The Importance of First Impressions in Pride and Prejudice

First impressions are undeniably important. The importance of first impressions is only increased in the novel Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, as social interactions in this novel are matters of heavy consequence, especially for women during this time. Unfortunately, first impressions do not always work in the favor of people during social interactions because many times they are judged before their personality is known, and as a result first impressions are not always accurate. Through Pride and Prejudice, Austen conveys the idea that first impressions, though undeniably important to aspects such as self-esteem, are also often incorrect due to the fact that they require assumptions to be made and as a result of putting meaning where none exists, societal interactions have the potential to be unjust.

The research of psychologists Raoul Bell, Laura Mieth, and Axel Buchner shows that “people are willing to form various social expectations based on facial appearance alone” (1). This means that people make assumptions about others that may or may not be true based on their first impressions. As a result of these assumptions, meaning is, unjustifiably, attached to first impressions, which gives them importance. Austen expresses the idea in her novel of the importance of first impressions not only for the obvious reason of marriage, but also for self esteem. A negative first impression can hurt the self esteem of a person, despite the fact that first impressions are inaccurate, because, as Bell, Mieth, and Buchner state, meaning is attached to first impressions. For example, Austen shows the importance of making a good first impression through the hurt Elizabeth feels after making a bad impression on Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy, upon seeing Elizabeth for the first time, says that she is not pretty enough for him (7). Elizabeth later expresses her feelings about his comment by saying “I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine” (12). By saying that her pride was “mortified” because she made a bad first impression and Mr. Darcy did not think she was beautiful enough for him,  Elizabeth shows that Mr. Darcy damaged her self-esteem. By showing the damage that first impressions can do on the feelings of a person, Austen conveys the idea that first-impressions are meaningful in our society.

Unfortunately, despite the meaning attached to them, first impressions are not accurate, and as a result people are attaching importance and meaning where they do not exist. This can be seen in the way that first impressions in Pride and Prejudice prove to be wrong as the characters spend more time with one another. For example, when Mr. Darcy first enters the ball, he “drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, [and] handsome features” and as a result he “was looked at with great admiration” (7). This quote shows that the people in attendance at the ball, upon seeing Mr. Darcy, form the opinion that he is a person deserving of “admiration” based on his physical appearance. Assumptions are made about his character based on the meaning that is attached to his looks. However, as the people begin to get to know Mr. Darcy more, their opinions of him change. His refusal to interact with anyone and his rudeness “turned the tide of his popularity” and the people begin to realize that their first impressions of him based on his appearance were wrong (7). Through this example, Austen shows the reader that first impressions, though meaning is attached to them, can prove to be false.

By showing the reader that meaning is attached to first impressions, and then going on to say that first impressions are wrong, Austen is critiquing the social practices of society by conveying the idea that we put meaning in places where it does not exist. Physical appearance, as shown in the ball incident with Mr. Darcy, is not an indicator of personality, and yet people use appearance as a way to judge and form opinions about one another. As a result, Austen is saying that the way we perceive each other in social situations is inaccurate and unjustifiable because we use assumptions to place meaning in places where it does not exist. By showing that first impressions, though important in our society, place meaning in the wrong places, Austen sends the message that social interactions in society are not always fair.

 

Works Cited

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. Print.

Bell, Raoul, Laura Mieth, and Axel Buchner. “Appearance-Based First Impressions and Person Memory.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory (2014): 1-18. PDF.