to tempt me." She later did (unwittingly) tempt him to propose! Although many people see his initial criticism of her as a kind of snobbery, he does not put it in those terms, so I think, at the very least, it is open to interpretation. I am now leaning towards believing his behavior at the first ball had little to do with class consciousness. So I am agreeing with Stephanie here.

I do not necessarily believe Lizzy would not want to be head-over-heels in love with her future husband, but certainly she would have to respect him in order to continue so. I think she was looking for balance. "Love-at-first-sight" was more where she was headed with Wickham. She left her sense behind and could have paid for it, as Lydia later did. But I agree that if Mr. Collins had been a man Charlotte could respect, Lizzy would have reacted differently to their marriage.