Discuss the presentation of pride and prejudice in ‘Pride and Prejudice’

Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley are, from the very start, prejudiced against Elizabeth, and people from the country. They are described as ‘very fine ladies; not deficient in good humour when they were pleased …. But proud and conceited’, which becomes increasingly evident as the novel progresses. They look down on the lower classes, despite them belonging to the new landed gentry, and not being of the highest social rank, demonstrating their pride and superciliousness. Miss Bingley’s prejudice towards people of the country is shown at the Lucas house, when in one of her attempts to impress Mr Darcy she says ‘the nothingness, and yet the self-importance of all those people!’, implying that she believes, that due to her social class, she is higher than everyone else, bring to light just how conceited she truly is. Miss Bingley’s prejudice towards people of the country becomes apparent again when Jane is ill at Natherfield. She becomes convinced that ‘no country advice [can] be of any serivce’ demanding that they go to town for one ‘of the most eminent physicians’, showing that not only is she prejudiced towards the country, but also her need to always have the best and most extravagant things. Furthermore, due to her attraction to Mr Darcy, and Darcy’s fondness towards Elizabeth, Miss Bingley is extremely prejudiced towards Elizabeth. In an attempt to try to deter Darcy from Elizabeth, and further showing her prejudice against her, the moment that Elizabeth leaves the room, Miss Bingley and her sister attack her by insulting her ‘to be very bad indeed, a mixture of pride and impertinence; she had no conversation, no stile, no taste, no beauty.’ Here the repetition of ‘no’ creates the impression of a never-ending list of negatives, conveying how strongly both sisters dislike Elizabeth, and the strength of their prejudice against her. Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst seem to enjoy pointing out Elizabeth’s flaws and low social rank, as a way to discourage Mr Darcy’s growing feelings for Elizabeth, and as a way to continually point out the difference in their social rank. Both sister enjoy mocking Elizabeth and her family, saying that ‘with such a father and mother, and such low connections’ there is very little chance of any of the Bennet sisters marrying well. Furthermore, Miss Bingley announces that Elizabeth is a ‘great reader’, implying that that is all she is accomplished in, and that she therefore is not Darcy’s idea of accomplished, in another attempt to dissuade Darcy’s feelings. This shows us that Miss Bingley obviously does not know Elizabeth very well, because if she did she would know that Elizabeth is in fact far more accomplished, and so we can tell that Miss Bingley simply assumes things about people. This showcases her prejudice towards Elizabeth and her proudness in general. Miss Bingley is very proud and pretentious, and she possesses all of the pride of Mr Darcy’s class, but none of his good will and merit, making her an exceedingly dislikeable character.