In Pride and Prejudice, first impressions, illusions and subjective opinions give way to attachment, balance, reasonableness and, more painfully to humiliating reassessments.

Elizabeth's association with Mr. Wickham reveals the depth of her prejudice and her blindness to this flaw. Remaining confident in her ability as a shrewd judge of character, Elizabeth quickly forms a favorable opinion of the charming and handsome Mr. Wickham. However, Elizabeth's pride is so strong that she cannot see how much her attraction to this handsome stranger has shaped her initial assessment of him. Additionally, while Elizabeth often criticizes other women for their silliness, she proves to be prone to superficial behavior as well; she spends extra time primping for the Netherfield ball because she expects to see Wickham there.

Wickham inadvertently inflates Elizabeth's pride by corroborating her opinion of Darcy. She easily believes Wickham's description of Darcy's sinister, petty nature because it confirms her first impression of him and because she is attracted to Wickham. However, from an objective standpoint, Wickham's behavior proves him to be less than trustworthy. For one, Wickham brings up the subject of Darcy but then claims he does not want to speak out of turn about Darcy, allegedly out of respect for the latter's father. However, he soon confesses a lot of unsolicited information to Elizabeth, whom he has just met. Later in the novel, Elizabeth remembers this scene and recognizes all of Wickham's inconsistencies in retrospect. She realizes that she believed him because she wanted to.