P&P Essay

Stephen Simmons
AP English 11/Mr. George
12/6/09
Rough draft
Cause vs. Effect
A first impression is the initial conclusion that is drawn about someone after meeting them for the first time. First impressions have a great deal of importance in the society we live in, as well as the society reflected upon by Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice. Often, in a relationship, one uses their judgment and the first impression they form to decide whether or not they will continue seeing the other person. The book Pride and Prejudice is one that beholds a multitude of prejudice between the characters promoted because of their first impressions. Although it seems rather reasonable, judging someone based on a single meeting or conversation is immoral and inaccurate, as we learn in the novel. Often, those who are quick to judge are quick to fall, just like Elizabeth, whose false assumptions lead to heartbreak and disappointment. However, not everyone is quick to judge, and those who would rather spend more time with someone to get to know them will be less disappointed and will find their analysis more accurate. Unfortunately, society during those times was very uneventful and people did what they do best: judge, flirt, and hope for a happy ending. The novel’s original title was, in fact, First Impressions. First Impressions is a better title for Pride and Prejudice because, though pride and prejudice play a major role in the text, first impressions play a far more integral role as the connecting force between characters and the cause of feelings such as pride and prejudice.
There are multiple instances in the novel where someone’s first impressions of another blinded them from that person’s true character. When Mr. Darcy is first introduced into the novel at the ball at Meryton the ladies in the room are very astonished. He is handsome, wealthy, and well presented. However, there was also a negative air about Mr. Darcy—his pride: "The ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud"(Austen 6). The majority of women felt mutual feelings about Mr. Darcy, but did not take the time to meet him. As one learns later in the novel, Mr. Darcy is far from proud. He is a caring individual whose high stance in the class system plays him like a puppet. While he desires to be with Elizabeth, he is forced to abide by the customs of the higher classes. The majority of Darcy’s acquaintances judge him, but not to the extremity of Elizabeth.
Without meeting and acquainting herself with him, Elizabeth labels Darcy as a rude, wealthy and proud figure. Although some of his first words read in the novel were very disrespectful, people often say things that they do not mean or do so to fit in with their peers. When Darcy says that Elizabeth is, "tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me[Darcy]"(8), he is merely expressing what his position allows him to express. Elizabeth, offended, judges Darcy based on one instance and follows through with her accusations about him until they are disproved later in the novel. Elizabeth rejects Darcy because of her first impression of him, as well as his first impression of her sister.
At the ball at Meryton, Darcy spent the majority of the time observing Elizabeth’s sister, Jane. He concluded that Jane was a very zealous person, but not towards Bingley. "'Her [Jane's] look and manners were open, cheerful and engaging as ever, but without any symptom of peculiar regard, and I remained convinced from the evening's scrutiny, that though she received his attentions with pleasure, she did not invite them by any particular sentiment'" (151). Knowing his friend very well, Darcy thought that Bingley cared much more for Jane than Jane did for Bingley, and as a result of this, Darcy broke them up because of his initial impression of Jane. Further along in the novel, Darcy proposes to Elizabeth. This is a moment in the novel where the true power of first impressions is revealed.
Elizabeth’s initial impressions of Darcy have held strong until this moment, and with great vigor. She still believes that he is too proud, wealthy, and a snob who mistreated a man that she loved very much under false pretenses: Mr. Wickham. Elizabeth refused to let go of her first negative impression of Darcy, and when Darcy proposes to her for the first time, she releases her anger in one heartless rejection: 'Long before it had taken place, my opinion of you was decided. Your character was unfolded in the recital which I received many months ago from Mr. Wickham'" (147).Over all of this time, she still holds onto her first impression because she is prejudiced and wants Darcy to fit the classist character that she has molded for him.
Another instance in which Elizabeth’s first impression was false was with Mr. Wickham. When meeting him, she thought that he was a very handsome, well-mannered man. Although this was not entirely false, Elizabeth did not see the true evil behind Wickham. After spending more time with Wickham, Elizabeth grew closer and closer to him to the point of idolizing him: "‘His guilt and his descent appear by your account to be the same…for I have heard you accuse him of nothing worse than of being the son of Mr. Darcy’s steward, and of that, I can assure you, he informed me himself’" (72). Here, when Caroline tries to warn Elizabeth against Wickham, Elizabeth snaps at her. Due to her first impression of him, she did not want to believe anything else but what she initially thought about him. Not only that, but she already despises Caroline. When Darcy tried to explain Wickham’s situation, Elizabeth refused to believe it until later on in the text.
An interesting characteristic of Elizabeth and many other people in the novel is that they attempt to construct a mold based on their first impressions of people and strive to make them fit that mold, rejecting anything that disproves it. With Darcy, Elizabeth strived to make him that wealthy snob who she thought that he was in the first place. With Wickham, Elizabeth attempted to make Wickham the handsome and well-mannered person that she had initially met. When Darcy tried to explain that Wickham was not what she had imagined, she refuted him and sided with Wickham. The first impressions people in society have are often false; they promote prejudice and pride and make people do bad things. They are like cookie cutters in the sense that once someone has made their first judgment about someone, they craft that person in their mind into what they had initially thought. Once they make their cut, there is no way to change the shape of the cookie, or in this case, the character of the judged. People who initially think well of others will always try to make themselves believe that those people are good. If they are thought bad, they try to constitute negativity with the other people. First impressions dictate our emotions and cause us to be either rational or irrational.
First Impressions should be the title of the novel because the first impressions of every character create pride and prejudice in the characters, not the other way around. Pride and prejudice are the emotions that arise based on the first impression of someone. Naming the book Pride and Prejudice is much like a book where the characters cause everything called "Effects". Elizabeth’s first impression of Darcy caused her to be prejudiced towards those in the upper class, especially Darcy. In opposition to this, Lady Catherine’s first impression of Elizabeth and her family cause her to be prejudiced towards them and ultimately proud. The first impression is the starting point from whence all else follows. Prejudice and pride spring up from judgment and dictate the mood of the novel.
If Elizabeth never judged Darcy and caused a plethora of turmoil between them, their bond would not be as strong as it was at the end of the novel. After all, people learn best from experience, and without first acquaintances, experience does not exist. In addition to this, everyone has to meet someone for the first time; it would be virtually impossible for someone not too. It is human nature to judge someone the first time we meet them, and based on that judgment we unconsciously decide how we are going to act toward that person. In Elizabeth’s case, she chose to be prejudiced towards Darcy based on what she first thought. Her first impression was the springboard that initiated her relationship with Darcy. Because she thought him proud and conceited for so long, finding out he was not emphasized his true character and deepened her feelings for him. Without the concept of first impressions, the novel would simply be a plain old love story. Everything would be expected and nothing would be original. Because every character has a first impression that they find is false, the story is more intriguing, and essentially, it is what the entire book is about: a first impression of someone you thought acted one way, but in the end, they surprise you.


Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. United States: Oxford University, 1990