While some say that Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a snobbish, arrogant, prideful, and altogether a sour and undesirable sort of person, an argument must be made for her education, generosity, and lukewarm heart. Due to the marriage with her late husband, Lady Catherine has to herself a handsome sum of money, and all of Rosings Park, her primary residence. Lady Catherine has one daughter, Anne, whom she wishes to be married to her nephew, Mr. Darcy. He, of course, is the main love interest of the protagonist in Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice. Because of Lady Catherine’s wealth, and the significant difference in wealth of the people around her, one might easily argue that she condescends the people around her because of their lack of status and money. Let us, however, not forget that like all people, Lady Catherine is a woman of many facets and emotions.

Because Lady Catherine was born into a moderately wealthy family, she received a top-tier education. At her time, this was one of the most admirable and desirable features in a woman. Although she did not know how to play, she knew much about piano and appreciated it very much. Her educational accomplishments, among other things, is what allowed her to have such a fine match in marriage. Once her husband passed away, she was stricken with grief and rarely left Rosings afterward. Thus, she had very few people of a similar intellectual ability to converse with. Naturally, this distressed Lady Catherine more, as none of her house servants nor her daughter, at that point, would be as well educated as her, leaving her lonely and cast out. 

With all of her immense wealth, Lady Catherine was fully entitled to keep it to herself and live the rest of her life in luxury. However, she was gracious and generous to share it with her friends and family members; regularly hosting lavish gatherings and dinners. Additionally, despite the fact that she planned Mr. Darcy and her daughter, Anne’s betrothal from the moment of their birth, she did not cut off Mr. Darcy’s compensation after he decided to go against her will and marry Elizabeth. She could have easily cut off Mr. Darcy forever after he essentially betrayed her, leaving her own daughter without a spouse. However, she did no such thing and continued to graciously provide for him and his new wife whom she greatly despised.

Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s great love and admiration for her husband can be clearly seen in her setting up a marriage for her daughter right from birth. She knew that such a match as she had would be nearly impossible in her daughter’s time, so she set one up for her, with a not-so-distant relative, so that she too could have a safe and secure marriage. Additionally, her cold actions towards the protagonist, Elizabeth, have falsely been labeled as cold and rude. Quite on the contrary, she was doing what she thought was best for the heart, safety, and security of her daughter. If she had been overly welcoming towards Elizabeth, there certainly would not have been a doubt in her future with Mr. Darcy. However, because she sensed Mr. Darcy’s emotions and feelings towards Elizabeth, she acted promptly and displayed dislike towards her.

The death of any loved one can cause one’s character to change deeply, and this is no exception for Lady Catherine de Bourgh. After her husband’s passing, she chose to retain his name and his honor. By choosing to do so, she exposed herself to other people’s judgment, hatred, jealousy, and misunderstanding. We must not be so quick to assume that everything Lady Catherine does is motivated by wealth. We must not assume that everything she does is done with malintent and conceit. Nobody is inherently evil, some people are just inherently hurt. 

Lady Catherine is very sorrowful after the loss of her husband, and because at that time there was no such thing as therapy, she bottles it up inside of her and releases it in small clouds around other people. This causes others to think that she is hateful, proud, and self-conceited, when in reality she is just a sorrowful elderly woman trying to cope and grieve her beloved husband in a materialistic, jealous world. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a generous, kind, loving, and warm-hearted person, who just happened to be born into an aristocratic family, and who just happens to be the widow of a wealthy businessman. While her actions and motives are often misidentified in the book, her true nature might actually be slightly warmer than that of the other characters.