“Pride and Prejudice” - Title Significance

 

Justify the title “Pride and Prejudice”.

 

The title is here the justification of the characters in the novel. Elizabeth and Darcy both are in concern of the title. Pride can be seen in both the characters as novel develops and the same way prejudice is also enough observed. Darcy has good enough sense of pride and Elizabeth is always surrounded by the sense of prejudice. As a reader no one can state that any one character has any one emotion. At a time both have their perception towards each other. 

Analysis of the title:

Pride and Prejudice 

Originally, the novel was going to be called “First Impressions”, but after Austen was having enough fame for the high value sales of Sense and Sensibility, just because of that reason her publisher asked if they could try for a little branding magic by sticking to the same title formula: noun-and-noun. Sure enough, this new novel went over like a big hit again.

With First Impressions, readers are thrown into the characters' point of view immediately. We experience those first impressions right along with Darcy and Elizabeth. Also, first impressions are all about people interacting with each other, so a novel called First Impressions puts the idea of people meeting with and reacting to other people front and centre. The focus is on manners, behaviour, and outward appearance.

We're no longer looking at things through the characters' eyes. Instead, it sounds like people are being called names—and it's up to the reader to try to figure out who's who. The reader is here not able to sense with the characters any more, but is instead all judgy and superior from the get-go. We are not able to connect ourselves with Darcy or Elizabeth at all. Instead, our main connection is the narrator, who knows ahead of time that someone's full of pride and someone else is probably full of prejudice.

As the novel develops a reader is moved into some deep psychological territory. Feeling prideful and being prejudicial are things which people do in the privacy of their thoughts, not things we express with enough boldness. A novel named in this way immediately puts readers all up in the characters' thoughts, seeing how they make decisions and what their value systems are all about.

Pride is clearly observed by the readers in the persona of Mr. Darcy who in the very first appearance of the novel seems more conservative and proudy to talk to anybody and is not replaying to anyone or even smiling. Charles Bingley is wealthy and having well enough social reputation the same was Darcy has but Bingley is enough frank with other characters and also having enough social communication aspects in his characters which Darcy apparently lacks. When the people in the Ball party come to know that Darcy is wealthier than Bingley, there was a clear judgement of people that Darcy is having pride upon his social reputation and wealth he has.

Darcy is in novel observed as more straightforward and ice cold when he is surrounded by people. He very openly and clearly rejects the dance proposal of Elizabeth and in a way insulted her. That was a time when Elizabeth has started thinking that Darcy has a huge wall around him and that is of pride. On the same night he also passed a judgment upon Elizabeth that she is not enough beautiful to temp him,

“She is not enough tempting”

That comment on Elizabeth made her to construct a prejudice about Mr. Darcy that he is having excessive pride and he is judgmental. In all the further encounters of Elizabeth and Darcy clearly represents Darcy’s silence which is mistakenly taken as pride and Elizabeth’s harsh comments about Darcy which is her pure prejudice for Darcy. Both are much in shell of their own psychological aspects.

Psychologically if one observes the novel, there can be a conclusion that to construct a prejudice one must have enough strong reasons and behavioural patterns to observe. If Darcy is in concern then his aura is much introvert which he reveals later in the novel especially in front of Elizabeth and also accepted that he is publicly not good. As he is the reserved nature man.

“I certainly have not the talent which some people possess, of conversing easily with those I have never seen before.”

In the reply of this also Elizabeth sarcastically replied that

“You should practice.”

Darcy is much concerned with the sense of Elizabeth and he by putting his pride aside he proposed her. But his words were still there to reflect his pride as he explained that though he is aware of Elizabeth’s social condition, he is ready to marry him. This thought of his clearly reflects his view regarding his social status.

When Darcy realized that he is in love of Elizabeth he just put away his pride and started focusing about his feelings of love and accepted it as well. He proposed Elizabeth twice even after the rejection of his first proposal. He time and again try to explain his part of story to Elizabeth which represents his humble efforts to clean his image for the sake of love.

Elizabeth Bennet is a head strong and stubborn girl with self-respect. When she proposed Darcy for dance and he denied with a reason that she is not enough beautiful to temp him, she laughed first at this comment but steadily constructed a prejudice towards Darcy. She firmly believed with the behaviour of Darcy that he is having enough pride in his personality and continuing thinking in this way she believed Wickham and started hating Darcy even more. She believed a person whom she hardly knows, just because somewhere she was also having a same perspective to judge Darcy. The same way, without thinking about her own faults she judged Darcy on Fitzwilliam’s comments that he saved a friend Bingley from unsuitable marriage.

Elizabeth has started thinking stubbornly about Darcy just because of her own pride got hurt. This is more psychological than literal. In the back of her mind it was only her insult which triggered her to hate and judge Mr. Darcy. When Mr. Darcy has explained her everything at that time she realizes that whatever she was thinking about Darcy was not true. She has also got a chance to know Darcy personally when she visited Darcy’s place. She has started thinking about Darcy with a new plain perspective. The way Darcy helped Lydia it was for Elizabeth only and that was clearly reflecting Darcy’s love and respect for Elizabeth which she also sensed.

The novel has a clear focus upon the psyche of people and the parameters on which they judge other people and behave with them. Money, class, wealth, reputation, appearance and at last comes nature which is may be not that much important if other things are there with the person. Ego clashes, pride problems which can be explained as attitude problems also can be seen clearly in the novel. A very private thought process and the process of judging the persona is well explained in the novel.

For Brief introduction of the novel - Click here