Story so far
When Elizabeth Bennet tells her mother that Mr. Darcy has proposed and her father consents, Mrs. Bennet is stunned into silence before bursting into amazement and joy. Darcy's wealth, grandeur, carriages, jewels, town house, and the prospect of a third married daughter quickly erase every former complaint that he was proud, disagreeable, or tiresome.
She wants a special licence and immediately worries over Darcy's favourite dish. The following day she is less embarrassing than Elizabeth fears because awe of her intended son-in-law makes her deferential and nearly speechless except when offering attentions. Her approval remains founded on worldly consequence, but its outward restraint gives Elizabeth an unexpected reprieve.
Appearance
She once considered herself handsome and is a middle-aged mother of five grown daughters. Her particular face, hair, build, and clothing remain undescribed.
Role
She is the comic social barometer whose instant reversal measures the overwhelming force of Darcy's income and status in her imagination.
Relationships
Mr. Darcy — Mr. Darcy changes in Mrs. Bennet's view from an objectionable visitor to an awe-inspiring future son-in-law.
Sources — 13 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 1
- An excitable mother whose life's chief business is marrying her five daughters well.
Chapter 2
- An excitable mother whose marriage plans burst into joy when her husband has already visited Bingley.
Chapter 5
- An excitable mother thrilled by Jane's prospects and fiercely affronted by Darcy's disregard for Elizabeth.
Chapter 7
- An excitable mother who engineers Jane's rain-soaked stay at Netherfield and calls the result a triumph.
Chapter 9
- An excitable mother whose triumph at Jane's prolonged Netherfield stay blinds her to her own social indiscretion.
Chapter 13
- An excitable mother who turns fury at the entail into composure once its heir hints at marrying one of her daughters.
Chapter 15
- A marriage-minded mother who converts Collins's inheritance from an outrage into a welcome solution when he appears ready to choose a Bennet daughter.
Chapter 18
- Mrs. Bennet makes Jane's possible marriage so loudly public that it becomes Elizabeth's chief humiliation before Darcy and the Bingley sisters.
Chapter 20
- Mrs. Bennet presses Elizabeth to accept Collins with threats and coaxing, only to find Mr. Bennet firmly on their daughter's side.
Chapter 23
- The Charlotte–Collins engagement transforms Mrs. Bennet's rejected solution into a grievance she treats as betrayal and displacement.
Chapter 45
- Mrs. Bennet turns Lydia's disappearance into illness, blame, and frantic plans for wedding clothes while refusing responsibility for her indulgence.
Chapter 47
- News of Lydia's marriage drives Mrs. Bennet from despair into extravagant delight, gossip, and immediate plans for wedding clothes.
Chapter 57
- Mrs. Bennet's dislike of Darcy collapses before ten thousand a year, and she becomes extravagantly delighted by Elizabeth's engagement.