Peccati capitali

II. HAUGHTINESS AND

JANE AUSTEN’S

“PRIDE & PREJUDICE”

HAUGHTINESS OR PROUD

Feeling that you are better and more important than other people.

“Pride is a very common failing I believe. By all that I ever read,

I am convinced that is very common indeed, that human

nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us

who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency

on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary.

Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously.

A person may be proud without being vain.

Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what

we would have others think of us”

 

Lady Lucas, from “Pride and Prejudice”

J A ’

FRAGMENTS OF ANE USTEN S LIFE

Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon, near Basingstoke, the

seventh child of the rector of the parish. She had a quite short life and an uneventful life.

She was born in a small village in the south west of England. She had a very close circle

of relationship, only her family. She was educated at home by her father, and she

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showed an early interest in literature. All her novels were published anonymously and

some were published posthumous. Jane Austen was famous in her own time among

intellectuals. Scott was one of the first to realize her greatness. She wasn’t a romantic

writer, despite the period chronologically belongs to the romantic age.

Her works were published only after much revision, four novels being published in her

Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park Emma.

lifetime. These are and

Northanger Abbey Persuasion,

Two other novels, and were published posthumously in

1818. ’

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE S PLOT

The story takes place in the 19 century in the English province. The quiet life of a

th

village it upset by Mr. Byngley’s and his family’s arrival. He is a rich man from London.

The Bennet family receive him like a good friend especially Mrs. Bennet who’d like one of

her five daughters to get married with him. During a ball Jane, the oldest of the five

sister, knows Mr. Byngley and everybody says that they are a beautiful couple. On the

contrary Elizabeth Bennet is hurt by Mr. Darcy’s conceited behaviour. One day Jane goes

and sees Mr. Byngley’s family but she falls ill and she must remain there. Elizabeth, who

loves her sister very much, goes to help her. When they came back home, they know

some army officers, among which Mr. Wickham who seems very nice. Elizabeth talks

with him and is told that he was Mr. Darcy’s childhood friend. Wickham tells her also

that Mr. Darcy was a very proud boy and that when his father died he did not respect his

intention to provide for his protégée. Meanwhile Elizabeth, goes to Rosings to visit

Charlotte. There she knows Lady Catherine De Bourgh, a very proud lady and Mr.

Darcy’s aunt. In fact Darcy arrived at Rosing with his cousin Mr. Fitzwilliam, who tells

Elizabeth that Darcy was the instrument of the separation between Jane and Bingley.

After a few days Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, telling her at the same time how upset he

is because she is only a member of the middle-class and so much of a lower social

position Elizabeth is offended, furious and she refuses him harshly, accusing him of

awing destroyed Jane and Mr. Wickham’ s happiness. On the day after Darcy gives her

letter in which he explains his position and asks for pardon. Elizabeth must go home but

she is too upset to tell Jane her story. After another few weeks Elizabeth goes with her

uncle’s family to Northern England and visits Darcy’s house, thinking that he is not at

home. But he is. He show himself very nice to her uncle and aunt. Elizabeth is very

surprised. They talk about their previsions meeting and both Elizabeth and Darcy admit

that they were wrong and too proud. Meanwhile Mr. Coardiner receives a letter in which

Mr. Bennet explains that Lydia has escaped with Wickham. Elizabeth is very worried

because she knows from Darcy that Wickham is not an honest man, so she comes back

home with her uncle while Darcy goes to London in secret, finds the fugitives and

convinces Wickham to marry Lydia. Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bennet go to London, too and

after some weeks they find Lydia and Wickham when everything is already settled. The

couple is welcome by Mrs. Bennet, but Jane and Elizabeth, who know the truth, are not

so kind with them. Lydia tells, Elizabeth that she saw Darcy in London, so Elizabeth

writes to Mrs. Gardiner to ask her for some explanation. She gets the answer that Darcy

settled everything on his own account only for some sake. She meets him at long bourn.

In fact he came back with Bingley because he wants his friend to marry Jane. Elizabeth

thanks him. They talk a long time and understand that they are in love Jane and Bingley

are in love, too, so all can marry. ~ 8 ~

MAIN CHARACTERS

 Elizabeth Bennet

Elizabeth Bennet is one of the daughters and she is favourite one of his father, because

she has something more of quickness than her silly and ignorant sisters. Elizabeth

receives from Darcy the proposal to become his wife. She doesn’t accept it, because she

is proud and doesn’t admit that Darcy considers her inferior in front of him. Elizabeth

was not very rich so it was very courageous of her to refuse Mr Darcy. It was a risky

behaviour to refuse such a rich man, because it was unlikely that another man would

like to marry her without her. She proves to be a very independent girl. Elizabeth Bennet

is an example of round character, whose personality is modified by experience. Then she

realises she has been prejudiced and partial towards Mr Darcy, so she is not the same

girl of first chapters of the novel, she is a new woman. Now she is capable of self-analysis

and even self-accusation. She concludes saying: “Till this moment, I never knew myself!”.

 Fitzwilliam Darcy

His manners are proud and his speech measured and formal. He is a cultured man. The

vulgarity of the Bennet family soon offends him but Elizabeth attracts him against his

will.

Behind his reserve and fastidiousness there are genuine qualities:

 he is generous to his servants, his tenants;

 he is affectionate to his sister;

 he knows the meaning of discretion.

