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.
She makes a good point. And makes me think about pride without vanity... is it ok? We're taught not to be proud, but in what context? So that others will think well of us? Or so that we do our best and recognize that it was our best? Shouldn't we be able to say, 'yes, I did the best I could and it was good' so that, when necessary, we can say, 'no, I did not do my best and it was not good'. Can we recognize a job well done without experiencing some type of pride in that job well not? Not a vain pride, but an acknowledgement of what good was done now so that we can repeat it in the future?
I have no concrete answers. But you know it's a good quote when it makes you think.
(written for the a-z blog challenge)
They say that pride goeth before a fall--maybe they meant to say vanity?
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I agree with Austen's statement about vanity, but maybe the word in her day was defined a little differently.