Mr Darcy has been annoying readers and winning them over since Pride and Prejudice appeared in 1813. Impressive staying power for a man who begins his romance by refusing to dance with Elizabeth Bennet and insulting her within earshot.
Yet the best Mr Darcy quotes reveal why Jane Austen’s famously proud gentleman became such an enduring romantic hero.
He gets things badly wrong, falls in love despite himself, takes rejection painfully, and eventually does something surprisingly attractive: he listens.
JUMP TO:
- Mr Darcy Starts With a Terrible First Impression
- When Darcy Starts Falling for Elizabeth
- Darcy’s First Proposal Is Passionate and Painfully Bad
- Rejection Is Where Mr Darcy Becomes Interesting
- Why Women Still Fall for Mr Darcy
- The Second Proposal Shows How Much Darcy Has Changed
- Book Darcy and Movie Darcy Are Not Quite the Same Man
- The Mr Darcy Quote That Explains Him Best
- Why Women Still Fall for Mr Darcy
Mr Darcy Starts With a Terrible First Impression
Fitzwilliam Darcy arrives at the Meryton assembly wealthy, handsome, socially important, and almost determined not to be charming.
Elizabeth’s dislike of him is not based on some tragic misunderstanding. In the beginning, Darcy really is proud, dismissive, and far too confident in his own judgment.
1. An Impressively Bad Opening
She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
The famous Mr Darcy tolerable quote earns him Elizabeth’s dislike almost instantly. Worse, she hears it herself.
He judges her before knowing anything about her, and Elizabeth is far too amused by human foolishness to let him forget it quickly.
2. Once Darcy Judges You, Good Luck
My good opinion once lost is lost for ever.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Darcy knows he is slow to forgive, but at this point he almost treats that stubbornness like a virtue.
Ironically, Pride and Prejudice will eventually force both him and Elizabeth to reconsider opinions they once thought were settled.
3. He Knows He Is Difficult
My temper… is, I believe, too little yielding.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Self-awareness has begun, although personal growth has not quite arrived with it.
Darcy recognizes that he can be stubborn and resentful. What he has not yet understood is how much those traits affect the people around him.
4. Confidence With a Side of Pride
I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Darcy can admit to flaws as long as nobody questions his judgment.
Naturally, Austen spends the rest of the novel doing exactly that.
When Darcy Starts Falling for Elizabeth
Some of the most revealing Mr Darcy quotes appear once his first impression of Elizabeth begins to unravel. The woman he dismissed as merely “tolerable” soon becomes the person whose wit, intelligence, and opinion matter to him most.
Even better, Elizabeth does not change herself to win his attention. Darcy falls for the very qualities that challenge him, which is part of what makes their romance so satisfying.
5. He Falls Before He Notices
I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.
Psalm 34:18 (ESV)
Near the end of the novel, Darcy admits he cannot identify the exact moment he fell in love.
There is no single dramatic turning point. His feelings grow quietly until they are already part of him.
6. Her Mind Matters
For the liveliness of your mind I did.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Elizabeth asks whether he admired her for her impertinence, and Darcy gives a better answer.
Her intelligence and energy attracted him. She does not win him by becoming softer or more agreeable.
7. His Feelings Stop Being Convenient
My feelings will not be repressed.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Darcy has spent considerable effort arguing with himself about loving Elizabeth. Class, family, and social expectations all tell him the match is unsuitable.
Eventually, emotion stops cooperating.
Darcy’s First Proposal Is Passionate and Painfully Bad
Here we reach one of the great romantic disasters in classic literature.
Darcy loves Elizabeth sincerely. Unfortunately, he delivers his proposal while still believing his wealth and position make acceptance almost certain. He confesses his feelings, then explains how inconvenient her family and social standing have made those feelings.
Austen gives us passion and arrogance in the same scene. It is excellent reading and terrible proposal technique.
8. The “Most Ardently” Confession
You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Austen’s wording is stronger than the shorthand version because “admire” comes before “love.” Darcy is not only attracted to Elizabeth. He respects her mind, spirit, and independence.
9. Passion Does Not Save the Proposal
In vain have I struggled. It will not do.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
This Darcy proposal quote sounds intensely romantic when pulled out of the scene.
In context, though, Darcy is admitting that he tried very hard not to fall for Elizabeth. Understandably, she is not swept away by the compliment.
10. He Expects Her to Say Yes
And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of expecting!
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Elizabeth’s refusal genuinely shocks him.
Darcy has considered his own objections to the match in detail, but apparently not the possibility that Elizabeth might have objections of her own.
11. Rejection Actually Hurts
You know not… how they have tortured me.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Later, Darcy admits how deeply Elizabeth’s criticism affected him.
Her rejection does more than bruise his pride. It forces him to confront the distance between the man he thinks he is and the man she has experienced.
Rejection Is Where Mr Darcy Becomes Interesting
Many romantic heroes work because the heroine eventually discovers they were wonderful all along.
Darcy is more interesting than that.
Elizabeth gets some things wrong about him, especially where Wickham is concerned. Yet she is right about his arrogance. Instead of spending the rest of the novel proving she misunderstood him, Darcy eventually accepts that she saw something he needed to change.
That is where his character arc becomes the real love story.
12. He Finally Admits What He Was
I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Darcy distinguishes between having good values and actually living by them.
He was taught right from wrong, yet privilege allowed pride and selfishness to grow around those principles. It is a surprisingly modern observation: good intentions do not erase bad behavior.
