...he was exactly the man who, in disposition and talents would most suit her.In chapter fifty of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth Bennet is beginning to think that she made a mistake when she turned down Mr Darcy's proposal. Her feelings towards him have changed and she can only contemplate on the fact that if he knew of her heart's transformation he would consider he had won a victory.
What a triumph for him, as she often thought, could he know that the proposals which she had proudly spurned only four months ago, would now have been gladly and gratefully received! He was as generous, she doubted not, as the most generous of his sex; but while he was mortal, there must be a triumph.
She began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes. It was an union that must have been to the advantage of both; by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been softened, his manners improved; and from his judgment, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received benefit of greater importance.
Here's a card for Valentine's Day. I hope you like it - it shows Jane Austen sitting at her little desk at Chawton cottage on her brother Edward Knight's estate writing Pride and Prejudice. She's nearly finished her novel and she's enjoying a moment of triumph as she reads through the passage above. At any moment she may be covering her work when she hears the creaking door that tells her when someone is coming. Quick, Jane, I can hear someone coming. Oh, it's only Cassandra and she knows exactly what you are doing. What a relief - there's a little more time before anyone else will come downstairs, so hurry up and finish for all those generations of Janeites waiting to read your wonderful book.