“Which do you mean?” and turning round, he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me" (Austen 12).
At this point in the novel, Mr. Bingley and his friend Mr. Darcy are attending a ball in Meryton along with the Bennet sisters. Mr. Bingley dances with Jane twice, making her propitious over the other sisters. Bingley then suggests that Mr. Darcy dances with Jane's sister, Elizabeth because of his taciturn attitude. In response, Darcy says, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me." After overhearing this, Elizabeth forms a dislike for Darcy, and holds it throughout the rest of the section.
Darcy views the people of Meryton as inferior to him because they are not of similar social standard. Because Darcy refuses to dance with Elizabeth, he creates a reputation and persona of impropriety and pride. The rudeness with which Darcy treats Elizabeth creates a negative impression of him in her mind.
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