Blog #1 9/8

What is the importance of the Mr. Collins-character?

When I looked at the Mr. Collins-character, I thought of him as a symbol for how men viewed women, and the role of men and women in 18th century England. I think Jane Austen uses Mr. Collins to make a social criticism of her era’s view of marriage. Mr. Collins was not at all prepared for the refusal of his proposal to Elizabeth. He assumed that Elizabeth would be happy to marry him because her future would be secure. Elizabeth was unique because she did not believe in marriage just for security. She wanted a companion that would make her happy every day and that she would actually love. This idea was contrasted by her best friend Charlotte Lucas. Charlotte believed love was not a vital part of marriage, so when Mr. Collins proposes to her, she accepts. Mr. Collins is a symbol for how marriage was viewed by men at the time of the novel.

Another dimension of Mr. Collins-character was his contrasting characteristics to Mr. Darcy. Although both men are viewed as very proud, Mr. Darcy actually has reason to be proud because of his wealth and social status. Mr. Collins is just obnoxious and overly proud of himself because he works for the “great” Lady Catherine De Bourgh. I believe Austen made Mr. Collins so pitiful in order to highlight Mr. Darcy. At Mr. Bingley’s party, I kept thinking how obnoxious Mr. Collins was and how he kept getting in the way of everyone. I found myself liking Mr. Darcy more because I disliked Mr. Collins so much. Mr. Darcy seemed more gentlemen like because Mr. Collins was not gentlemen like at all.

I believe Mr. Collins was also used to illuminate Mrs. Bennet’s foolishness as well as Mr. Bennet’s wisdom. After Elizabeth refuses Mr. Collins’ proposal, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have opposite responses to Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet was appalled that Elizabeth would refuse the opportunity to get married and secure her future. She chased Elizabeth down and begged her to reconsider. Mr. Bennet, on the other hand, respected Elizabeth’s decision and realized that Elizabeth had absolutely no interest in Mr. Collins and therefore should not marry him. Mr. Collin’s proposal allowed Mr. and Mrs. Bennet to show their contrasting views on their daughters’ potential marriages.

Durant: How would you describe Durant's view of the importance of philosophy?

Durant argues the importance of philosophy because it answers the questions that science cannot answer. Science advances and philosophy regresses as more questions are answered by science and fewer questions are left to be answered by philosophy. Science explains how things happen while philosophy explains why.