When one thinks of Pride and Prejudice, especially in terms of a love story, everyone immediately thinks of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. While I’m not taking anything away from the great love story that it is, there is another love story, Pride and Prejudice, that is often forgotten and overlooked, and that is the story of Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennet.
When Mr. Bingley and Jane first meet at a ball in Meryton, it is definitely a case of love at first sight as far as he is concerned and this is always a romantic start to a love story that has a happy ending. . He is immediately struck by her beauty and immediately asks her to dance once they have introduced themselves. He dances with a few other young women that night, but it is obvious that Jane is far above her favorite, as he dances with her more than any other young woman. He tells Mr. Darcy that night that she is the most beautiful creature he has ever seen and then challenges Mr. Darcy to make him think badly of Miss Bennet. It may not have been a case of love at first sight for Jane, but it’s clear that she really likes him, as she talks about him in a very positive way to Elizabeth the next day saying that.
Bingley and Jane see each other a lot in the coming weeks and it is obvious that they are both falling in love and everyone believes that an engagement between them is imminent. Mr. Bingley hardly notices any other young ladies and we are told that several young ladies were very upset at the Netherfield ball because Mr. Bingley did not ask them to dance.
Mr. Bingley’s biggest flaw is that he is too easily persuaded by his sisters and Mr. Darcy. When Bingley leaves Netherfield to go to London for a few days, his sisters and Mr. Darcy, who are quite concerned about his affection for Jane Bennet, see the opportunity and follow him to London. They persuade him that Jane is not in love with him, convince him to stay in London for the winter, and keep the fact that Jane is in London from him.
We are told nothing about Mr. Bingley from the time he leaves Netherfield in November to the time he meets Elizabeth in Derbyshire in the summer. All we know is that he was in London for most of that time. In London he would have gone to many balls and gatherings and met many lovely young ladies, and yet he cannot forget Jane Bennet, and we know that no matter how hard she tries, he cannot forget him. When Mr. Bingley sees Elizabeth in Derbyshire, she is pleased to see that he knows exactly how long it is since they have seen each other, as the last time he saw her was also the last time he saw Jane. . He also tries to get as much information about Jane from Elizabeth as possible without asking for her directly. When he returns to Netherfield, he visits the Bennets frequently and it is not long before he proposes to Jane and confesses that he has always loved her. She doesn’t hesitate to accept her since she has never stopped loving him.
A wonderful love story, true love that does not die. It contradicts the saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Mr. Bingley would have had plenty of distractions in London, but what we learn later in the story is that his love for Jane was so strong that she was never far from his thoughts.
The love story of Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennet affects the better known of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley introduces Jane to his sisters at the ball in Meryton and she is soon invited to Nethferfield, which is when she falls ill and this causes Elizabeth to spend several days in Netherfield to look after her sister, but she also gets to meet the Mr. Darcy at this time. Elizabeth learns that Mr. Darcy was the one who persuaded Bingley not to marry Jane and this is one of the reasons she gives for rejecting her first proposal. Finally, because Mr. Bingley is so eager to see Jane a lot when he returns to Hertfordshire and later becomes engaged to her, it means that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth see each other a lot and because Jane and Bingley are not interested. in no one but each other, it also means that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth spend a lot of time alone, resulting in Mr. Darcy’s second proposal.
So while the story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is a great and famous love story, let us not forget that of Jane and Mr. Bingley, a charming and romantic story of everlasting love that also had many effects on the story of love we all know so well.