“There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil, a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome.”
-Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pride and Prejudice pg. 49 The human race is flawed, it has a fault: evil. Evil is sin, immorality or wickedness and it is a part of human nature. Even the nicest person has some dark desires lurking underneath their smile, because everyone has “a natural defect,” whether it is a “propensity to hate everybody” or to “willfully misunderstand them.” Some are blinded by their flaws and do not realize how much sin they carry. Jane Austen brings this to light through her novel, Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy are very similar characters whom Austen uses to convey how pride and prejudice hinder humanity. Both characters are smart, intelligent and have the same shortcomings: pride and prejudice, these are their “particular evil”. Their pride clouds their perception and hampers their relationship. Mr. Darcy is always so sure and confident in himself because of his wealth, high class and education that he withdraws himself from others who he views as inferior. He does not realize how haughty he appears to be and this is his undoing. Whereas Elizabeth “prides [herself] on her discernment” and creates judgments upon first acquaintance, she carries these judgements with her and they become more solid as time passes. “The more [she] sees of the world, the more [she is] dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms [her] belief of the inconsistency of all human characters.” Only when her prejudices are proved to be wrong does she begin to question her perception.
The short comings of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy are one type of evil within the world; Jane Austen uses other characters to embody other evils. Mr. Bennet personifies laziness and apathy, Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine de Bough exemplify pretention and self-righteousness, Lydia Bennet symbolizes self-centeredness and self-indulgence. However there are two characters Jane Austen uses to counteract all the defects and egotism emanated from other characters: Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley. These two are both good natured and ready to think the best of others, their disposition is “angelic,” almost otherworldly. Jane’s sweetness serves as a character foil to her sister, Elizabeth’s quarrelsome nature and Bingley’s friendly