If we remove the subplot of pride and prejudice, can the main plot develop in Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and if so, how?

First, it is necessary to dispute the use of the “ title="Subplot: Literary Terms and Definitions. Dr.Kip Wheeler, Carson-Newman College"
href="http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_S.html">subplot” in describing
pride and prejudice in Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice.
“Subplot” is defined as a story line built upon conflict that centers around a
supporting character (e.g., the romance between Jane and Bingley or the marriage of
Charlotte and Collins or the story lines that center around Wickham). In contrast, title="Theme: Literary Terms and Definitions. Dr. Kip Wheeler, Carson-Newman College"
href="http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_T.html">theme is defined as the
central unifying idea upon which the entire work is founded. In this case, Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice is unified around the central thematic idea of
pride and prejudice. Having pointed this out, I’ll follow up with an answer that
utilizes the term “subplot” instead of “theme,” as the end result of the discussion will
be the same.

href="http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_C.html">Conflict drives the plot
by definition: “Conflict is the engine that drives a plot” (Wheeler). The conflict in
Pride and Prejudice is Elizabeth's prejudice and pride and Darcy's
pride and prejudice, which produces their misunderstandings and fuels the conflict,
which by definition drives the plot.

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She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to
tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are
slighted by other men (Darcy; Chapter 3, Vol.
1)

It is pride and prejudice
that form the foundation of the thematic concerns of the rising middle class of newly
wealthy tradesmen, like the Bingleys; wealth, social class, and prestige; and love and
marriage, especially prejudice in love and marriage (e.g., Elizabeth's prejudice against
Collins and Rosings versus Charlotte's humble acceptance of the
same).

If the subplot of pride and prejudice were removed,
some other basis for Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s determined misunderstandings (especially
Elizabeth’s) would need to be supplied. In order to keep the plot in tact, this new
basis for misunderstanding would need to be flexible enough to encompass the thematic
elements of new wealth, prestige, and marriage detailed above. Perhaps there is some
subplot that could stand in lieu of pride and prejudice that would not significantly
alter the thematic and psychological dynamic, but those I think of alter the
psychological dynamic beyond recognition. One might give Darcy a serious personality
flaw, like a pathological degree of shyness, but that would add a negative psychological
component and dependency that would radically alter the nature of the characters and the
novel as a whole (Lydia and Mary might come out looking like the psychologically stable
characters!).

So, on one hand, yes, if the subplot of pride
and prejudice is removed from Austen's novel, the plot can develop: there can be balls
and Charlotte's marriage and Jane's ruined romance and the trip to Derbyshire and
Lydia's fall from favor and the reconciliations. On the other hand, no, if the subplot
of pride and prejudice were removed from Austen's novel, the plot could not develop in
the same way with the same psychological and thematic outcomes.