Mr Collins

"Mr Collins is introduced to us as a 'tall, heavy-looking young man of five-and-twenty'. Adaptors miss something by getting his age wrong. His solemnity and sententiousness are much better coming from someone so 'young'. Middle-aged is what he would like to sound, rather than what he is."

Mullan, John (2012). What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty crucial puzzles solved. London: Bloomsbury. P.12.