Story so far
Mr. Collins writes to Mr. Bennet with congratulations on Jane's engagement and a warning that Elizabeth Bennet may marry Mr. Darcy, whom he calls one of the land's most illustrious men. Having told Lady Catherine de Bourgh the rumour, he reports her fierce opposition as if it were guidance the Bennets need.
His letter also condemns Mr. Bennet for receiving Lydia Bennet and Wickham after their marriage. Collins says Christian forgiveness ought never to permit the couple's names or presence, and declares that as rector of Longbourn he would have resisted such an admission. He closes with news that Charlotte is expecting their child, treating his private domestic success as one more proper subject in a letter otherwise devoted to meddling and judgment.
Appearance
He is a tall, heavy-looking young English clergyman with a grave, stately manner. His face, hair, complexion, clothing, and exact age are not described.
Role
He is the family correspondent who transforms gossip, rank, and moral superiority into pressure on the Bennets.
Relationships
Mr. Bennet — Mr. Bennet reads Collins's letter aloud as comic correspondence, unaware how painfully near its central rumour is to the truth.
Sources — 9 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 13
- A tall, formal young clergyman and heir to Longbourn, combining self-importance with slavish gratitude toward Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Chapter 14
- The self-important Hunsford rector turns Lady Catherine's patronage into a performance and mistakes his own elaborate flattery for delicacy.
Chapter 17
- Collins redirects his matrimonial plan from Jane to Elizabeth and treats the Netherfield ball as a proper occasion to begin his courtship.
Chapter 18
- At the ball Collins turns his courtship and clerical dignity into public embarrassments that Elizabeth cannot prevent.
Chapter 19
- Collins proposes to Elizabeth as an act of clerical duty and generous compensation, then refuses to understand her emphatic refusal.
Chapter 22
- His wounded pride recovers at once when Charlotte Lucas accepts the establishment and deference he mistakes for love.
Chapter 36
- At Elizabeth's departure, Collins turns ordinary thanks into a lengthy proof of Hunsford's consequence and his intimacy with Rosings.
Chapter 46
- Collins turns a family disaster into a self-satisfied letter of condemnation, inheritance anxiety, and borrowed aristocratic judgment.
Chapter 55
- Collins circulates the rumoured Darcy–Elizabeth match, reports Lady Catherine's opposition, and calls the Bennets' mercy to Lydia an encouragement of vice.