While I initially thought Elizabeth embodied prejudice and Darcy pride, I realized that they both exhibit the two qualities as inversions of each other. Elizabeth’s prejudice is based in pride in her mental sharpness and good judgment, while Mr. Darcy’s pride is based in prejudice against others who do not live up to his class and superiority of mind.
pride
Mr. Darcy’s pride is based in prejudice against others who do not live up to his class and superiority of mind.
You have to meet someone halfway to show your true nature to them; genuine openness leaves minimal room for assumption. To do so, one must not be too prideful. Mr. Darcy grew up selfish and self-assured, so he never felt the need to explain himself. However, this led to his making assumptions on Elizabeth’s feelings toward him and being rude with his language.
prejudice
Elizabeth’s prejudice is based in pride in her mental sharpness and good judgment.
It’s ironic how Elizabeth’s prejudice contrasts with Darcy’s pride. He is unconcerned with vanity, as defined by Mary (Pride and vanity), and thus does not feel the need to defend himself excessively. However, Elizabeth is blinded by her prejudice born from her first impression of him, and thus is unwilling to understand his character beyond a surface level. The neat dichotomy between these two opposing forces creates the space in which the philosophy of this novel lies.
Elizabeth’s bad first impression of Mr. Darcy causes her to hold on to the initial impression she formed of him. She readily believes Mr. Wickham’s slander and is unwilling to hear his side of the story, even when she hears it from two different sources.
character development
Both Elizabeth and Darcy grow and change by the end of the novel. Elizabeth learns to let go of her tendency to judge people based on appearances and instead observe their character and actions, while Darcy is “properly humbled” by her and says, “You shewed me how insufficient were all pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased” (349).
Darcy says that he “was angry perhaps at first, but [his] anger soon began to take a proper direction” (349). Anger can initially be a wild burst of emotion that, when properly harnessed, can become a catalyst for change.