(Un)becoming

Mr. Collins

The world of Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice is dominated by fine figures of grace,

decorum, and manners. The characters are able to seamlessly navigate their treacherous
society and hold their own against societal standards. Despite their social standing as
members of the lesser gentry, the Bennets are able to maintain good manners and
relationships within their narrow social circle and, even, in the case of Jane and Elizabeth,
beyond it. Even the more difficult Mr. Darcy masterfully manages to maintain a good social
standing within his own elevated circle. However, not all Pride and Prejudice characters are
created equal. Mr. Collins maneuvers through his culture with less grace and charm than
most of the other characters. In contrast to Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley, he is a selfish,
proud, and foolishly simple man who fumbles his way through society. Throughout the
novel, Mr. Collins displays his lack of decorum that in turn makes his existence within his
culture, difficult not only for him, but for the people around himdespite his position as
protg to Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Prior to meeting his future patroness, Mr. Collins possesses enough education to

become a clergyman, but, otherwise, holds no other obvious advantages; he is, essentially,
by birth, a nobody. However, Mr. Collins small beginnings do not hinder his clumsy
upward mobility. Through his connection with Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Collins is
able to achieve some level status in society. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is Mr. Collins claim
to fame.
A fortunate chance had recommended him to Lady Catherine de Bourgh when the
living of Hunsford was vacant; and the respect which he felt for her high rank, and
his veneration for her as his patroness, mingling with a very good opinion of himself,

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of his authority as a clergyman, and his right as a rector, made him altogether a
mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility. (Austen, 52-53)

Mr. Collins newfound connection makes him feel elevated above the position that he holds.
In addition, Mr. Collins is most impressed with Lady Catherine because of her wealth. This
fact is a sense of pride for Mr. Collins, to be associated with such wealth and status, as Joan
Klingel Ray notes:
The narrator tells us that Rosings is a "handsome modern building, well situated on
rising ground" (178). In the following chapter, as Elizabeth and her companions
walk to Rosings, Mr. Collins brags of the wealth of his patroness, Lady Catherine. He
is particularly thrilled with his "enumeration of the windows in front of the house,"
and his relation of "what the glazing altogether had originally cost Sir Lewis de
Bourgh," Lady Catherine's late husband (67)
In the absence of his own display of wealth, Mr. Collins prides himself on Lady Catherines
and particularly his connection with her. It seems that Mr. Collins borrows Lady
Catherines status and wealth and almost displays it as his own.
Thus, Mr. Collins, as a man with some status as a clergyman, some money to his
name, a small estate to inherit, and a high-ranking patroness, begins the book in fairly good
standing. Though his presence at the Bennet house is, from the beginning, somewhat
unwanted, because of his standing to inherit that very house, as cousin, he is welcomed and
readily accommodated. However, the odds are stacked against Mr. Collins. When
compared to the regal Mr. Darcy and the charming Mr. Bingley, Mr. Collins never stands a
chance. David Allen Ward discusses Mr. Collins manner:

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If one considers Martin Prices definition of manners as a code in which feelings are
translated into an accepted form (266), then it is easy to see why Mr. Collins of
Pride and Prejudicethe novel of manners par excellenceis at once the most
ridiculous and the most ill-mannered character in the text, for not only does he lack
the feelings appropriate to the rituals of human intercourse depicted by Austen, but
he repeatedly adopts the wrong form when performing those rituals. (18)

Especially when compared to the finer manners of the men with higher status and wealth,
Mr. Collins pales in comparison. In regular interactions at social events, Mr. Bingleys
decorum leaves a good impression with all who encountered him: Mr. Bingley had soon
made himself acquainted with all the principal people in the room; he was lively and
unreserved, danced every dance, was angry that the ball closed so early, and talked of
giving one himself at Netherfield. Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves
(Austen, 6-7). Bingleys manners are more genteel than those of Mr. Collins, and his
character is overall more welcoming. Even the, sometimes, disagreeable Mr. Darcy is
preferable to the boisterous Mr. Collins.

Although Mr. Collins may claim good intentions, his behavior keeps him from

achieving any real social adeptness: In short, he comes up wrong at both ends of the
equation: his behavior arises out of consistently selfish preoccupations and manifest itself
in mistaken utterances (Ward, 18). Even in his interactions with other men, Mr. Collins
comes across as rude and oblivious to the situations into which he enters. From the very
beginning Mr. Collins talks up his status by name-dropping his beloved Lady Catherine. To
Lady Catherine, Mr. Collins is just a pawn that does her bidding. Because of his adoration
for her, Mr. Collins does nothing to upset her and concerns himself with anything or anyone

that holds a connection to her. Through his relationship with Lady Catherine, Mr. Collins
first finds the boldness to approach Mr. Darcy and introduce himself:
I happed to overhear the gentleman himself mentioning to the young lady who does
the honours of this house the names of his cousin Miss de Bourgh, and of her mother
Lady Catherine. How wonderfully these sort of things occur! Who would have
thought of my meeting with perhaps a nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh in
this assembly! I am most thankful that the discovery is made in time for me to pay
my respects to him, which I am now going to do, and trust he will excuse my not
having done it before. My total ignorance of the connection must plead my apology.
(Austen, 74)
Because of his connection with the Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Collins feels an
obligation to her relation in hopes of keeping in good standing with her, and so, when Mr.
Collins meets Mr. Darcy for the first time, he ignores Elizabeths sound advice not to
approach without a formal introduction. Mr. Collins walks himself into the awkward
situation that shows him to be impertinent:
Mr. Darcy was eyeing him with unrestrained wonder, and when at last Mr. Collins
allowed him time to speak, replied with an air of distant civility. Mr. Collins,
however, was not discouraged from speaking again, and Mr. Darcys contempt
seemed abundantly increasing with the length of his second speech, and at the end
of it he only made him a slight bow, and moved another way. (Austen, 75)
Unable to read social cues and oblivious to anything beyond his eagerness to procure the
approval of Lady Catherines nephew, Mr. Collins enters into a situation that would have

