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Why do Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy dislike each other when they first meet?

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Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet in period costumes stand outdoors in a scene from the 1995 television series Pride and Prejudice. — Pride and Prejudice Colin Firth as Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC TV miniseries *Pride and Prejudice* (1995).

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the mutual dislike between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy stems from a clash of pride and social perception during their first meeting at a public ball in Meryton.12

Mr. Darcy, a wealthy member of the landed gentry, is initially aloof and arrogant. Conscious of his high social standing, he deems the local company unworthy of his attention. His disdain becomes personal when he snubs Elizabeth by remarking that she is merely "tolerable: but not handsome enough to tempt me." This comment wounds Elizabeth’s pride, establishing a foundation of resentment.2

For her part, Elizabeth is intelligent and high-spirited, possessing a strong distaste for the conventional importance placed on wealth and rank. She views Mr. Darcy’s reserved, haughty behavior as excessive pride and arrogance. Consequently, their association begins with Elizabeth’s prejudice against his perceived elitism and Mr. Darcy’s dismissive attitude toward her social inferiority.12