Lady Catherine de Bourgh

The snobbish and arrogant aunt of Darcy, Lady Catherine de Bourgh is the only character with a title in the nobility and she lets everyone know it! She is obsessed with the idea of her superiority both in rank and personal integrity to the other characters, but ironically Austen makes it very clear for us to see who she really is: an unpleasant, pompous, and unintelligent woman. Lady Catherine gathers sycophants such as the obsessively fawning Mr Collins around her who build up her almost God-like ego, and the other people around her who do not worship her are generally too afraid to challenge anything she says. However, Elizabeth’s sense of personal integrity means that she will not let Lady Catherine walk all over her, as “Lady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer; and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified impertinence.” Lady Catherine takes an instant disliking to Elizabeth, and takes on an antagonistic role as tries to interfere in her relationship with Darcy, even going so far as to visit Elizabeth to warn her off. Her interference is largely unsuccessful, with Elizabeth going so far to defy her to her face, with Lady Catherine responding, shocked, “Miss Bennet, do you know who I am? I have not been accustomed to such language as this.”