Question

Read the excerpt from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

They were in fact very fine ladies; not deficient in good humour when they were pleased, nor in the power of making themselves agreeable when they chose it, but proud and conceited. They were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought, and of associating with people of rank, and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others.

Which detail shows how the economic setting affects characterization?

“They were in fact very fine ladies”
“not deficient in good humour when they were pleased”
“They were rather handsome”
“entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others”

Answer 1

“entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others”

This line directly links their wealth/status to their attitude — their economic position gives them a sense of entitlement and superiority.