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Chapter 43
They gradually ascended for half a mile, and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of a valley, into which the road with some abruptness wound. It was a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills;—and in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal, nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen a place where nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste. They were all of them warm in her admiration; and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!
In Chapter 43, Elizabeth sees Pemberley for the first time. Tellingly, she is taken with the natural beauty and lack of ostentatious design in Darcy’s estate. This scene, the first moment Elizabeth imagines being Darcy’s wife and therefore mistress of Pemberley, evokes the idea that she is now prepared to meet the real Darcy with an open mind. This is a key quote from the novel, and you can read more about it in Famous Quotes Explained, in Quotes by Symbol: Pemberley (the fourth quote), and in Quotes by Setting: Pemberley.
‘And of this place,’ thought she, ‘I might have been mistress! With these rooms I might now have been familiarly acquainted! Instead of viewing them as a stranger, I might have rejoiced in them as my own, and welcomed to them as visitors my uncle and aunt. But no,’—recollecting herself—'that could never be; my uncle and aunt would have been lost to me; I should not have been allowed to invite them.’
In Chapter 43, as she tours Pemberley, Elizabeth continues to envision what her future may have been like had she accepted Darcy’s proposal. She admires both the house itself and the rooms within it, particularly Darcy’s elegant and refined taste. However, she assumes Darcy, due to the “inferiority of her connections,” would not have permitted her family to visit. This forces her to cut the fantasy short, and suggests Elizabeth values family more than wealth.
‘He is the best landlord, and the best master,’ said she, ‘that ever lived; not like the wild young men nowadays, who think of nothing but themselves. There is not one of his tenants or servants but will give him a good name.’
In this quote from Chapter 43, Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper, extols Darcy’s virtues to Elizabeth. The fondness and respect with which she clearly regards him continues to soften Elizabeth’s view of him. You can read more about this quote in Quotes by Character: Fitzwilliam Darcy (the fourth quote).
Her astonishment, however, was extreme, and continually was she repeating, ‘Why is he so altered? From what can it proceed? It cannot be for me—it cannot be for my sake that his manners are thus softened.’
When Mr. Darcy arrives unexpectedly at Pemberley in Chapter 43, he treats Elizabeth and her relatives with the utmost kindness and respect. Elizabeth is confused, though it is apparent to the reader that Darcy has been humbled by Elizabeth’s rejection and still has feelings for her.
Chapter 45
‘Yes,’ replied Darcy, who could contain himself no longer, ‘but that was only when I first saw her, for it is many months since I have considered her as one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance.’
In Chapter 45, Darcy invites Elizabeth and the Gardiners to visit him at Pemberley. Caroline Bingley and Darcy’s sister Georgiana are also in attendance. As the guests are leaving, Miss Bingley reminds Darcy that he once stated he found Elizabeth plain, and Darcy responds with the above quote, explaining that was before he knew her and he now believes her to be one of the most attractive women he knows.
