Pride

“‘...I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.’” (Page 21)

As would be expected, due to the title, one of the most important themes that Jane Austen employs in this novel is pride. From the interactions between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, the reader observes that both characters are prideful. The pride that each of these characters holds is not exhibited in a subtle way. From the very start Elizabeth allows her pride to hinder herself from seeing past Darcy’s cold demeanor. Likewise, Darcy’s pride hinders him from seeing Elizabeth as an equal. Rather than seeing each other, at first, for who they truly are, they put on a sort of impenetrable front. Because Austen characterizes Elizabeth and Darcy as being overly prideful, she enables another principal theme to come into play, prejudice. This impenetrable front (established from being prideful) leads to a person making bias judgments and irrational decisions.