Many, if not all, of the characters in Pride and Prejudice judge each other on their first impressions. As the title of the book suggests, this often goes hand in hand with pride.

Elizabeth is particularly subject to prejudice. She judges both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham on their first impressions; Mr. Darcy appears to be elitist and snobby, and Mr. Wickham appears to be trustworthy.

It becomes difficult for Elizabeth to overcome her judgements. When Mr. Darcy attempts to explain himself in a letter, Elizabeth is stubborn about her previous judgement of him; "With a strong prejudice against everything he might say, she began his account of what had happened at Netherfield".

When Elizabeth finally learns that she was wrong, she feels horrible about her prejudice; "She grew absolutely ashamed of herself. Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think without feeling she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd".