Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Also known as: Her Ladyship / Lady Catherine / her Ladyship · Family: de Bourgh · Role: patroness · First appears: Chapter 13

At ch.13, Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s patronage places Mr. Collins in the valuable parish rectory at Hunsford after his ordination: “having received ordination at Easter, I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honourable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, widow of Sir Lewis de Bourgh”. She is the mother of Miss de Bourgh, heiress of Rosings, and the sister of Lady Anne Darcy, making her aunt to Fitzwilliam Darcy. By ch.23, she approves Mr. Collins’s marriage to Charlotte Lucas and urges that it take place soon.

At Rosings in ch.28–29, Lady Catherine invites Elizabeth Bennet, Charlotte Lucas, Maria Lucas, Sir William Lucas, and Mr. Collins to dine, receiving them with Miss de Bourgh and Mrs. Jenkinson and having Mr. Collins seated at the bottom of her table. She is described by Charlotte Lucas as a respectable, sensible, and attentive neighbour, while her patronage also places Miss Pope and four nieces of Mrs. Jenkinson advantageously. In ch.37, Elizabeth Bennet declines Lady Catherine’s invitation to extend her stay.

At Longbourn in ch.56, Lady Catherine tells Elizabeth Bennet that “Mr. Darcy is engaged to my daughter.” When Elizabeth Bennet refuses to promise that she will never marry Fitzwilliam Darcy, Lady Catherine leaves angrily. In ch.57, she travels from Rosings to break off the supposed engagement, and Mr. Collins reports that she will not consent to what she calls a disgraceful match. Her opposition later leads Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins to leave for Lucas Lodge, but in ch.61 her resentment gives way to affection for Fitzwilliam Darcy or curiosity about his wife, and she visits Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet at Pemberley.