Pride and Prejudice
Vanity and Pride
“Pride,” observed Mary, who piqued herself upon the solidity of her
reflections, “is a very common failing, I believe. By all that I have
ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed; that human
nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us
who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some
quality or other, real or imaginary. Vanity and pride are different
things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may
be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of
ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”
-chapter 5, page 18
Pride is defined as a high opinion of one’s own worth, or a pleasure and satisfaction in something concerned with oneself. When one has pride, one is proud of their accomplishments, abilities, achievements etc, without attitude or superiority.
Vanity can be defined as an excessive amount of pride in one’s appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements etc. Vanity is seen as conceit in a person. It is a word that conjures up a negative connotation and suggests a degree of blindness. Someone who is considered vain has a certain attitude towards others, generally a feeling of superiority.
In the previous passage, Mary Bennet distinguishes between vanity and pride. What do you think she is suggesting in that?
