Pride in Pride and Prejudice

Characters who show pride in the novel include - 

• Lizzy Bennet
• Mr Darcy
• Bingley's sisters (but not him)
• Mrs Bennet in some areas
• Lady Catherine

Brief definiton = Pride is where you think highly of yourself, especially compared with others

Context = if you talk about money/class then you could use the Regency society's hierarchy (ie gentlemen etc above workers in trade) and how this impacts people's pride

1. After Mr Darcy insults her ('she is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me') Lizzy talks to Charlotte and says 'I could easily forgive his pride if he hadn't mortified mine' - this shows that her opinion of herself was lowered by his comment, and 'mortified' implies that she felt humiliated by it

2. Following the first proposal of Mr Darcy and having read his letter, Lizzy realises that she has been 'blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd' - this shows her as not only allowing herself to be prejudiced, but also to let her opinion of herself cloud her idea of others

1. Meryton Ball - 'she is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me' (he thinks he is too superior for Lizzy, and he therefore is proud)

2. Same chapter as above - Darcy had made a good impression at first ('handsome features, noble mein') but then 'he was discovered to be proud, above his company and above being pleased' so the Hertfordshire society took a dislike to him and it 'turned the tide on his popularity'

3. He thinks he is too good for Lizzy due to class and his pride - at first he battles with his affections, describing them as 'mortifying'. When proposing to her, it was clear that he loved her against his will ('in vain I have struggled' and 'his sense of her inferiority - of its being a degradation')

4. 'I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit' - he thinks that it is down to his upbringing, and he was taught that his wealth gave him reason enough to be proud, but in a negative way. Charlotte Lucas has a similar attitude, saying much earlier that she thinks his pride is acceptable.

Mrs Louisa Hurst and Miss Caroline Bingley

1. They think their brother and their family is too good for Jane Bennet - 'with such a father and mother and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it' (of Jane settling well) - the women even try to get in the way of Jane and Bingley - Caroline does not answer Jane's letters etc

2. They 'were in the habit of (...) associating with people of rank, and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves and meanly of others' - the women are proud because they believe that their social standing allows them to think they are superior, and to treat other people badly

1. Mr Collins says that 'she likes to have the distinction of rank preserved' - Lady Catherine de Bourgh believes she is above others, and also wishes to have this made clear in any circumstance!

2. When Lady Catherine visits Longbourn in chapter 56 to try to command Lizzy not to accept any proposal from Darcy (she attempts to intimidate Lizzy), she calls her 'a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world' - she thinks so highly of herself that she believes it is acceptable to make other people's situations clear, and to rub her own money/status in their faces. This comment would have also damaged some of Lizzy's own pride, and she even retaliates later, saying that she is 'a gentleman's daughter' therefore her father and Mr Darcy are roughly on the same level, as they are both gentlemen

note - technically Mr Bennet is the same class as Mr Darcy as they are both gentlemen, and Mr Bennet is above the Bingleys (they have only recently earned their wealth through trade, and would probably be described as social climbers), however, the Bennet's lack of money (their financial situation) means that they are slightly below

Mrs Bennet

• she shows pride when Mr Darcy describes the country society as 'confined' (fewer families to socialise with than in 'town' - London), and she bristles, claiming 'we dine with four and twenty families' - this may also be a source of embarassment for Lizzy as she does not want her mother arguing with a man of high status, and Mr Darcy probably knows more than 24 families

Mary Bennet

• 'pride is a very common failing, I believe (...) there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency' - Mary says that pride is in everyone, and this could suggest that she believes it is something that should be accepted as part of human nature