Pride and the Prejudice

world_literature

The pride and the prejudice referred to in the title of this Jane Austen novel prepare the reader for the character flaws of the main characters, Elizabeth and Darcy. Elizabeth’s pride and Darcy’s prejudice prevent the two from recognizing and admitting their love for one another. Write an explanatory or expository essay on “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen in which you detail how these character flaws are managed so that the characters can overcome the judgments and opinions that they have formed about each other and ultimately experience love together. Also reflect upon the social and historical factors which made these character flaws so common, identifying, for example, the role that social status played in relationships at that time. Use atleast 6 quotes from the reading.

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Pride and the Prejudice

People exist in robust character traits that figure in standard accounts of virtue. Character traits vary from one person to another and it is difficult to find two people with the same exact traits as it is to font individuals with complete similar combination of genes. Scientist proposes that our characters are determined by the combinations of genes that one possesses. Characters traits are viewed different by different people and there are those termed as good or right and those that are seen as bad or wrong.

Many writers differentiate “the bad” from “the good,” traits in their work and try to bring or express them and show how the difference in character influences the relationship of two persons. Pride
and

Prejudice is a novel written by Jane Austen and was first published on 28 January 1813. The main characters in the novel; Elizabeth and Darcy display pride and prejudice, although, it should be noted that these two qualities of the title are not entirely assigned to one or the other of the protagonists. Despite this Elizabeth is seen to show more pride than Darcy, who on the other hand shows more prejudice than her.

A person with pride depends upon background, either an elevated sense of the worth of himself or herself or a pleasure gained in the contemplation of these effects. It is normally referred as the love of one’s own excellence. Pride is at times viewed as excessive or as a vice and at other times as proper or as a virtue. The majority world religions believe pride is a sin, while on the other hand some philosophers like Aristotle see it as a virtue (Harman 19).

Prejudice is an absolutely held belief, time and again about a set of people either about a race, gender, economic class, ethnicity, age and/or religion. It might as well be applied to characterize beliefs regarding other things likewise, including any irrational attitude that is extraordinarily resistant to rational influence.

Elizabeth Bennet is the key female protagonist. Being the second of the Bennet daughters in her early twenties, she is revealed as intelligent, attractive, lively and amusing. Her blunder being a trend to judge on initial impressions and maybe being a little discriminating of the evidence she applies to support her judgments upon. This character heavily influence her relationship with the rest of the people and more so with her lover Darcy. Darcy says to Elizabeth In vain he has struggled and it will not work. He says his feelings will not be subdued. He tells her she must allow him to tell her how ardently he admires and love her. From just this quotation we can see how Elizabeth’s pride has been keeping Darcy away and on the other hand how Darcy did not want to lower his ego and approach Elizabeth calmly and systematic. Elizabeth again portrays her pride by asking Darcy why, with so evident aim of offending and abusing her, he chooses to tell her that he liked her against his desire, against his reason, and further against his character. After Darcy so rudely with ego demands to know on the status of their love. Towards the end Elizabeth is ashamed of herself and admits that she did not know herself properly. She says to her how despicably she has acted in the past that make her ashamed, she has prided herself on her discernment.

Fitzwilliam Darcy is the major male protagonist, is in his late twenties and single, he is wealthy and owns the famously finer estate Pemberley in Derbyshire. He is exposed as intelligent and handsome, however not convivial, his unease with modesty and moral righteousness is seen by scores of people as an extreme concern with social status. He portrays a bad impression on strangers, like the people of Meryton, although is appreciated by those who are familiar with him well. This prejudice is seen in all Darcy’s interrelation with people. For instance in Chapter 16 of volume 1 we read Elizabeth asking Wickman if Darcy is a man of extremely large possessions in Derbyshire, as she hears. Who answers positively. Elizabeth herself says how abominable!—she wonder that the same pride drives Mr. Darcy. This shows how proud the Darcy’s family was.

The main theme in a great deal of Austen’s work is the significance of environment and upbringing on the growth of young person’s character and morality. Wealth and social standing are not automatically advantages in their growth in the world. Wealth plays great part in giving one prejudice and pride, as one look upon the other people as inferior in a way and strives to maintain that level through oppressing them.

Another theme frequent in Jane Austen’s writing is ineffectual parents. In the Novel, the failure of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet as parents is responsible for Lydia’s and Elizabeth’s lack of moral judgment. Darcy’s parent has on the other hand taught him to be principled and scrupulously honorable, this make him also overbearing and proud.

Pride and prejudice are two character traits that are common and are sort of connected and similar. They are developed mostly by what one hold or owns and what makes him or her feel like somebody in the society. It how we handle the two that will determine how the rest of the society will take us and this will consequently affect how these people relate to us.

Works cited:

Austen, John. Pride and prejudice. Bentley: New York, 1853.

Harman, Grace.
Virtue Ethics without Character Traits. Retrieved July 8, 2009 from

http://www.princeton.edu/~harman/Papers/Thomson.html