Pride and Prejudice
Mr. Bingley
Jane's cheerful suitor
A good-natured young gentleman who rents Netherfield Park and charms the whole neighborhood. He is warm, open and easily led by those he trusts.
Charles Bingley is twenty-three, wealthy, friendly and uncomplicated. When he arrives at Netherfield Park, the neighborhood is thrilled, and he does not disappoint. He dances all evening, enjoys everyone's company and says it is the pleasantest ball he has ever attended. He is the sunny opposite of his friend Darcy.
Bingley's best quality is his open heart, and his weakness is that he trusts his friends' opinion more than his own. His sister Caroline and his friend Darcy both have a great deal of influence over him. He means well toward everyone, and the people of Meryton are quick to love him, especially the Bennets. Jane, in particular, finds him just what a young man ought to be.
“You dance divinely, Miss Bennet! I do believe this is the pleasantest ball I have ever attended.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
Bingley dances twice with Jane at the Meryton assembly and clearly admires her. He is kind to the Bennets when Jane falls ill at Netherfield. Then the whole Netherfield party leaves for London, and Jane hears nothing from him all winter. The story makes clear that his sister and Darcy persuaded him to stay away.
When Darcy and Bingley return to Netherfield in the autumn, Bingley is happy to see the Bennets again and tells Jane he has thought of Longbourn every day. He calls on her alone and proposes, and she accepts. He and Jane are married in the same celebration as Darcy and Elizabeth.
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