Her sense of responsibility makes her, together with Jane, the only ones in the immediate family who are any use in this time of trouble. In contrast, Mrs. Bennet has a weak character. She is too busy being hysterical, blaming everyone else and making doomsday predictions, while Kitty and Mary are too wrapped up in their own concerns and lacking in sense to be of any help. Elizabeth's strength of character is also displayed when she coolly stands up to Lady Catherine and her imperious demand that she promise never to agree to marry Darcy, with great calm and dignity. The second claim, that Elizabeth is intelligent, is also displayed throughout the book.
Intelligence has several aspects.
There is the intellectual, reflective aspect. Elizabeth is intellectual, with a love for reading and for the study of character. She draws on what she has read and on personal experience to make observations that show her originality and reflectiveness. Elizabeth to be quiet. Another comparison that would highlight Elizabeth's intelligence is to Mary, who fancies herself an intellectual, but who reads without reflection and asserts without experience.