In Pride and Prejudice, author Jane Austen uses her characterization of Elizabeth Bennet to depict Elizabeth's initial sentiments towards Darcy as well as the progress of her feelings.
Elizabeth is extremely frank in expressing her disapproval of Darcey, a frankness that Darcy actually finds very attractive since her frankness is so very different from the way other women behave. Besides being frank, Elizabeth is characterized as being a very playful person who has no qualms about laughing either at herself or at others. Her frankness in combination with her playfulness is first observed when she is insulted by Darcy, who openly refused to ask her dance at the Meryton assembly. Other women might feel deeply mortified by such an insult, but Elizabeth laughed it off and openly ridiculed Darcy's character, as we see in Austen's following description:
She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous. (Ch. 3)
Other instances of frankness are seen when, while staying at Netherfield during Jane's illness, she openly accuses him of trying to insult her by asking if she felt like "dancing a reel," openly asserts his excessive pride is a fault, and in her very direct response to his proposal later at Rosings.
Austen even uses verbal irony to paint Elizabeth's initial negative feelings towards Darcy. For example, when Sir William pushes Darcy to ask Elizabeth to dance at Lucas Lodge in Chapter 6, Elizabeth sarcastically replies, "Mr. Darcy is all politeness." Since we already know that Elizabeth has judged Darcy to be the exact opposite of polite, we know Elizabeth means the exact opposite of what she is saying, making it a perfect example of verbal irony.
As the novel progresses and her feelings for Darcy change, she is also very frank about her change in feelings, as seen in her forthright display of gratitude towards what Darcy did to save Lydia and the Bennet family and in her direct statement that her feelings had changed a lot since Rosings.
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