self-reflection with Elizabeth Bennett

As someone who has read this novel more than once, it was only on this recent reading this past month that this sentence reached out and emblazoned itself on my mind. 

How earnestly did she then wish her former opinions had been more reasonable, her expressions more moderate! ~Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

"her former opinions had been more reasonable"
No one can know the particulars about every situation they encounter and so we are given instruction in places like Proverbs on how to reason through matters. 

Proverbs 18:17 (ESV)
The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

Listening to the first person to present the particulars of a situation and expressing full faith in their narrative is folly and yet while I know the adage, it can be so hard to remember in the moment and hold back from issuing an opinion.

"her expressions more moderate"
Using superlatives in assessing a relatively new situation or new person in your acquaintance is often the mark of childhood. 

In Elizabeth Bennett's case, she listened to a new acquaintance and believed everything he told her about someone she already didn't like. It was indeed a hearty helping of confirmation bias which usually comes from listening to hearsay.

As I thought about this more, it occurred to me that because she was a young woman eligible for marriage, some parental wisdom could have instructed her how to treat men who brag to women about their victimhood. Something like, be suspicious about men who show off their victimhood without dignity. Wickham passed around his victimhood for all the women to admire and pity.  But Elizabeth and her sisters were not trained to listen carefully and consider the source critically: why is this information being made known by this person? What motives could they have?
And by Darcy staying silent but still interacting with the social calendar and manners, he allowed a lie to take hold when a few words to Wickham could have prevented him from gaining any sympathizers.
At the root of all of this story, is the utter neglect of both parents in helping their daughters grow out of weaknesses in their character. Foolish parents are a curse to their children.
It also contributes to my ongoing thinking of good hedges that girls and young women need around them to both protect them and free them from unwanted attention from men and women who may try to exploit and manipulate them.