Lady Catherine has cherished the hope that Darcy would marry her own daughter, Anne, for Anne's entire life. When she heard that Darcy might have proposed to Elizabeth, she wanted to find out the truth of the matter, and prevent a marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy. So she confronted Elizabeth on the subject.
Obsequious
Actually, both. Lady Catherine is at least as embarassing to Darcy as Mrs. Bennet is to Lizzy. Everything that comes out of Lady Catherine's mouth is embarassing in one way or another. My personal favorite is when she says Anne would have been a great proficient at music if her health had allowed it. My bet is that Anne was a great proficient, but Lady Catherine could not stand the fact that her daughter played bagpipes and threatened to cut her out of her will if she didn't keep quiet.
The Lady Great Elizabeth
She treats Lady Catherine with the respect properly due an older woman with a higher social rank, but without the awe some other people, notably Mr. Collins, seemed to have. She treats Lady Catherine fearlessly, as a person not intellectually or morally superior to herself, a fact that probably irked Lady Catherine at least a bit.
Lady Catherine says any marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth would be a disgrace. By way of explanation, she points out that though Darcy and Lizzy are technically in the same social class (a gentleman and a gentleman's daughter), her connections are with the families of people in trade and attorneys (where his are with families of elevated rank). She also points out that the Bennets have a serious scandal associated with their family.
Lady Catherine has cherished the hope that Darcy would marry her own daughter, Anne, for Anne's entire life. When she heard that Darcy might have proposed to Elizabeth, she wanted to find out the truth of the matter, and prevent a marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy. So she confronted Elizabeth on the subject.
Lady Catherine could hardly believe it when Elizabeth refused Mr. Collins' marriage proposal.
Lady Catherine criticizes Elizabeth's upbringing, education, and lack of wealth. She believes that Elizabeth is not suitable to marry her nephew, Mr. Darcy, due to her lower social status and outspoken nature. Lady Catherine also disapproves of Elizabeth's independent thinking and strong-willed personality.
Lady Catherine de Burgh.
Lady Catherine told Elizabeth that she disapproved of her engagement to Mr. Darcy and insisted that she break it off. She also made it clear that she expected Elizabeth to obey her and marry a more suitable match of her choosing.
Lady Catherine demands that Elizabeth refuse Mr. Darcy's proposal of marriage and promise to never enter into an engagement with him. She also commands Elizabeth to pledge not to entertain any thoughts of marrying Mr. Darcy in the future, asserting that he is intended for her own daughter, Anne.
Obsequious
Lady Catherine
Lady Catherine lied to Elizabeth by saying that Mr. Darcy had agreed to marry her daughter, Anne de Bourgh. In reality, Mr. Darcy had not proposed to Anne and had no intention of doing so. Lady Catherine's intention was to discourage Elizabeth from pursuing a relationship with Mr. Darcy.
Lady Catherine objects to Elizabeth's family because of their want of fortune and their want of connections, especially on the side of Elizabeth's mother, whose family is in trade and law. She finally objects because of Lydia's scandalous elopement, which was only patched up into a marriage at great expense to her uncle.
Obsequious
Lady Catherine visits the Bennet home to confront Elizabeth about the rumors of her potential engagement to Mr. Darcy. She is determined to prevent any attachment between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy as she sees Elizabeth as an unsuitable match for him due to her lower social status. Lady Catherine's visit is motivated by her desire to assert her authority and control over her nephew's romantic relationships.