The Role of First Impressions in Pride and Prejudice Essay

The Role of First Impressions in Pride and Prejudice First impressions play a very important role in Pride and Prejudice. The narrative describes how the prejudices and first impressions (especially those dealing with pride) of the main characters change throughout the novel. From the beginning of the book in chapter 1, we see that Mrs. Bennet lives in a mercenary society where her whole life revolves around money. This shows in her eagerness to meet Bingley. She is obsessed with her daughters getting married – she does not care for their happiness. Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley are both introduced in chapter 3 at the ball. Everyone gossips about them and their wealth. Mr. Bingley is friendly and†¦show more content†¦Wickham is first thought to be a gentleman by all. His good looks and his easy manner fool almost everyone, and Elizabeth believes without question all that he tells her of Darcy. Elizabeths first impressions of him are contradicted when she realizes that he has lied about Darcy. Elizabeth and many of the other characters see Darcy as proud. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend. It is not only what she believes to be pride in Darcys character that makes her judge him harshly, but also her prejudice against him because of the lies Wickham has told her. Darcy sees this fault of prejudice in Elizabeth, stating that her defect is willfully to misunderstand everybody. 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