The Assembly at Meryton
The Bennet sisters attend a public ball in Meryton, where they meet Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. Bingley quickly makes a good impression. He dances often, speaks easily, and pays particular attention to Jane Bennet.
Darcy is admired for his appearance and wealth, but the room soon turns against him. He is reserved, dances only with women he already knows, and dismisses Elizabeth as merely “tolerable.” Elizabeth hears the remark and treats it as a joke, but it fixes her first opinion of him.
The chapter establishes the novel’s two central relationships: Jane and Bingley begin with mutual ease, while Elizabeth and Darcy begin with wounded pride and prejudice.