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“She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me…” In Pride and Prejudice, the author Jane Austen delineates the nature of the society in which she lives through several parties and balls that her characters attend. Mr. Darcy epitomizes rich, discriminatory noblemen while Miss Elizabeth Bennett symbolizes the deserving, socially inferior young woman of the period. Through Darcy, Lizzy and other characters’ interactions at balls and parties, Austen vividly portrays their society and its flaws, namely the penchant of the wealthy to scorn those of lower class, and the obsession of the upper class with reputation. The contempt that the wealthy had for their social inferiors is revealed through the balls that Elizabeth attends with Bingley and Darcy in attendance. Early on in the first dance, Darcy affirms that aside from Jane, “there is not another woman in the room who it would not be a punishment for me to stand up with.” Darcy’s comment begins to expose