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Pop quiz: in Pride and Prejudice, who represents pride, and who represents prejudice?
Okay, we confess: it was a trick question. Turns out, almost everyone's guilty of pride, with maybe the exception of Jane and Bingley. From obvious candidate Darcy to Mr. Collins—who totally doesn't deserve to be proud about anything—to Mr. Darcy's servant, everyone we meet takes pride in something. The question for Lizzy and for us, as we all learn to be better judges of characters, is when is that pride deserved, and when is it just plain ego?
Questions About Pride
- Which characters lack pride? Does that make them less interesting? More interesting? Stronger or weaker characters?
- What emotions are similar to pride in the novel? Vanity, conceit, arrogance—what else? Who has these, and how do we know the difference?
- When is pride warranted? When is it not?
Chew on This
In Pride and Prejudice, pride goes before a fall. Lizzy and Darcy both have to be humbled before they can get together.
In the best-case scenario, pride can encourage people to behave better.