcy's father died, Wickham wrote to Darcy, having finally resolved against taking orders, and requested some more immediate pecuniary advantage in lieu of the preferment. Darcy, who knew Wickham ought not to be a clergyman, agreed: Wickham resigned all claim to assistance in the church and accepted three thousand pounds in return. For about three years Darcy heard little of him, but when the living became vacant, Wickham applied again for it, claiming his circumstances were exceedingly bad. Darcy refused. After this, every appearance of acquaintance was dropped. Darcy then reveals a circumstance he would wish to forget: last summer, Wickham, by design, followed Darcy's sister Georgiana to Ramsgate, where, with the connivance of her governess Mrs. Younge, he persuaded the fifteen-year-old Georgiana, who retained a strong impression of his childhood kindness, to believe herself in love and consent to an elopement. Darcy joined them unexpectedly a day or two before the intended elopement, and Georgiana, unable to bear the idea of grieving him, confessed the whole. Darcy wrote to Wickham, who left immediately. He concludes that Wickham's chief object was Georgiana's fortune of thirty thousand pounds, but he also believes the hope of revenge on Darcy was a strong inducement. He appeals to Colonel Fitzwilliam for the truth of every particular.

Elizabeth's Reading and Reaction

Elizabeth read the letter with a contrariety of emotion scarcely to be defined. At first, with a strong prejudice against everything Darcy might say, she instantly resolved his belief of her sister's insensibility to be false, and his account of the objections to the match made her too angry to wish to do him justice. But when she came to his account of Wickham, her feelings became more acutely painful. She wished to discredit it entirely, repeatedly exclaiming, "This must be false! This cannot be! This must be the grossest falsehood!" Yet she could not help reading on. She found that Wickham's account of his connection with the Pemberley family agreed with Darcy's, and the kindness of the late Mr. Darcy matched his own words. But when she came to the will, the difference was great. She read and re-read the particulars of Wickham's resigning all pretensions to the living and receiving three thousand pounds, and was forced to hesitate. The extravagance and general profligacy Darcy laid at Wickham's charge shocked her, and she could bring no proof of its injustice. She tried to recollect some instance of goodness in Wickham, but could remember no more substantial good than the general approbation of the neighbourhood. The story of his designs on Miss Darcy received confirmation from what Colonel Fitzwilliam had told her only the morning before. She remembered that Wickham had boasted of having no fear of seeing Darcy, yet had avoided the Netherfield ball, and that he had told his story to no one but herself until after the Netherfield family had left the country. She grew absolutely ashamed of herself. "How despicably I have acted!" she cried. "I, who have prided myself on my discernment!... Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where either were concerned. Till this moment I never knew myself." She re-read Darcy's explanation concerning Jane, and this time the effect was widely different. She could not deny the justice of his description of Jane's composure, nor the justice of his charge against her family. The compliment to herself and her sister soothed her, but could not console her for the contempt self-attracted by the rest of her family. She wandered along the lane for two hours, giving way to every variety of thought, re-considering events, determining probabilities, and reconciling herself to a change so sudden and so important.

The Letter's Aftermath and Significance

The letter became the catalyst for Elizabeth's complete re-evaluation of Darcy and of herself. She studied every sentence, and her feelings towards its writer were at times widely different. When she remembered the style of his address, she was still full of indignation; but when she considered how unjustly she had condemned him, her anger was turned against herself, and his disappointed feelings became the object of compassion. His attachment excited gratitude, his general character respect. The letter also forced her to confront the unhappy defects of her own family, which she now saw as hopeless of remedy. She reflected on how Jane had been deprived of Bingley by the folly and indecorum of her own family. The development of Wickham's character added to her distress. The letter remained with her, a constant source of reflection, and she was in a fair way of soon knowing it by heart. It was the instrument that destroyed her pride in her own discernment and began the process of genuine self-knowledge, preparing her for the eventual, transformed understanding that would allow her to love Darcy. She later told Darcy that the letter had made her think better of him, and that all her former prejudices had been gradually removed by its contents.