Chapter 22
Who does Mr. Collins propose to after being rejected by Elizabeth Bennet?
Charlotte Lucas
Charlotte “instantly set out to meet him accidentally in the lane,” showing irony — she pretends to meet him by chance but actually plans the encounter.
Technique: Irony – Austen uses irony to highlight the superficiality of Mr. Collins’s “love” and Charlotte’s practical motives.
Who visits the Bennets to officially announce Charlotte Lucas’s engagement?
Sir William Lucas
“Sir William Lucas himself appeared, sent by his daughter, to announce her engagement to the family.”
His courteous manner amid the Bennets’ rudeness highlights social decorum versus vulgarity — a recurring theme in Austen’s social satire.
Technique: Contrast — Sir William’s polite composure contrasts with Mrs. Bennet’s disbelief and Lydia’s lack of manners.
What news does Miss Bingley’s letter bring to Jane?
A) The Bingleys are visiting Netherfield again
B) Mr. Bingley is engaged to Miss Darcy
C) The Bingleys have moved to London for the winter
D) Caroline Bingley plans to return to Hertfordshire soon
C) The Bingleys have moved to London for the winter
“The very first sentence conveyed the assurance of their being all settled in London for the winter.”
Miss Bingley’s letter ends Jane’s hopes of seeing Mr. Bingley soon, showing Caroline’s manipulation and lack of sincerity.
Technique: Dramatic irony – The reader knows that Miss Bingley’s letter is deceptive, while Jane takes it at face value.
Who leaves Charlotte Lucas at the beginning of the chapter to prepare for their upcoming marriage?
Mr. Collins
“Mr. Collins was called from his amiable Charlotte by the arrival of Saturday… he had reason to hope that shortly after his return…the day would be fixed that was to make him the happiest of men.”
Mr. Collins departs to prepare for his wedding, ending the engagement subplot and linking Longbourn back to Lucas Lodge.
Who gets married in this chapter?
Charlotte Lucas marries Mr. Collins.
“His marriage was now fast approaching, and she was at length so far resigned as to think it inevitable, and even repeatedly to say, in an ill-natured tone, that she ‘wished they might be happy.’”
Mrs. Bennet cannot be pleased about Charlotte’s marriage to Mr. Collins, feeling both jealous and resentful that her daughter missed the chance.
Technique: Irony / Characterisation – Austen exposes Mrs. Bennet’s pettiness and wounded pride, mocking her inability to feel genuine goodwill.
Who encourages Mr. Collins’s attention to protect Elizabeth from another proposal?
Charlotte Lucas
“Charlotte’s kindness extended farther than Elizabeth had any conception of; its object was nothing else than to secure her from any return of Mr. Collins’s addresses, by engaging them towards herself.”
Charlotte deliberately keeps Mr. Collins occupied, showing her practical intelligence and understanding of social opportunity.
Technique: Characterisation / Dramatic irony – The reader knows Charlotte’s real motive before Elizabeth does.
What is Mrs. Bennet’s initial reaction to the news of Charlotte’s engagement?
A) She is thrilled for her friend’s daughter
B) She disbelieves the news and grows angry
C) She feels proud of her matchmaking skills
D) She blames Mr. Bennet for it
B) She disbelieves the news and grows angry
“In the first place, she persisted in disbelieving the whole of the matter; secondly, she was very sure that Mr. Collins had been taken in.”
Mrs. Bennet’s denial and anger reveal her pettiness and obsession with marriage as a matter of pride and competition.
Technique: Satire – Austen uses Mrs. Bennet’s exaggerated reaction to mock social rivalry and vanity.
Who reacts to Bingley’s absence with anger, blaming his “want of resolution”?
Elizabeth Bennet
“She could not think without anger, hardly without contempt, on that easiness of temper, that want of proper resolution, which now made him the slave of his designing friends.”
Elizabeth criticizes Bingley for being too weak-willed to defy his friends and follow his heart, showing her quick judgment.
Technique: Free indirect discourse – Austen uses Elizabeth’s internal thoughts to reveal her biases and pride.
