Mr Bingley and Jane Bennet – A Forgotten Love Story?

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 girls that night, but it’s obvious that Jane is far above her favorite of hers, as he dances with her more than any other girl. He tells Mr. Darcy that night that she is the most beautiful creature he has ever seen and then dares Mr. Darcy to make her think less of Miss Bennet. It may not have been a case of love at first sight for Jane, but it’s clear that she likes him very much, as she speaks of him in a very positive way to Elizabeth the next day saying so.

Bingley and Jane see each other a lot over the next few weeks and it’s obvious they’re both falling in love and everyone thinks an engagement between them is imminent. Mr. Bingley hardly notices any other girls and we are told that several girls were very upset at the Netherfield dance 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 hide 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 assemblies and met many lovely 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 has been since the last time he saw her was also the last time he saw Jane. . He also tries to get as much information about Jane as possible from Elizabeth 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 as she has never stopped loving him.

A wonderful story of love, of true love that does not die. Contradicts the saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Mr. Bingley would have had many 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 best known of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley introduces Jane to her sisters at the ball in Meryton and she is soon invited to Nethferfiled, which is when she falls ill and this causes Elizabeth to spend several days in Netherfield to care for 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 then 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’s not forget the story of Jane and Mr. Bingley, a charming and romantic story of undying love that also had many effects on the story of love we all know so well.