What Does Elizabeth Bennett Symbolize In Pride And Prejudice

What was Jane Austen trying to symbolize in “Pride and Prejudice”? She lived in a time with simple ways where the women would be expected marry into wealth, therefore bringing her family up the social pyramid with her. The men were expected to be tough and rich, and often would socialize to search for a lady who they could marry. When Jane Austen wrote “Pride and Prejudice” she included much of her knowledge about the late 1700’s. She also included the society she lived in. Her main characters, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, were representations of the divergent in traditional expectations. Jane Austen considered Elizabeth to be “a delightful character as ever appeared in print”.
The main character, Elizabeth Bennett, is the prime example of a strong, independent, and witty woman. Elizabeth’s spryness would often get her into trouble. Likewise, she has pride in herself which causes her to feel as though she is a better person than most. Ms. Bennett is very hasty she to judge others and is quick to jump to conclusions.
In the beginning of the story, Elizabeth is described as “a sweet girl”. Elizabeth’s character and personality changed drastically throughout “Pride and Prejudice”. She is a

beautiful and clever girl who has a calm persona and is seemingly humble. Her cleverness and morals give her an advantage in life. She is a cheerful woman, who refuses to be pushed around by a man. While at the ball, it is said she is “very little disposed to approve [men]”. Also, Elizabeth says of herself, “I would wish not to be hasty in censuring anyone; but I always speak what I think.” “I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good”. Once Elizabeth is belittled by Darcy her true personality begins to show through. Elizabeth feels her pride was injured because of Darcy’s refusal to dance with her. The kind of pride shown here is not a healthy pride (like when you ace a test), but rather a harmful pride which makes you feel superior to other people. Elizabeth always thinks her judgments are correct, though they are often flawed.
Ms. Bennett becomes very feisty as the story continues. She reminds Darcy of the saying “Keep your breath to cool your porridge; and I shall keep mine to swell my song.” Elizabeth gets easily flustered when someone catches her off guard. Elizabeth’s vanity will not allow her to accept anything less than what she assumes she deserves. Her prejudice against men who are not humble or kind is shown when she rejects her first few suitors. This is again displayed when Darcy attempted to court her. Elizabeth instantly rejects him without considering the facts or her own feelings. Elizabeth has pride in herself, and believes she is worth more than what the men think.
Later on, she is described as expressing “cold dislike” toward Darcy. “Elizabeth was amazed at his gallantry; but there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody.” When they speak of poetry, Elizabeth states irritably, “I wonder who first discovered the efficiency of poetry driving away love!” Even after Darcy tried to apologize, Elizabeth’s bias caused her to ignore him completely. Eventually, Elizabeth realizes her misjudgment and her prejudices against him. She says, “Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at!” When Mr. Darcy’s servant tells Elizabeth how kind her master is, it shocks her. Slowly, she begins to lose her harsh judgments, and finds herself lost. Elizabeth realizes how prideful and harsh towards Darcy she was. She felt “despicable” because she had “pride in her discernment and her abilities” and is “humiliated.”
In conclusion, Elizabeth begins to love Darcy after getting a new perspective. She finds herself losing her own pride, and losing her prejudice. Elizabeth begins to show her maturity when she blames herself, rather than someone else, for not speaking about Wickham with Lydia. When all the drama unfolds Elizabeth decides to rely on Darcy, which shows how close they have become since the opening of the story. Gradually, Elizabeth finds herself hoping Darcy will propose; even though she originally despised him. This symbolizes how Elizabeth has matured, and resolved her lack of confidence to become the independent woman she wanted to be.
Comparatively, when one looks at Mr.

Darcy there is a glaring difference between him and Elizabeth. The first description of him is “was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and everybody hoped that he would never come there again.” Elizabeth speaks of him as “continually giving offense”. In addition, he is extremely arrogant and says that Elizabeth is, “intolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me. I am in no humor at the present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.” Darcy has too much pride which caused him to become secluded during the ball. He watched with “silent indignation”. Mr. Darcy is prejudiced against anyone from a lower social class. He makes so much money, and is so highly regarded, his ego seems as large as his

fortune.
Gradually, Darcy is revealed as a kind and misunderstood man. When discussing poetry with Ms. Bennett he states, “I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love!” Whilst arguing with Elizabeth, Darcy talks about humbleness saying, “nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility.” Later when Darcy spoke with Elizabeth about his aunt he feels “abasement”. Mr. Darcy is very affectionate towards his sister, which expresses his gentleness towards family. He gave many funds to the church which indicated to Elizabeth that Darcy was, in fact, more humble than he first acted.
Nearing the end of the story, Mr. Darcy expresses his love towards Elizabeth. “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.” When he was rejected by her, he only felt that he must try harder to gain her respect. In order to help with their miscommunications, Mr. Darcy writes a heartfelt letter explaining himself and telling his story to Elizabeth. After hearing about Elizabeth’s view of him Mr. Darcy felt hopeful that they may still elope. His wish came true, when Elizabeth and he team up to resolve the issues with Wickham and Lydia. In supporting Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy showed his maturity and moral changes.
In the end, Darcy resolved his pride which was causing him to look down on his peers. He also defeats his prejudice against the lower class, which allows him to love Elizabeth even though she was poor and unexpectedly spirited. His morals are repaired and Mr. Darcy was able to fix his ego by ignoring traditional social structures.
Ultimately, the story or Pride and Prejudice is a definitive example of human choices. To fight pride and become humble is one of the hardest struggles a person can face. Furthermore, changing prejudiced views about others can be progressively more difficult. Without looking inside oneself, it is impossible to become modest. When two people who are open-minded and humble meet, love follows.