 After the ball, the Bingley sisters take great joy in ridiculing the fashion and conversation of the locals, especially Mrs. Bennet Although Darcy is not as supercilious as the sisters, he agrees with them that Elizabeth as a reputed beauty is over-rated – “She a beauty?I would as soon call her mother a wit?”

Over the next two weeks, Bingley's party and Darcy attend several private get-to-know-you events that invariably include the popular Bennet family from Longbourn (2,000 pounds a year) – Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Jane, Elizabeth, and three younger daughters, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia.During these events, Darcy comes to believe that he dismissed Elizabeth too quickly.