Satire and Mr Collins in Pride and Prejudice :: Jane Austen

In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen mocks 19th century â€Å"clergymen† through satire with Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins does not seem right for the job as a clergyman. He seems to be a shy character and not dedicated to help his church congregation. He is a materialistic person and things of the world by far outweigh his spiritual life (which a clergyman should make his first priority). Jane Austen scorns Mr. Collins’ kind intention of marrying a poor girl and twists it into a comedy. She does this because she is portraying clergymen in the 19th century as a stereotypical Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins, as said before, has got his priorities all wrong. Where he should be devoted to his spiritual life and his congregation, he finds money (Lady Catherine) the most important. Wherever he goes, he promotes Lady Catherine and sucks up to her. We see that when Mr. Collins dines at Mr and Mrs Bennet’s house, he is very enthusiastic about expressing his thoughts on her. Jane Austen says â€Å"The subject elevated him to more than usual solemnity of manner†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Mr. Collins thinks of Lady Catherine as he should (as a clergyman) think of God. He thinks of her superiority as immense compared to his own, â€Å"he had never witnessed in his life such behaviour in a person of rank,†, â€Å"and that the most elevated rank†, â€Å"and she often condescends to drive by my humble abode in her little phaeton and ponies† (he makes known the difference in rank between him and her). As I said, he should be acting this way to â€Å"spiritual† God, not human â€Å"materialistic† Lady Catherine. Mr.Collins also seems to think that whatever she says goes. For instance, â€Å"Lady Catherine herself says that in point of true beauty, Miss de Bourgh is far superior to the handsomest of her sex.† This is clear evidence that Lady Catherine is not what Mr. Collins says she is: â€Å"She is a most charming and young lady.†. This statements contradicts what Mr. Collins next says: â€Å"She is unfortunately of a sickly constitution, which has prevented her making that progress in many accomplishments, which she could not otherwise have failed of.† However, we can see that she is â€Å"of a sickly constitution† obviously not because she is young like Mr. Collins said before, but old. We know this because she has a daughter, and also because Lady Catherine is a widow.