Pride and prejudice

“It is particularly incumbent on those

who never change their opinion,

to be secure of judging properly at first.”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

The Benett house has five girls, each of them shows a strong personality prone to music, arts, money, reading, dancing, etc. all of them waiting to be married.

“I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit. Unfortunately an only son (for many years an only child), I was spoilt by my parents, who, though good themselves (my father, particularly, all that was benevolent and amiable), allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing; to care for none beyond my own family circle; to think meanly of all the rest of the world; to wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth compared with my own. Such I was, from eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not owe you! You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

They organize a ball to welcome Lord Bingley and the Benett girls introduce themselves. The love-hate story between Darcy and Elizabeth is the center of the story in which a woman takes the iniciative in the relationship, while her sister, Jane, is a firm believer in love, but she never talks about her feelings. It is like the positive and negative things that can happen when people are in love.

“There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

The witty comments and irony of the characters in Devonshire keep us guessing the inevitable end, while Austen shows us the costumes, habits and way of living in the 1600’s. Women are the main characters of the stories as a new way of seeing themselves as they truly are: funny, intelligent, deep, superficial, cheerful and kind. Women that vouch for true love, not money, nor position, but love. It marks the transition between Elizabeth and her mother where the knowledge of themselves is far more valuable than a man by their side to decide their fate. Elizabeth teaches Darcy to confront his feelings, while Darcy teaches Elizabeth to be kind and forgive.

“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. 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.”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice