The ball at Meryton is important because it is the first time the two couples, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley and Jane, are together. When Mr. Bingley is conversing with Mr. Darcy about the Bennets, Mr. Bingley states that Jane was “the most beautiful creature …show more content…
Bingley and Mr. Darcy are both higher up in society than Jane and Elizabeth. It was highly frowned upon in the The Georgian Era to marry down a social status. After the ball, Miss Lucas states to Elizabeth and Jane that Darcy was a “very fine a young man, with family, fortune, everything in his favour, should think highly of himself. If I may so express it, he has a right to be proud."(Pg15). She believes that he has the right to think himself higher than everyone else because he is socially higher than everyone. Elizabeth responds that she could have forgiven him for his sense of pride, if he hadn’t mortified hers. Austen notifies the readers that Mr. Darcy secretly admired Elizabeth, “ But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes”(Pg16). He let no one know about his secret admiration for if he did, it would be highly disapproved since Mr. Darcy was of a higher social status than Elizabeth. This sense of social superiority doesn’t stop Mr. Bingley from telling everyone that he adored Jane. "Yes; but he seemed to like his second better...Oh! you mean Jane, I suppose, because he danced with her twice.” Miss Lucas responded. As they are talking about the ball, everyone realizes that Mr. Bingley and Jane are made for each other. “Your sweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic” Elizabeth explains