I've long thought the money quote on Lady Catherine is this:
Mrs. Bennet's one act of bullying, if you want to read it that way, is her insistence that Lizzy marry Mr. Collins, which as you point out is highly relevant to her own life. Lady Catherine doesn't even bother finding out about the problems in her area by getting to know people. She just has Mr. Collins there to tell her all the gossip, and then she throws herself into their lives. Given what she says to Elizabeth later, I rather doubt it's done kindly. We don't get any indication that Mrs. Bennet goes around insinuating herself into the lives of those beneath her. She tries to wield her influence over her daughters in matters great and small, but she is their mother and has some right to it.
Neither of these women has a lick of sense, but as I think Suzanne pointed out, Lady Catherine undoubtedly had opportunities as an earl's daughter that Mrs. Bennet did not. With a proper education Mrs. Bennet probably wouldn't have been a different person entirely, but she might have been more insistent on the girls having some formalized education and more cognizant of proper behavior. How Jane and Lizzy turned out so well is a real mystery to me, although even Lizzy admits that she lacks discipline, something a more sensible mother could have helped instill in her.
Quote
Elizabeth soon perceived, that though this great lady was not in commission of the peace of the county, she was a most active magistrate in her own parish, the minutest concerns of which were carried to her by Mr. Collins; and whenever any of the cottagers were disposed to be quarrelsome, discontented, or too poor, she sallied forth into the village to settle their differences, silence their complaints, and scold them into harmony and plenty.
Mrs. Bennet's one act of bullying, if you want to read it that way, is her insistence that Lizzy marry Mr. Collins, which as you point out is highly relevant to her own life. Lady Catherine doesn't even bother finding out about the problems in her area by getting to know people. She just has Mr. Collins there to tell her all the gossip, and then she throws herself into their lives. Given what she says to Elizabeth later, I rather doubt it's done kindly. We don't get any indication that Mrs. Bennet goes around insinuating herself into the lives of those beneath her. She tries to wield her influence over her daughters in matters great and small, but she is their mother and has some right to it.
Neither of these women has a lick of sense, but as I think Suzanne pointed out, Lady Catherine undoubtedly had opportunities as an earl's daughter that Mrs. Bennet did not. With a proper education Mrs. Bennet probably wouldn't have been a different person entirely, but she might have been more insistent on the girls having some formalized education and more cognizant of proper behavior. How Jane and Lizzy turned out so well is a real mystery to me, although even Lizzy admits that she lacks discipline, something a more sensible mother could have helped instill in her.