No wonder he thinks highly of himself. As he tells Lizzy when she's needling him about being vain, "where there is a real superiority of mind, pride will be always under good regulation" (11.18). Translation: it's not vanity if it's true. With an attitude like that, this guy isn't ready to marry anyone, much less our Lizzy. He gives himself away in his boneheaded first proposal, when he basically says, "Look, I hate your family and you're totally beneath me, but will you marry me?"
Yeah, no wonder she turns him down. So, our question is: what changes? Is the friendly, pleasant Mr. Darcy who meets Lizzy at Pemberley with her aunt and uncle really the same guy glaring at everyone in the room? Did Austen realize halfway through that she'd better make this guy a little more likeable—or does he actually undergo some sort of character transformation?
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