Evan Hennessey
Traditio III
Mr. Johnson
January 2017
Darcy has Pride not Hubris
There once was a beautiful princess who took everything for granted and mocked all of the suitors that asked for her hand in marriage. Her father the king, seeing this, was infuriated and decided to give his daughter to the first man that came to the palace. A few days later a fiddler came to the court, so the princess was married to the fiddler. After living the hard life of a fiddler’s wife, the princess began to regret the way she had treated others in the past. The fiddler, seeing her remorse revealed his true identity: he was one of the suitors she had mocked and called “King Grisly Beard.” He had hidden his true identity from her so that he could teach her …show more content…
The sinful pride of the princess is an example of hubris. Hubris is when you look down on another person because of their behaviour, education, or appearance. Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice is also accused by some of having hubris. While readers of Pride and Prejudice know it would be absurd to claim that Darcy has no pride, he also is not full of sinful pride like the princess; therefore there must be another kind of pride. Pride is an antithetical word; meaning it has both negative and positive connotations. After John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, the voice of God rings down from heaven saying: “This is my son in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew, Matthew 3: 17, Page: 1648) God takes pride in His son, and …show more content…
Darcy's parents were known to look down on those of inferior birth, and even taught Darcy to do the same. Darcy however does not follow their example. He is kind and compassionate to those beneath him. Even though Darcy's parents taught him to “think meanly of other people’s… sense and worth compared to his own.” (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, page 334) Darcy does not embrace this bad advice. For example, as soon as Darcy hears that Lydia, Elizabeth’s younger sister, has eloped with Wickham he begins to look for the two lovers. Once he finds them he offers Wickham enough money to convince him stay with Lydia, and by doing so saves the Bennett family the shame of having a daughter abandoned by a shyster. This act of kindness shows that he has no hubris. For if he did he would be sure to take no part in this shameful situation and keep his reputation spotless. Instead he does the charitable thing for those beneath him. While Darcy’s heritage is hubris, he keeps his pride and rejects hubris. He cares more about people than his
Traditio III
Mr. Johnson
January 2017
Darcy has Pride not Hubris
There once was a beautiful princess who took everything for granted and mocked all of the suitors that asked for her hand in marriage. Her father the king, seeing this, was infuriated and decided to give his daughter to the first man that came to the palace. A few days later a fiddler came to the court, so the princess was married to the fiddler. After living the hard life of a fiddler’s wife, the princess began to regret the way she had treated others in the past. The fiddler, seeing her remorse revealed his true identity: he was one of the suitors she had mocked and called “King Grisly Beard.” He had hidden his true identity from her so that he could teach her …show more content…
The sinful pride of the princess is an example of hubris. Hubris is when you look down on another person because of their behaviour, education, or appearance. Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice is also accused by some of having hubris. While readers of Pride and Prejudice know it would be absurd to claim that Darcy has no pride, he also is not full of sinful pride like the princess; therefore there must be another kind of pride. Pride is an antithetical word; meaning it has both negative and positive connotations. After John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, the voice of God rings down from heaven saying: “This is my son in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew, Matthew 3: 17, Page: 1648) God takes pride in His son, and …show more content…
Darcy's parents were known to look down on those of inferior birth, and even taught Darcy to do the same. Darcy however does not follow their example. He is kind and compassionate to those beneath him. Even though Darcy's parents taught him to “think meanly of other people’s… sense and worth compared to his own.” (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, page 334) Darcy does not embrace this bad advice. For example, as soon as Darcy hears that Lydia, Elizabeth’s younger sister, has eloped with Wickham he begins to look for the two lovers. Once he finds them he offers Wickham enough money to convince him stay with Lydia, and by doing so saves the Bennett family the shame of having a daughter abandoned by a shyster. This act of kindness shows that he has no hubris. For if he did he would be sure to take no part in this shameful situation and keep his reputation spotless. Instead he does the charitable thing for those beneath him. While Darcy’s heritage is hubris, he keeps his pride and rejects hubris. He cares more about people than his