""How despicably I have acted!'' she cried.-"I, who have prided myself on my discernment!-I, who have valued myself on my abilities! who have often disdained the generous candour of my sister, and gratified my vanity, in useless or blameable distrust!-How humiliating is this discovery!-Yet, how just a humiliation!-had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind!But vanity, not love, has been my folly.-Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where either were concerned.Till this moment, I never knew myself.""(Austen, Volume II, Chapter 13)
Pride and Prejudice is an excellent work of fiction in which many different themes can be found. The theme of self-knowledge is applicable to this novel. The definition of self-knowledge is finding who one person really is and states his or her beliefs. It is really important to know who we are inside because that is what we are. In Pride and Prejudice, one can find the theme of self-knowledge through one of the main characters of the novel, named Elizabeth Bennet.
Pride and Prejudice is written by Jane Austen, which is first published in 1813. The story is basically about Elizabeth, the female protagonist, slowly falling in love with Mr.Darcy. Both of them disliked each other in the beginning but Elizabeth later found out that Mr.Darcy is a good man at heart after all, even though he is not that good in expressing his feelings. The author explores the theme of self-knowledge through Elizabeth's character when she realized how Mr.Darcy helped her to find one of the sisters who eloped with Mr.Darcy's enemy.
The story is about Bennet family settled in Longbourne, a small village. The Bennet family consists a total of seven people. Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters : - Jane Bennet, Elizabeth Bennet, Mary Bennet, Catherine Bennet and the youngest one Lydia Bennet. Mrs. Bennet is so desperate to marry their daughters into good families. Her desire for this increased as Charles Bingley, a wealthy man from England bought a manor nearby Longbourne. Mrs. Bennet wanted one of her daughters to be married to him. The whole family gets excited when they come to know that Mr. Bennet paid a visit to the new wealthy man in the area, Mr. Bingley. Even though he went back to England, he came back to Netherfield park with his two sisters, a brother-in-law, and his friend named Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley threw a ball for the guests, including the Bennet family. Mr.Darcy's cold character is first revealed during the time of the ball. Even though at first the guests thought of him as a "..fine figure of a man..", it soon turned to be the opposite. He was "..discovered to be proud.." During the ball, it is clear that Mr. Bingley have some kind of attraction towards Jane. But Darcy on the other hand, finds no one in the ball room to be pretty enough to "tempt him". Elizabeth thought of this as very rude. As the story goes on, Jane also fall in love with Mr. Bingley. To the surprise, Mr. Darcy also begins to develop feelings for Elizabeth. He got to know more about Elizabeth during her stay with Jane in Mr. Bingley's place. It is also observed that Miss Bingley also has an eye on Mr. Darcy. She tries to impress him in many ways, but everything fails at the end. Another character shows up, which is Mr.Collins. He will inherit Mr. Bennet's property after his death. After he met Elizabeth, he proposed to her, but she politely refused. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Bennet was angry at Elizabeth. As the story continues, Elizabeth meets Mr. Wickham and is very much pleased with him.He tells Elizabeth a made up story about why Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham is cold to each other. Elizabeth trusts him. Later on, Jane receives a letter from Miss Bingley saying that they all are returning to England and coming back to Netherfield park is something undecided. It also implies that Mr. Bingley is planning to marry Mr. Darcy's sister. Jane is devastated upon hearing this news. Later Jane went to London hoping to see Mr. Bingley but did not. Elizabeth came to know that Mr. Darcy tried to break Mr. Bingley's and Jane's romance and reveals to her that he is not in good terms with Mr. Wickham because he tried to elope with Mr. Darcy's sister hoping to inherit some fortune. After hearing this Elizabeth started to have some kind of sympathy towards him and started to have feelings for him. Even though she refused his marriage proposal at first, later she accepted after finding out more about Mr. Darcy's character.