He is a good man who has been made stiff and proud by his upbringing.

Darcy, as a lover, is deeply in love, but shy and embarrassed. He finds difficult to

speak about his deepest feelings and his manners make him unpopular.

Both Elizabeth and Darcy set out with an imperfect understanding of themselves and

each other.

She accuses him of pride and he accuses her of prejudice. They are humbled one by

the other:

 She learns from Darcy's letter that she has based her opinion of him on a unfounded

prejudice (all that Wickham told her had been wrong) so she realises her error and

she is humbled by Darcy. Also when she learns of what Darcy has done for Lydia she

is humbled, she recognises his generosity .

 He realises that his pride had made him certain of her accepting his marriage

proposal.

The novel involves both characters in a journey towards self-awareness and self-

knowledge. They change throughout the novel, they evolve and become aware of their

real feelings.

SECONDARY CHARACTERS

 Jane Bennet

Jane is the eldest and most beautiful of the Bennet sisters. She never thinks ill of

anybody, and has, in addition to her warm sympathetic feelings, an outward composure

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and easy manner. She suffers patiently and she is a nice person but her judgement is

faulty: she takes a long time to see Miss Bingley's hypocrisy, she is no more able to see

what Wickham is really like, she refuses to believe that he could live with Lydia without

marrying her, and still imagine their marriage may be a happy one. Jane remains the

same throughout the novel.

 Charles Bingley

He is no snob, like his sisters, but gentleman-like and prepared to fit in with most

people. In the eyes of his female neighbours “he was quite young, wonderfully handsome,

extremely agreeable”. Unlike Darcy, he comes from the new gentry, the new rich – those

who have made money in trade and risen socially. He is, however, a little too easily

influenced by the others; he allows others to separate Jane and himself. But once Darcy

removes his objection, Bingley proposes to Jane without the slow caution of his friend.

 Mr. and Mrs. Bennet

He is an intelligent man, a gentleman by birth; but having made an unwise marriage

with a woman of low intelligence, he retreats into his library. He takes pleasure in

ridiculing his wife and his daughters .With no one to understand him, except Elizabeth,

he lives apart and he fails to discipline his younger daughters, allowing their mother to

encourage their ignorance and vanity. Mr. Bennet often makes penetrating remarks, and

is the source of much of Jane Austen's irony. He is a character who does not change by

the end of the novel. However, he gains happiness through Elizabeth's marriage, as after

it he often visits Pemberley: he and his daughter are much alike in their wit, humour and

intelligence. Mrs. Bennet is the chief comic character: we enjoy and laugh at her

ridiculous character. She was a woman “of mean understanding, little information and

uncertain temper”. The business of her life was to get her daughters married. Her

schemes to marry off her daughters are carried out with exaggeration and no subtlety.

When things go wrong, she becomes irritable and complains of her nerves. She often

change of face, particularly with Darcy; from being “disagreeable” and “hateful”, he is

suddenly “charming” when he becomes engaged to Elizabeth. She is materialistic and

she is a rich object of Jane Austen's satire and comedy.

THEMES

 Love and marriage

The main theme in Austen's novels is love and marriage, the choice people make for

marriage partners, especially the difficulties two people have to overcome before they

marry. Elizabeth and Darcy have to understand and overcome their own pride and

prejudice before becoming suitable marriage partners. For Darcy is proud and will not

demean himself and Elizabeth is too hasty in her judgement and liable to be taken in by

appearances. Even though his pride is greatly offended by her social standing, Darcy

proposes marriage to Elizabeth ( but he has yet to humble himself ) but he is sure that

Elizabeth will accept him because he is superior. Darcy is only seen through Elizabeth's

eyes and those old society, only at the end we learn what his feelings were in the story.

Then, the events which occur in the novel eventually help them to realise their mistakes

and to esteem each other's character. Thus, their marriage is founded on affection and

understanding and is not a result of an immediate blind impulse.

 Pride: Pride because both Elizabeth and Darcy are proud of their own position.

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 Prejudice: Prejudice because Darcy considers Elizabeth and especially her relatives

as inferior. Also Elizabeth is prejudiced towards Darcy because she thinks ill of him

on false bases.

III. L’IRA E L’ERUZIONE DEL

VESUVIO

’

L IRA

Secondo la morale cattolica è uno dei sette vizi capitali; anticamente era considerata una

demenza parziale, ora è descritta come emozione violenta e rabbiosa che si manifesta con

atti e parole di aggressiva veemenza. Per i cattolici esisteva “l’ira di Dio”, ossia la giustizia

punitiva di Dio con il castigo divino. Ma possiamo anche trattare l’ira in ambito naturale,

cioè come impetuosità, furia e violenza scatenata dagli elementi naturali.

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“Un'ira smisurata sfocia nella follia,

perciò evita l'ira, per conservare non solo il dominio di te,

ma la tua stessa salute”  

Lucio Anneo Seneca

MECCANISMO ERUTTIVO

La composizione chimica del magma influisce sul meccanismo eruttivo e sull’edificio

vulcanico. Il magma in risalita all’interno della crosta forma delle strutture

caratteristiche simili a grosse “gocce”, con la radice rivolta verso il basso, che prendono il

nome di diapiri. I diapiri si introducono sfruttando fratture già esistenti o deformando,