13. He Understands Where the Pride Came From
I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Darcy recognizes how his upbringing shaped him without using it as an excuse.
He had wealth, status, devoted parents, and very few people willing to tell him when he was being unbearable.
Then Elizabeth Bennet arrived.
14. The Rejection Changed Him
You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
This may be the most important Mr Darcy quote in the novel.
Elizabeth tells him something he does not want to hear, and after the anger passes, he considers whether she might be right.
The result is not instant perfection, but reflection followed by different behavior.
15. Darcy Finally Learns Humility
By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Austen does not make Elizabeth responsible for fixing Darcy.
She challenges him, but he chooses what to do with the criticism. That distinction is important because growth that exists only to win someone back is not much growth at all.
16. He Wants Her to See the Difference
I hoped to obtain your forgiveness, to lessen your ill opinion, by letting you see that your reproofs had been attended to.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
— Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
At Pemberley, Darcy treats Elizabeth and her relatives with warmth and respect. Later, he admits that part of his intention was to show her he had listened.
He does not make a speech about becoming better. He behaves better.
Why Women Still Fall for Mr Darcy
Looking at the most memorable Mr Darcy quotes, his appeal goes beyond wealth, Pemberley, and brooding in expensive coats. The real attraction lies in the contrast between the proud man we meet early in the novel and the more self-aware man he becomes.
Darcy is reserved but not emotionally empty. He is loyal to the people he loves, deeply attached to his sister Georgiana, and far more comfortable proving affection through action than charm.
Most importantly, Elizabeth does not fall for him because she discovers his arrogance was secretly attractive all along. He changes.
17. Love Without Keeping Score
If you will thank me, let it be for yourself alone.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Darcy quietly helps resolve the Lydia and Wickham disaster, protecting Elizabeth’s family from scandal. When she learns what he has done, he does not turn the gesture into leverage.
He acted because he loved her. And that willingness to show love through action places Darcy among the most memorable romantic figures in classic fiction.
If complicated men with strong feelings are your literary weakness, these romantic quotes from classic literature offer plenty more.
18. Elizabeth Is the Reason
If you will thank me, let it be for yourself alone. That the wish of giving happiness to you might add to the inducement, I cannot deny; but your family owe me nothing. Much as I respect them, I believe I thought only of you.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
No elaborate declaration is needed here.
For a man who spends much of the novel hiding emotion behind restraint, this simple admission carries more weight than something grander might.
The Second Proposal Shows How Much Darcy Has Changed
Darcy’s second proposal echoes the first in one important way: he still loves Elizabeth.
Almost everything else is different. He no longer assumes that his feelings should determine hers. The man who once arrived expecting acceptance now makes it clear that Elizabeth has the power to end the conversation completely.
19. His Love Has Not Changed
If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
This is the quieter Mr Darcy “I love you” quote.
His feelings remain strong, but the confession no longer comes with a list of reasons the relationship is beneath him. Love remains. Entitlement does not.
20. This Time, Elizabeth Gets the Choice
One word from you will silence me on this subject for ever.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice
Here is the real difference between the proposals.
The first centers Darcy’s struggle. The second respects Elizabeth’s choice, even if that choice would hurt him.
For more of Austen’s sharpest lines about love, marriage, and pride, explore these timeless Pride and Prejudice quotes.
Book Darcy and Movie Darcy Are Not Quite the Same Man
Screen adaptations have shaped the Darcy many readers picture today.
The novel gives us a sharper and often more openly proud man. Colin Firth’s 1995 version emphasizes restraint, while Matthew Macfadyen’s 2005 Darcy feels more visibly shy and emotionally exposed.
The movies have also created dialogue so beloved that it is often mistaken for Austen’s writing.
21. The Movie Line Everyone Remembers
You have bewitched me, body and soul.
Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice (2005)
This famous Mr Darcy quote is not from Austen’s novel. It comes from the 2005 screenplay.
The line works beautifully for that version of Darcy because he spends so much of the film holding his feelings back. By the time he finally says them out loud, the restraint is gone..
For comparison, Austen’s original novel is available in full through Project Gutenberg.
The Mr Darcy Quote That Explains Him Best
If I had to choose one line that explains why Darcy has lasted, it would not be the most romantic one.
It would be:
“You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous.”
The sentence contains his entire character arc.
Darcy falls in love with Elizabeth, but love alone does not make him worthy of her. Rejection forces him to see himself from another perspective. More importantly, he does something with what he learns.
Elizabeth changes too. She discovers that intelligence does not make her immune to prejudice, and she has to reconsider judgments she once treated as facts.
Neither character reaches the ending unchanged.
Why Women Still Fall for Mr Darcy
The best Mr Darcy quotes work because they do more than sound romantic. Together, they trace a man who begins as arrogant and judgmental, gets rejected, listens, and learns how to love without assuming he deserves to be loved back.
Early Darcy has plenty of red flags. He is class-conscious, rude at Meryton, overly confident in his own judgment, and far too willing to interfere in Bingley’s relationship with Jane.
Austen does not ask us to find those flaws secretly romantic. She makes him confront them.
By the end, Darcy remains reserved and proud enough to still feel like himself, but he has learned humility, respect, and the difference between loving someone and assuming that love must be returned.
Perhaps that is why readers still fall for Mr Darcy. He certainly isn’t perfect, but he becomes better, and he does it before he knows whether Elizabeth will ever love him back.
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