Elizabeth desires to "Tease him "laugh at him,"" and to Miss Bingley's demure and pompous refusal cries: "Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at! That is an uncommon advantage, and uncommon I hope it will continue, for it would such a great loss to me to have so many such an acquaintance. I dearly love to laugh."".
Elizabeth's pride and other failings were all ones she eventually overcame. At one point in the novel, the readers are taken aback by a comment that Elizabeth makes. She tells her sister, she fell in love with Darcy after seeing his estate at Pemberly. At first glance the comment makes her seem as mercenary as her friend, Mrs. Collins but the reader realizes the real meaning behind the comment. "Pride is a very common failing, I believe . . .human nature is particularly prone to it and, there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other. . ."". (Pg.19) This observation by Mary is an accurate account of a characteristic found in most people. The human condition allows for the faults of vanity, pride and prejudice. Austen presents these qualities as normal. She understands how they can arise and presents circumstances in the novel, which promote the development of these characteristics. "Pride relates more to the opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us-. (Pg.19) Pride, as in the case of Darcy, occurred because his family allowed him to follow his principles " in pride and conceit-. (Pg.310) He was taught to care and respect only his family and himself. Darcy had no vanity because he didn't care for other people's opinions. The eighteenth century promoted a prideful and prejudiced mentality. Pride and prejudice were the products of wealth, power, and influence. The lack thereof was labeled as inferior. Marriages in the eighteenth century were ones of convenience. They were more similar to business arrangements than the union of two inseparable souls.