Question

Which of these excerpts from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice highlights the condescending attitude of upper-class characters?

1. Her report was highly favourable.Sir William had been delighted with him. He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assembly with a large party. Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were entertained.

2. Jane was as much gratified by this as her mother could be, though in a quieter way. Elizabeth felt Jane's pleasure. Mary had heard herself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most accomplished girl in the neighbourhood; and Catherine and Lydia had been fortunate enough never to be without partners, which was all that they had yet learnt to care for at a ball. They returned, therefore, in good spirits to Longbourn, the village where they lived, and of which they were the principal inhabitants. They found Mr. Bennet still up.

3. They were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought, and of associating with people of rank, and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others. They were of a respectable family in the north of England; a circumstance more deeply impressed on their memories than that their brother's fortune and their own had been acquired by trade.

4. The manner in which they spoke of the Meryton assembly was sufficiently characteristic. Bingley had never met with more pleasant people or prettier girls in his life; everybody had been most kind and attentive to him; there had been no formality, no stiffness; he had soon felt acquainted with all the room; and, as to Miss Bennet, he could not conceive an angel more beautiful. Darcy, on the contrary, had seen a collection of people in whom there was little beauty and no fashion, for none of whom he had felt the smallest interest, and from none received either attention or pleasure. Miss Bennet he acknowledged to be pretty, but she smiled too much.

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Answer 1

the answer is number 3

Answer 2

The excerpt that shows the condescending attitude of upper-class characters in Pride and Prejudice is number 3.

Numbers 1 and 2 focus more on how the lower-classes tend to regard the upper-class and what their social behavior is like. Let us not forget that Mr. Bennet was considered a gentleman since he did not need to work and was able to live off an inheritance. However, he was still far from belonging among the richest.

Number 4 does describe a condescending attitude on Mr. Darcy's part, but not for his being wealthy. This excerpt shows how opposite his own and Mr. Bingley's personalities - his best friend - are.

Now, excerpt number 3 describes Mr. Bingley's sisters who, unlike his brother, took their rank and money very seriously and chose to despise the less fortunate. They thought so highly of themselves that they were able to forget that someone in the family - even if it was a long time ago - had to actually work to make the fortune they inherited. They believed they "were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others." That behavior is shown in the narrative by other upper-class characters as well, such as Mr. Darcy's aunt, whose words were always impertinent but never contested, since no one - except maybe for Elizabeth, the main character - would have the courage to do so.