Who arrives at Longbourn to spend Christmas with the Bennet family?
A) Mr. and Mrs. Phillips
B) Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner
C) Sir William and Lady Lucas
D) Mr. Bingley and Caroline
B) Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner
“Mrs. Bennet had the pleasure of receiving her brother and his wife, who came as usual to spend the Christmas at Longbourn.”
The Gardiners, who are refined and kind, contrast sharply with Mrs. Bennet, showing Austen’s respect for good sense and breeding regardless of social class.
Technique: Character contrast (foil) – The Gardiners serve as a moral and social foil to the Bennets.
Who invites Elizabeth to visit her in Kent after the wedding?
A) Jane Bennet
B) Charlotte Collins
C) Caroline Bingley
D) Lady Catherine de Bourgh
B) Charlotte Collins
“‘I am not likely to leave Kent for some time. Promise me, therefore, to come to Hunsford.’”
Charlotte asks Elizabeth to visit her in Kent after her marriage, highlighting the shift in their friendship.
Technique: Foreshadowing – Elizabeth’s promise sets up her later visit to Hunsford, where she will encounter Mr. Darcy again.
True or False: Charlotte accepts Mr. Collins’s proposal because she loves him.
False
“Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment were gained.”
Charlotte’s motive is purely practical—she seeks security, not affection.
Technique: Social commentary – Austen criticises a society that forces women to marry for survival rather than love.
True or False: Mr. Bennet feels angry about Charlotte’s engagement to Mr. Collins.
False
“It gratified him… to discover that Charlotte Lucas, whom he had been used to think tolerably sensible, was as foolish as his wife, and more foolish than his daughter!”
Mr. Bennet reacts with dry humour rather than emotion, showing his detached amusement at others’ follies.
Technique: Tone – Austen uses Mr. Bennet’s sarcasm to satirize his indifference toward serious matters.
True or False: Jane blames Bingley’s sisters and Darcy for his behaviour and feels deeply resentful.
False
“I have nothing either to hope or fear, and nothing to reproach him with. Thank God! I have not that pain.”
Jane refuses to think ill of anyone, showing her gentleness and moral restraint even when disappointed.
Technique: Character contrast – Austen highlights Jane’s serene optimism against Elizabeth’s sharp skepticism.
True or False: Mrs. Bennet blames Elizabeth for refusing Mr. Collins and losing the chance to secure the Longbourn estate.
True
“It is very hard to think that she might have been Mr. Collins’s wife by this time, had it not been for her own perverseness.”
Mrs. Bennet equates marriage with financial security, revealing her selfishness and lack of empathy for her daughters’ happiness.
Technique: Satire – Austen mocks the mercenary attitudes toward marriage through Mrs. Bennet’s obsession.
True or False: Charlotte’s letters to Elizabeth are open and completely honest about her married life.
False
“She wrote cheerfully, seemed surrounded with comforts, and mentioned nothing which she could not praise.”
Charlotte’s letters are guarded and polite, masking any discontent she may feel. Elizabeth senses that the warmth of their friendship is gone.
Technique: Austen uses cheerful understatement to suggest what Charlotte cannot openly admit.
What does Lady Lucas begin to calculate after hearing of Charlotte’s engagement?
How many years longer Mr. Bennet was likely to live.
This reveals Lady Lucas’s social ambition and self-interest. The darkly humorous detail exemplifies Austen’s satire — mocking how marriage and inheritance are treated as economic strategies rather than emotional unions.
What effect does Charlotte’s marriage have on her friendship with Elizabeth?
A) It brings them closer together
B) It makes Elizabeth admire her friend more
C) It creates a lasting distance between them
D) It causes Elizabeth to stop writing to her
C) It creates a lasting distance between them
“Between Elizabeth and Charlotte there was a restraint which kept them mutually silent on the subject; and Elizabeth felt persuaded that no real confidence could ever subsist between them again.”
Elizabeth feels betrayed and disappointed, showing how practical marriage choices can divide even close friends.
When Mr. Bennet jokes that Jane is “crossed in love,” what does he mean?