Through exploring Elizabeth's character, it can be implied that she realized that she was wrong. At first, she even said, "..and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry." ( Austen, 233). Later when she realized the truth about Mr. Wickham, she was ashamed of herself. She felt "..blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd." ( Austen, 248). and she says, " Till this moment, I never knew myself."( Austen, 249). This is where the theme of self-knowledge can be applied. She realized what kind of a person she was when she encountered this issue. "She is rash in her judgments and slow to recognize her mistakes." ( Mazzeno)
Pride and Prejudice is an excellent work of fiction in which many different themes can be found. The theme of self-knowledge is applicable to this novel. The definition of self-knowledge is finding who one person really is and states his or her beliefs. It is really important to know who we are inside because that is what we are. In Pride and Prejudice, one can find the theme of self-knowledge through one of the main characters of the novel, named Elizabeth Bennet.
Pride and Prejudice is written by Jane Austen, which is first published in 1813. The story is basically about Elizabeth, the female protagonist, slowly falling in love with Mr.Darcy. Both of them disliked each other in the beginning but Elizabeth later found out that Mr.Darcy is a good man at heart after all, even though he is not that good in expressing his feelings. The author explores the theme of self-knowledge through Elizabeth's character when she realized how Mr.Darcy helped her to find one of the sisters who eloped with Mr.Darcy's enemy.
The story is about Bennet family settled in Longbourne, a small village. The Bennet family consists a total of seven people. Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters : - Jane Bennet, Elizabeth Bennet, Mary Bennet, Catherine Bennet and the youngest one Lydia Bennet. Mrs. Bennet is so desperate to marry their daughters into good families. Her desire for this increased as Charles Bingley, a wealthy man from England bought a manor nearby Longbourne. Mrs. Bennet wanted one of her daughters to be married to him. The whole family gets excited when they come to know that Mr. Bennet paid a visit to the new wealthy man in the area, Mr. Bingley. Even though he went back to England, he came back to Netherfield park with his two sisters, a brother-in-law, and his friend named Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley threw a ball for the guests, including the Bennet family. Mr.Darcy's cold character is first revealed during the time of the ball. Even though at first the guests thought of him as a "..fine figure of a man..", it soon turned to be the opposite. He was "..discovered to be proud.." During the ball, it is clear that Mr. Bingley have some kind of attraction towards Jane. But Darcy on the other hand, finds no one in the ball room to be pretty enough to "tempt him". Elizabeth thought of this as very rude. As the story goes on, Jane also fall in love with Mr. Bingley. To the surprise, Mr. Darcy also begins to develop feelings for Elizabeth. He got to know more about Elizabeth during her stay with Jane in Mr. Bingley's place. It is also observed that Miss Bingley also has an eye on Mr. Darcy. She tries to impress him in many ways, but everything fails at the end. Another character shows up, which is Mr.Collins. He will inherit Mr. Bennet's property after his death. After he met Elizabeth, he proposed to her, but she politely refused. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Bennet was angry at Elizabeth. As the story continues, Elizabeth meets Mr. Wickham and is very much pleased with him.He tells Elizabeth a made up story about why Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham is cold to each other. Elizabeth trusts him. Later on, Jane receives a letter from Miss Bingley saying that they all are returning to England and coming back to Netherfield park is something undecided. It also implies that Mr. Bingley is planning to marry Mr. Darcy's sister. Jane is devastated upon hearing this news. Later Jane went to London hoping to see Mr. Bingley but did not. Elizabeth came to know that Mr. Darcy tried to break Mr. Bingley's and Jane's romance and reveals to her that he is not in good terms with Mr. Wickham because he tried to elope with Mr. Darcy's sister hoping to inherit some fortune. After hearing this Elizabeth started to have some kind of sympathy towards him and started to have feelings for him. Even though she refused his marriage proposal at first, later she accepted after finding out more about Mr. Darcy's character.
Through exploring Elizabeth's character, it can be implied that she realized that she was wrong. At first, she even said, "..and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry." ( Austen, 233). Later when she realized the truth about Mr. Wickham, she was ashamed of herself. She felt "..blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd." ( Austen, 248). and she says, " Till this moment, I never knew myself."( Austen, 249). This is where the theme of self-knowledge can be applied. She realized what kind of a person she was when she encountered this issue. "She is rash in her judgments and slow to recognize her mistakes." ( Mazzeno)