Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice has been on my mind lately. Maybe it’s because I was watching one of the Bridget Jones movies the other day. Austen’s novel is said to have provided some of the inspiration for Helen Fielding’s books and movies. Colin Firth is quite dapper as Mark Darcy, but that’s a topic for some other day.

The depth of Jane Austen’s story always impresses me, especially with regards to the relationships between the characters. The interactions between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy become richer and so much more intriguing when you start to understand their motivations and the internal and external factors that contribute to their personalities and actions. The story has been analyzed and retold countless times, yet the themes of honor, family, societal expectations, and, of course, pride and prejudice still seem applicable today.

With all that being said, I was thinking about the lies the characters tell themselves throughout the book. Although she’s often unrefined and loud, Mrs. Bennett tells herself that she is just as classy as a woman of high society. Dull and awkward Mr. Collins tells himself that he is quite the catch for an eligible young lady. Meanwhile, Jane Bennett is graceful, friendly, and intelligent, yet she tells herself that she is not good enough for Mr. Bingley. It would seem that the ordinary, level-headed, and somewhat minor character of Charlotte Lucas is perhaps the most honest with her situation in life and with herself. She provides some balance to the story.

Then I got to thinking about the various lies we tell ourselves. The lies can be rather innocent, particular, or a means of self-protection. Just like in Pride and Prejudice, love can be a very strong influencing factor to the lies we tell ourselves.

• I’m only going to have one bite of this cake.
• Placing work before family or self is how you get ahead.
• She’s not texting me because she’s really busy with work.
• I look good in this hat.
• I’ll do it tomorrow.
• I’m fine, nothing’s wrong.
• It was on sale, so it wasn’t that much of a splurge.
• I look fat.
• I’m not an expert in that, but how hard could it be?
• He will change.
• Going on that trampoline at my age sounds like a great idea.
• On the other hand, I’m too old for…
• If I had more time, I would…

A few of these lies are ones that I’ve told myself. I’m a procrastinator, so the one about doing things tomorrow is a lie that I tell myself probably too often. I guess part of having moxie means looking at oneself and life with fairness and honesty, which is not always easy when our family and friends tell us one thing, the media tells us something else, and our heart tells us something entirely different.

If you’re willing to sharing them, I would love to hear about the lies you tell yourself. Leave a comment below. And if you are someone who is rather honest with yourself, then I applaud you for that! 🙂

As always, thanks for stopping by. ❤