In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen shows how everyone exhibits prejudices and falls victim to first impressions. When I had only been partway through the book, I thought that she was only showing how the upper class would judge the lower class, but as I read more, I realized that she shows how everyone can become guilty of fostering preconceived notions and judgements. The first time the audience meets Darcy in the book, Austen explains, “He was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased” (Austen 12). Here, it seems like Darcy is extremely obnoxious and biased, and thinks that he is above everyone at the ball just because he is richer than them. However, as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that he is falling in love with Elizabeth Bennet, who is notably of a lower class than he is. At first, Darcy claims that Elizabeth is unattractive and unworthy of his attention, but as time passees, he realizes that she is very beautiful and intelligent, and as he interacts with her more, he begins to fall for her. When Elizabeth visits Bingley’s estate to check on Jane, Austen states, “Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger” (Austen 51). This shows that Darcy’s opinions of Elizabeth change over time, but this is not the only change that occurs within the novel.
Elizabeth, despite being the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice, is also guilty of having prejudice in the novel. After the first ball, in which Darcy declares that nobody is worthy of his time or affection and he refuses to dance with Elizabeth, she seemingly holds a grudge against him for much of the novel. From the time she spends at Bingley’s estate to the next ball in which they do dance together to even the first time Darcy proposes to marry her, Elizabeth lets her initial judgement of Darcy bias her subsequent interactions with him. She always assumes that he thinks that he is above her just because he is rich, and although this is partly true (Darcy is reluctant to admit his love for Elizabeth because she is not rich), she refuses to accept his affection when he does offer it. It is only after Darcy reveals his true history with Wickham and tells Elizabeth that he paid Wickham to marry Lydia that Elizabeth realizes that he is not as judgemental as she thought. No, Darcy is not the nicest nor the most admirable character in Pride and Prejudice, but he is not the worst either. He very clearly undergoes a major change, and Austen illustrates how everyone can be blinded by their own biases or prejudices. Elizabeth and Darcy are both shown to have prejudices that heavily impact their views, despite the contrast between their upbringings, but they both overcome them as the novel progresses.
In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen explores how her characters' social statuses affect their character and how they view the world. As a result, we discover that a person’s reputation is “...no less brittle than it is beautiful,” and that these characters make many decisions off of what their prejudices are (207). I agree with you that the novel portrays both sides of prejudice: the rich against the poor and the poor against the rich. The most obvious pairings is between Darcy and Elizabeth, which you did an excellent job of explaining. However, I believe that George Wickham also illustrates her characters' prejudice tendencies.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Wickham, once a community favorite, clearly demonstrates how society’s perceptions can change his life. In the beginning of the novel, Wickham is loved by all, including Elizabeth Bennett, who finds “truth in his looks” (64). However, after he elopes with Lydia, most everyone claims to have “distrusted the appearance of his goodness” (211). All of Meryton immediately decides to sever ties with Wickham. Even Mr. Bennett, who had recently become Wickham’s father-in-law, refuses to forgive him. Austen's characters all were prejudiced in his favor and refused to believe any bad thing about him until he left with Lydia. Almost immediately, each character realized that he was not what he seemed and turned against his and her prejudice.