NAMA : ERICK AGUNG YOHANES

NIM : 2004508

CLASS : 2A – ENGLISH LITERATURE

The Enlighten Truth from a Woman

‘Yes, vanity is a weakness indeed. But pride-where there is a real superiority of mind, pride will
be always under good regulation.’ (p.70)

The quotation is mentioned by Elizabeth Bennet. It’s quoted when Elizabeth justifies
Darcy from Miss Bingley. At this moment, Miss Bingley attempts every trick to get Darcy’s
attention. However, she doesn’t get any closer to her objective. Ironically, she exposes her
sincere opinion on Darcy’s resentment and take a one-sided conclusion. This action triggers
Elizabeth to explain her point of view towards The Pride and The Vanity.

It can be concluded that Darcy applies his hatred to anyone with lower status than he has.
He declines Miss Bingley throughout time and assert his dominance against Miss Bingley.
Apparently, Miss Bingley refuses to give up her pride and strike him back with a bitter honesty.
By the word ‘pride’ and ‘vanity’, Elizabeth makes her statement to enlighten both Darcy and
Miss Bingley. She considers that vanity is a weakness. Therefore, vanity is what brings man into
the despair. Otherwise, Pride is a real superiority of mind. Furthermore, pride is a mandatory as
long as it’s under good regulation.

From this quotation, we can infer that Elizabeth is a woman with good understanding of
human personality. The reason why she justifies Darcy from Miss Bingley is not only because
she loves him, but also to give both Darcy and Miss Bingley the undeniable truth. She reassures
Darcy and Miss Bingley that having a perfect amount of pride is better than having an
overwhelming vanity. Elizabeth knows exactly that almost every person around her is fulfilled
by the vanity. Meanwhile, she believes that Pride would be her best choice.

Despite the distance of few centuries, I can relate this case to the present circumstances.
It’s all about the arrogancy who brings people into prestige war. Nowadays, people are
tendentiously trying to be better than anyone else. It’s obvious especially around the economic
status. Moreover, people consider that wealth is above everything. Therefore, they think poor
people don’t deserve respect from anyone. There is only a thin thread hanging between the Pride
and the vanity which makes people difficult to distinguish. In conclusion, the pride don’t require
wealth, and it depends on how people handle their appearance at their best. On the other hand,
the vanity is a wicked mindset which brings hatred. The huge amount of hatred could bring
people to do the bad things.