"Pride," observed Mary, who piqued herself upon the solidity of her reflections, "is a very common failing I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it 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." (p. 21)
Mary had neither genius nor taste; and though vanity had given her application, it had given her likewise a pedantic air and conceited manner, which would have injured a higher degree of excellence than she had reached. (p. 25)
Austen seems very coy in revealing the personalities of her characters, specifically through comparing the content of her dialogue and her narration, i.e. the voice of her characters and her voice. The above quotes reveal direct opposite personalities of Mary Bennet - the first being a statement of Mary's and the second being a statement of the author's. My high opinion of Mary formed from her moving speech was starkly contrasted by Austen's disapproving description a few pages further. Returning to Mary's quote, I noticed Austen reveals a little of this opinion in describing how Mary "piqued," or "prided" herself upon "the solidity of her reflections." Nevertheless, I still wonder how truthfully and comprehensively Austen describes her characters, and how much she expects readers to discover by themselves. I tend to think it more of the latter, especially with Elizabeth and Darcy, and it appears to force the reader's participation in one of the novel's themes: deducing true character from appearance, words, and actions.
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