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"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.': The opening line of Pride and Prejudice is one of the most famous ones in English literature. The line has provoked Austen to make thought provoking statements about relationships during the early 19th century.

The book Pride and Prejudice is largely concerned between the adventures of the wealthy gentry and middle class. The social etiquette during the early 19th century is very different from our times. The book is a very early example of a romance novel. In this essay I will discuss the characters that have displayed pride in this novel.

There were many factors due to which people can gain pride over themselves. The most dominating factor during Austen's time was your social rank. At the top of the ladder were the aristocrats, and then the old gentry (people who have been wealthy from generations), then the new gentry (new industrialists of the Industrial Revolution) and then much further down were the Bennett's.

The next important element in deciding your social status was your marriage. It was also considered usual, even improper to marry someone far removed from your class. During that time marriages were mainly done to improve one's financial status or social ranking. They were done based on social standing and not on character or substance of the person. Manners and etiquette were very important too, as they were the two things that only came to a person with class. They also included your style of dressing. Even if people were in a state of high emotion they had to maintain an air of dignity at all times. The funniest passages in the book are when people are arguing. All the above factors put together decided the reputation of a person during the beginning of the 19th century.

The protagonist of the book Elizabeth Bennett is the second eldest of the five daughters. She is independent of thought, stands up for herself, even with those far above her social standing. Elizabeth has the most mature character and is also the romantic heroine of the novel. Elizabeth isn't naturally proud in the same sense as Darcy, but when she is slighted by Darcy behaviour at the ball, her pride is hurt. As a result, to compensate she becomes defensive about herself and her family. Elizabeth was entirely justified in developing a dislike for Darcy, because on their very first acquaintance, he says, "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me."

Darcy is a rich powerful man from a well-respected family. Darcy is shown to be proud of his social standing; he looks down upon people lower than him, especially the Bennett's. After hearing him and seeing his social conduct 'everybody is disgusted in his pride'. This is made worse by his natural quietness, which makes him seem even more aloof. "I believe, ma'am, I may safely promise you never to dance with him," says Elizabeth with regards to Darcy, this clearly shows that Darcy maintained a distance with everyone at the ball and wasn't ready to dance with anyone over there.

Lady Catherine is an aristocrat who is deeply drowned in her pride. She has the highest social standing and believes everybody should praise and obey her and also thinks she can disrespect anybody lower than her social status. She has one of the worst attitudes of the upper classes. Lady Catherine dislikes Elizabeth, and also tries to intimidate her to refuse Darcy and when she gets angry with Elizabeth, she describes her as "a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world".

Mr. William Collins, the man of the church is very superficial and lacks character. This is seen when he proposes to Elizabeth and Charlotte within a week's difference. He changes his pride according to whom he's speaking. In company he believes to be below him socially he speaks about moral values and his social ranking. With those, above him, his pride vanishes and he often humiliates himself. In the book he was describes as a "conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly" man by Elizabeth.

The book Pride and Prejudice teaches us very good moral values. It tells us that it is very important to overcome our pride to develop a positive character because if you are a superficial person we cannot gain anything. It also tells us to look beyond one's social status and to value their true qualities.