Literary Criticism Of Pride And Prejudice

Register to read the introduction… Darcy, one of the main characters, is the perfect example of pride in the novel. His pride is very obvious. It is in his nature, mannerisms, and in his speech. Darcy has such a high opinion of himself, he does not care that his actions, may result in others think less of him. He best illustrates this quality towards the beginning of the novel. "… and Turing round, he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said, ‘she is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies slighted by other men…’" Darcy said this with every intention of Elizabeth overhearing; and this did not bother him, for he is using this as an advantage to bring himself above her; making him feel proud about himself. He also refereed to the fact that she was not keeping the company of any other gentleman at the ball; meaning that if she was not good enough for them, she definitely was not good enough for him, he displayed pride in himself and prejudice towards her. Elizabeth Bennet, the other main character of the novel, is just as guilty of being proud, as any of the other characters in the novel. She prides herself on being unprejudiced and rational in the judgment of others. These false qualities are revealed when she is proved wrong in her judgment of not only Mr. Darcy, but of Mr. Wickham also. At the time of Mr. Darcy’s proposal, she turned him down saying, "Your character was unfolded in the recital which I received many months ago from Mr. Wickham. On the subject, what can you have to say? In what imaginary act of friendship can you here defend yourself? Or under what misrepresentation can you here impose on others?" She is stating that she feels Mr. Darcy is cruel to Mr. Wickham, and this example she has is a perfect example of his cruel character. When she receives the letter from Mr. Darcy she realizes that the cruel one is in fact Mr. Wickham, who is now reveled to …show more content…
It is evident from every point of the novel that all people care about is marrying into a higher social rank, both for status and wealth, they in fact take great pride in this. Women had few rights and advantages, if their fathers died, his inheritance would go to the next surviving male relative, this is an example of prejudice. The daughters had no chance of supporting themselves unless the married well and were dependents of their husbands. Unmarried women would become governess’ and live as dependents of their family, other relatives, or their employers. The governess position gave them little social status, which opened them up to much prejudice. The scene towards the beginning of the book when Mr. Darcy insults Elizabeth at the ball, is another example of pride and prejudice, in social classes. Mr. Darcy felt he was too high in status to dance with the likes of Elizabeth. The Bennet family is proof enough of prejudice in the social ladder. The Bennet family, although wealthy, was looked down upon, is relation to their social status. They were seen as low on the social ladder, because they had "new money." Lady Catherine, is another example of pride and prejudice displayed through social status, "Now and then they were honoured with a call from her ladyship, and nothing escaped her observation…" Lady Catherine noticed flaws in everyone and used her position and title of "Lady" to rise above everyone and make herself seem superior to them. Her position gives her pride and she flaunts it in a negative