Though typically overlooked by the casual reader, the minor character can serve myriad literary roles, from adding elements to the overall story to distinguishing the character's impact about the conspiracy. In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, minor characters play a vital role in moving the plot forward, reinforcing Austen's tone and uniquely contributing to the work as a whole. Surprisingly, the impact of a certain minor character on the work is both illuminated and deepened when analyzed. Lady Catherine de Bourgh has a much greater impact on the plot, characters, and theme of Pride and Prejudice than her minor role would suggest. In this way, it advances the plot, emphasizes the theme of social expectations, and provides a satirical image of the aristocracy. The character of Lady Catherine de Bourgh is an integral element of the plot, contributing to and influencing the ending. outcome of Darcy's marriage and the various factors associated with it. Lady Catherine, an important and influential noblewoman of the English aristocracy, imposes her domineering predilections on her family, friends and acquaintances, starting with the pompous priest she protects, Mr. Collins. Lady Catherine exerts her influence on Mr. Collins by telling him frankly that he "must marry...a kind woman for [his] own good" (92). This actually causes Collins to carefully examine Elizabeth, the daughter of the man whose estate she will inherit. After being rejected by Elizabeth, Collins marries Elizabeth's childhood friend Charlotte. During a trip to visit the married couple, Elizabeth finds herself and Lady Catherine's nephew, Fitzwilliam Darcy, at a dinner hosted by Lady Catherine herself. At dinner, boy... middle of paper... Darcy and Elizabeth. Furthermore, Austen sculpts the theme of social expectations and mores by using Lady Catherine's ideology and self-promoting behaviors as fodder for comic relief. Austen does not simply leave the image of the gilded aristocracy on a pedestal; she effectively uses Elizabeth's unconventional character to challenge aristocratic authority and tradition. Indeed, Austen's counterview of the aristocracy satirized their social rank. Lady Catherine is effectively used as a satirical representation of the aristocracy through her paradoxical violation of true social decorum and her exaggerated immodesty. Evidently, Lady Catherine is none other than the fundamental link that holds the structure of Pride and Prejudice together. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and prejudice. Introduction. Anna Quindlen, New York: The Modern Library, 1995.