A) Jane is secretly engaged
B) Jane’s romantic hopes have been disappointed
C) Jane has fallen in love with Wickham
D) Jane no longer believes in love
B) Jane’s romantic hopes have been disappointed
“Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed a little in love now and then. It is something to think of…”
Being “crossed in love” means to have one’s romantic hopes thwarted or rejected — Mr. Bennet mocks Jane’s heartbreak as if it were fashionable.
Technique: Satire – Austen uses Mr. Bennet’s humor to mock society’s trivialization of women’s emotions.
What suggestion does Mrs. Gardiner make to help Jane recover from her disappointment?
A) To write to Mr. Bingley again
B) To travel to London for a change of scene
C) To ignore Caroline Bingley completely
D) To find another suitor in Meryton
B) To travel to London for a change of scene
“Do you think she would be prevailed upon to go back with us? Change of scene might be of service…”
Mrs. Gardiner’s invitation gives Jane emotional support and moves the plot toward her London reunion with the Bingleys.
Technique: Foreshadowing – Jane’s visit to London later exposes Caroline Bingley’s deceit and deepens the plot.
What realization does Jane come to after visiting Caroline Bingley in London?
A) Caroline is delighted to see her and invites her often.
B) Caroline’s friendliness was false, and she shows no real affection.
C) Caroline confesses her brother’s love for Jane.
D) Caroline explains that Bingley will soon return to Hertfordshire.
B) Caroline’s friendliness was false, and she shows no real affection.
“Caroline did not return my visit till yesterday… she made a slight, formal apology… and was in every respect so altered a creature, that when she went away I was perfectly resolved to continue the acquaintance no longer.”
Jane learns the painful truth about Caroline’s hypocrisy and resolves to end their false friendship.
Technique: Dramatic irony / Characterisation – Austen contrasts Jane’s sincerity with Caroline’s manipulation.
Who said this?
“I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home.”
Charlotte Lucas
“I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’s character, connection, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast…”
Charlotte’s words reveal her pragmatic worldview—she values comfort over romance. Elizabeth finds this shocking.
Technique: Contrast / Tone – Charlotte’s calm practicality contrasts with Elizabeth’s idealism, highlighting the novel’s exploration of reason versus emotion.
How long does it take Mrs. Bennet before she can speak to Sir William or Lady Lucas without being rude?
About a month
“A week elapsed before she could see Elizabeth without scolding her, a month passed away before she could speak to Sir William or Lady Lucas without being rude.”
This shows the extent of Mrs. Bennet’s pettiness and wounded pride. Austen’s precise time frame adds comic exaggeration to her stubbornness.
Which character’s gossip about Mr. Darcy wins everyone’s sympathy and increases his own popularity?
Mr. Wickham
“Everybody was pleased to know how much they had always disliked Mr. Darcy before they had known anything of the matter.”
Wickham’s manipulative storytelling turns public opinion against Darcy, showing his charm and deceit.
Technique: Irony / Foreshadowing – Austen hints at Wickham’s duplicity while the characters remain blind to it.
Who becomes suspicious of Elizabeth’s growing friendship with Mr. Wickham and plans to warn her?
Mrs. Gardiner
“She resolved to speak to Elizabeth on the subject before she left Hertfordshire, and represent to her the imprudence of encouraging such an attachment.”
Mrs. Gardiner’s concern foreshadows Elizabeth’s romantic mistake with Wickham and underscores her role as a rational guide.
Technique: Foreshadowing and characterization – Austen uses Mrs. Gardiner’s voice of reason to hint at future conflict and to critique impulsive romantic choices.
Which young woman captures Mr. Wickham’s attention after he loses interest in Elizabeth?
Miss King
“He was the admirer of some one else… The sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds was the most remarkable charm of the young lady to whom he was now rendering himself agreeable.”
Wickham’s shift to Miss King exposes his opportunism — he pursues her for wealth, not affection. Elizabeth recognizes this with ironic detachment.
Technique: Satire / Irony – Austen mocks the mercenary nature of romantic pursuits in her society.