Pride Flashcards
“A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”
- Mary Bennet
Mary gives the reader a lens through which to understand one of the novel’s central conceits. On the surface, Mary offers simple definitions of pride and vanity. Her speech also indicates that these attributes are “very common.” Therefore, she implies that it is best to acknowledge one’s tendency towards such behavior. However, at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice, both Elizabeth and Darcy believe that they are above pride and vanity. They think they can exist outside these cultural norms, but are ultimately forced to accept that they do in fact exist in the context of a greater society. They have responsibilities to others, and should consider to some extent how their family and friends perceive them.
