eyes of others enabled her to display her supposed talents. Mr. Collins possesses a definite sense of vanity. He is in no way concerned about his own opinion of his character, for as wesee his character leaves much to be desired. All he cares about is what others think of him. He always needs the approval of his present company. When he gives Elizabeth the grand tour of his nothing-spectacular home, he is looking for her approval of hisposition and possessions. It is not important to Mr. Collins for people to like him as a person, they just had better be impressedhis status in life and his connections. Mr. Darcy, as one of the main characters, is for the better part of the novel a focus of the theme of pride. His pride is very obvious. It is a part of his nature and is seen in his mannerisms and in his speech. Darcy has such a high opinion of himself that he does not care what others think of him or his prideful actions. He believes that he is the best in every way possible and finds that his standing in society gives him the right to be critical of those not as perfect as he. Elizabeth Bennet, the other main character of the novel, is just as guilty of being proud as any of the other characters in the novel. She prides herself on being unprejudiced and rational in the judgement of others. Yet, this is an imaginary quality as she learns that her preconceived notions of both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham turn out to be false. She is also very proud when Darcy confronts her about her family and connections. Although Darcy s accusations of the unsophistication of certain of her family members are true, Elizabeth is too proud to listen and accept the truth. Instead, she becomes so angered with Darcy that it effects her entire relationship with him. Both Darcy and Elizabeth come to recognize their pride as a flaw in their respective characters. Darcy realizes that he must check his pride in order to be seen in a good ligh...