better served him if he had removed himself. It seems in whatever he does, Mr. Collins puts
his proverbial foot in his mouth every time.
It also seems that Mr. Collins is acutely unaware of the feelings of the people around
him and the situations that occur throughout the novel. With his lack of social skills and
the inability to read situations, Mr. Collins steamrolls over people with complete disregard
for their feelings or situation. Without much consideration for his audience, Mr. Collins
never ceases to talk. He makes his opinions known and does not shy away from a
conversation. His selfish nature and social ignorance makes engaging with his culture very
difficult. His heavy-handed courting is but one example. While his presence at
Hertfordshire is not desirable for any of the Bennet family, Mr. Collins attention to the
Bennet daughters is even less so. It becomes very clear that Mr. Collins is not merely
paying his relation a social visit; he came with a goal of securing one of his young cousins as
his wife. Upon meeting the Bennet daughters, who he would choose to become his poor
and unlucky wife was clear:
Miss Bennets lovely face confirmed his views, and established all his strictest
notions of what was due to seniority; and for the first evening she was his settled
choice. The next morning, however, made an alteration; for in a quarter of an hours
tete-a-tete with Mrs. Bennet before breakfast a conversation beginning with his
parsonage-house, and leading naturally to the avowal of his hopes, that a mistress
for it might be found at Longbourn, produced from her, amid very complaisant
smiles and general encouragement, a caution against the very Jane he had fixed on.
(Austen, 53)

The oldest and most beautiful Bennet daughter, Jane, would suit his needs for a wife.
However, due to poor timing and a certain Mr. Bingley, Mr. Collins attention is much too
late.
Elizabeth is the next natural selection. However, upon persistent rejection of his
proposal to Elizabeth, Mr. Collins manages to make an already embarrassing situation
much worse by insisting that her refusal is merely words and feminine etiquette: You
are uniformly charming! cried he, with an air of awkward gallantry; and I am persuaded
that when sanctioned by the express authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals
will not fail of being acceptable (Austen, 83-84). His approach to his proposal to
Elizabeth displays in all its glory, his selfishness and complete inability to read situations:
Marriage means a task towards Mr. Collins and he doesnt love Elizabeth at all. He believes
confidently that he will receive a more favorable answer because of his outstanding
property and social status. To his surprise, Elizabeth rejects his proposal plainly (Gao,
386). Because of his position and the security that he can promise, it is inconceivable to Mr.
Collins that he would ever be rejected. But, of course, he is. A marriage between he and
Elizabeth would benefit both parties; the idea that Elizabeth would say no is not a thought
in his mind. A proud man, he persisted and made the situation worse:
You must give me leave to flatter myself, my dear cousin, that your refusal of my
addresses is merely words of course. My reasons for believing it are briefly these: It
does not appear to me that my hand is unworthy your acceptance, or that the
establishment I can offer would be any other than highly desirable. As I must
therefore conclude that you are not serious in your rejection of me, I shall choose to

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attribute it to your wish of increasing my love by suspense, according to the usual
practices of elegant females. (Austen, 83)

Rather than accepting Elizabeths refusal, he insists that her rejection to his first proposal is
merely a feminine protocol. His high opinion of himself and his position in many cases
causes the extension of his embarrassment.
Even after his marriage to Charlotte Lucas, Mr. Collins continues to illicit the disgust
of the Bennet family, through his unwelcome intrusions into their family matters and his
unsound and uncaring advice. Upon hearing the news of Lydia and Wickhams sad
business and elopement, Mr. Collins dutifully writes to his cousins expressing his feelings
about the situation:
I must not, however, neglect the duties of my station, or refrain from declaring my
amazement at hearing that you received the young couple into your house as soon
as they were married. It was an encouragement of vice; and had I been the rector of
Longbourn, I should very strenuously have opposed it. You ought certainly to
forgive them, as a Christian, but never to admit them in your sight, or allow their
names to be mentioned in your hearing. (Austen, 278)
Mr. Collins opinion is very unwelcome and ill received among his relatives and lowers their
already low opinion of him.
In the end, Mr. Collins character is defined by his difficulties; it seems that his
character does not grow in the midst of his social inadequacies, but rather shrinks to new
lows. Throughout the course of the novel, Mr. Collins bears the ramifications of many
unfortunate and completely avoidable embarrassing circumstances. How Mr. Collins
interactions within his culture displays all of the values of his time. His awkward and

unique selfishness within Pride and Prejudice is a character trait that contrasts him with the
other male characters. He values what can give him an edge and raise his standing. His
character exposes the unbecoming behavior that is fostered by a culture that is run by
gender, social class, and wealth.

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Works Cited

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. James Kinsley. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
Gao, Haiyan. Jane Austens Ideal Man in Pride and Prejudice. Theory and Practice in

Language Studies 2 (2013): 384-88. Academic OneFile. Web. 21 Feb. 2015

Ray, Joan Klingel. Pride and Prejudice: The Tale Told By Lady Catherines House.

Explicator 67.1 (2008): 66-70. Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 22 Feb.

2015

Ward, David Allen. Austens Pride and Prejudice. Explicator 51.1 (1992): 18-19.

Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2015