- "To walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever it is, above her ancles in dirt, and alone, quite alone! what could she mean by it? It seems to me to shew an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country town indifference to decorum." (p. 24)
Miss Bingley's life revolves around reputation and social class. When Elizabeth arrives to Netherfield after walking miles to visit her sick sister, she is dirty and sweaty - something Miss Bingley finds repulsive. Immediately she judges Elizabeth's carefree attitude regarding her appearance. Throughout the novel, Miss Bingley desperately searches for flaws in Elizabeth. She gathers Elizabeth's 'imperfections' and snobbishly presents them to Mr. Darcy in attempts to sway his attraction towards her. Jane Austen intends for Miss Bingley's jealousy to take control during the story as she feels the need to ridicule Elizabeth's middle-class status and destroy her reputation.
Photo Credit:
Photograph. Web. 13 Mar. 2010. http://jacquelineteo.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/istockphoto_gossip.jpg.
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