A criticism of social conventions.

The social classes depicted in this novel were at that time ruled by conventions. The balls allowed newcomers to introduce themselves to the local population, as Bingley and Darcy do. But in order to enjoy themselves correctly, people had to be “introduced” to each other in the first place. Darcy also mentions “engaged” women, with whom he is not allowed to dance. We can also notice that Mr Bingley's image improves as the ball goes on: “he was lively and unreserved, and danced every dance”. Darcy, however, by standing alone and talking to nobody, only gets dislike from the assembly. In definitive, to become “acquainted” with people simply meant to dance with everyone, which is a rather superficial approach to get to know each other well.
The balls were the perfect place to get to know new people and gain popularity, which is the case in this chapter for Mr Bingley. We can see that the ladies and gentlemen focus mainly on appearances before creating a judgement: he is said to be “good looking”, and had “unaffected manners”. He therefore immediately gains popularity among the assembly, because of his pleasant general appearance. Darcy, however, is looked at with “disgust”, because of his pride.
Another element for judging someone at that time was the matter of wealth: we can see that Mr Darcy first seems more attractive than his friend Bingley because he has “ten thousand a year”, and a “large estate in Derbyshire”. It is as if money made people handsome, but even though it is a central value in society, it doesn't have more credit than appearances and manners. Even though Darcy is quite rich, people dislike him anyway because he is too proud and