Pride In Jane Austen's 'Pride And Prejudice'

Even after its publication in 1813 Jane’s Austen’s romantic and wonderfully written masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice, remains an absolute joy to read for thousands and thousands of readers across the globe. The 19th century novel enchants the youngest of readers to the wisest of souls. Many individuals all over the world, very much like us as university students here at Villanova, are quite intrigued by the amazingly created characters, impressively dynamic portrayal of an oppressively class-bound culture, and the vitality of a strong woman at the center of the novel. Jane Austen presents the reader with the most tantalizing and illustrious opening sentence, which enamors the reader and never lets go. "It is a truth universally acknowledged,

For instance, at the beginning of the novel in Chapter 5, Austen argues that “vanity and pride are different things…a person may be proud without being vain”. She claims that “pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves…[and] vanity to what we would have others think of us.” Austen presents a very intriguing and thought-provoking claim about pride and the self. She claims that being proud of oneself is different than being nefariously vain. The pride that we hold is not validated by accolades or outside compliments. Pride is rather built and nurtured through a sense of personal inner peace and fulfillment. Pride, in essence, is a tool that helps an individual in our society recognizes his or her own competence and efficiency. Austen advocates for pride and self-improvement and she believes that pride builds self-esteem. She deems that pride encourages one to value the talents and gifts that individuals bring to this society and to this world. Moreover, Austen also gives great insight on life regarding happiness. In the end of the book, Austen argues that one must learn to be content with being happier than one deserves. Austen encourages us to accept the happiness in our lives. She believes that happiness must be appreciated and accepted. We must accept the fact that we do not have to earn happiness; rather we must enjoy it while we