Pride in the Romance & Early Renaissance Periods Michael Clyde Craddock Jr. College

Pride and Prejudice is a novel that applies to many literary audiences of many centuries. This novel, in many ways, is a social commentary about manners. The emotion “pride” is one of the largest themes in this nineteenth-century novel. Austen uses pride in this novel to demonstrate how this emotion can cloud people’s judgement into not seeing the truth. Main characters Elizabeth and Darcy both display pride throughout the novel that delays their true love for each other. In terms of the novel’s reception, Austen’s responses from both Romantic Period audiences and critics were phenomenal. Yet, could these ideas in the novel apply to audiences of the Early Renaissance Period? Most likely. This period was distinguishable for its reinvention in the realms of philosophy, religion, and education. Also known as the “early modern period,” this time period’s texts aimed at getting readers to understand what it was like to achieve and maintain social and educational power. While Romantic period audiences were challenged, yet captivated by the pride that once plagued and possessed both Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, this novel’s theme of pride being a negative human emotion could be relatable with with Early Renaissance...