Filippos Rempoutzakos

REL 373
Dr. C.J. Dickson
03/10/14
Pride in Envy
In modern media, Envy is perhaps the most prominently displayed vice. It is shown when
to lead to jealousy, hatred, detachment or insanity. While it is very prolific in todays culture, the
modern view of envy and its meaning as a deadly vice are two very different things. Envy stems
from pride, always and without fail, in every one of its three facets. To substantiate this, I will
first explore what pride means in this particular setting, then give a detailed explanation for the
similar elements of envy, then each different type of envy, and substantiate the connection to
pride through the use of examples.
For this paper, it is imperative that a definition for pride is given, as it is the crux of the
paper to connect it to envy and show that Pride is rooted in every aspect of envy. The true
meaning of pride, for this paper, is the desire to be the greatest, or the most eminent. The goal
is to become the pinnacle of something, even in the face of divine territory, and achieve greatness
through, or perhaps for, superiority1. This means that pride is based primarily on personal selfimage, not others perception (which is Vainglory). With a definition such as this, the ties to envy
become more easily understood; Envy is a complex vice that entails many different components,
but all of them linked to the desire for something. In that sense, Pride is truly Envys root, as this
prideful desire for greatness may seek outlets if unfulfilled or threatened.
Envy can be classified as three different incarnations, as stated above. The list is as such:
Envy, Covetousness, and Jealousy. They all share some common elements, which can be simply
listed as love, pride and power. Each of those has its own meaning that needs to be delved into
1 Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly
Sins and Their Remedies (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazor, 2009). 62

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for two reason: to show how the three types of envy are connected and to highlight the existence
and importance of Pride as a common element, even amongst love and power.
Love, in this instance, pertains to love for oneself and what makes up this self. For envy,
this means that love for yourself is deeply personal and highlights what one has that relates to
how much he loves himself. The envious person and the one that covets both feel that they are
missing something to be complete that someone else has2; something without which they cannot
love and that promotes self-loathing. Jealousy also finds common ground on love, in that there is
something so beloved by the individual that the ability to perceive threats to it has been amplified
to illusionary levels. With the above taken into consideration, it becomes apparent that Pride is
instrumental in this context of love, and therefore envy. After all, without love for something
dear to ones self, jealousy, envy and covetousness cannot exist.
Pride has already been touched upon earlier, but this related to how it is connected to all
three forms of envy. As mentioned above, love is a key agent in the formation and preservation
of envy, covetousness and jealousy. However this love is then twisted and warped due to the
search for superiority and greatness. Sadly, in all three cases pride fails to establish supreme
status and as such rebounds on the person, twisting and devolving his perceptions and desires.
Power is brought up in DeYoungs discussion of Envy. Though linked to Pride, it is also a
large enough component of all three that it merits its own mention. According to DeYoung,
inferiority is essential to envy3. The lack of power in the situation occurs from a loss of Pride
and an overwhelming feeling of helplessness due to it, leaving one powerless. Power for this
person comes from giving in to envy, jealousy and covetousness, where through their indulgence
2 DeYoung, Glittering Vices, 43
3 DeYoung, Glittering Vices, 47
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and use power is restored to him. All three require power and its pursuit to come into effect and
influence the person.
From overarching, let us delve into specifics. Envy is the first and prime facet of the
vice. We are envious of someone because he has something we dont; something we wished we
had, or something we thought we had but are now proven otherwise. This shows a connection to
Pride as defined above; the envious person is NOT the top of the mountain. Going a step
further, the envious desire this object not concurrently as the other person, but instead of him4. To
the envious, who feels love towards this object or trait, who connected it to his own self-worth
and search for greatness and fulfillment, to have someone else intrude upon it and claim it as
their own is insufferable. This can connect to pride, that something being excellence, or to
something concrete. The difference between envy and jealousy is that the envious measure up to
others; it is important that they are superior when compared to5. To the envious, to excel is a
two-term relation implying a relational ranking: I excel you 6. It is not about possession of
something, but about the meaning that this control over it signifies. The envious feel powerful
when they have proven themselves above the other, and have taken the importance from that
person and added it to their own. Thus, the powerless envious will mostly try to undermine the
opposition, to take it from others even if they lose it themselves. Their pride demands that they
have power over what they love.
A perfect example of envy is the film Amadeus. DeYoung heavily references it, and with
good reason. The tale of envious Salieri, who in his quest for retribution for his imagined
4 DeYoung, Glittering Vices, 43
5 DeYoung, Glittering Vices, 44
6 DeYoung, Glittering Vices, 45
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injustice drives Mozart to an early death so that he may feel more powerful. Salieri has nothing
concrete to gain, no skill or ability to acquire by killing Mozart. His entire plan hinges on being
perceived as better than him, which he is. He is favored by the emperor, is much more successful
in his endeavors and is an accomplished musician even by his own account. Yet, he knows for
himself that he is inferior, and this must not be allowed. His pride cannot bear that he is secondbest. He is compelled by his love of music to attack Mozarts superior technique. He has power
over every aspect of music in Vienna other than talent; and it drives him to ever-increasing
desperation to grasp it. Pride is truly the source of envy in this example.
Covetousness is another form of Envy which is deeply rooted in pride. At first it would
seem this is not the case. Of course there are traces of pride in desiring something, but given the
concrete nature of covetousness it could easily be placed under Greed. The reason it isnt is
because covetousness stems from pride; you must have what the other person has, not because
you want to cause him suffering, but because you need it to be fulfilled and rise above the others.
While similar to the main type of envy described above, covetousness distinguishes itself
through its lack of emphasis on love, though that is still a determining factor, in favor of direct
evidence. It doesnt matter if the other person can do something better than you, it only matters
what that person does to show it. A new car must be beaten, a new style overshadowed. Compare
this to Salieri from Amadeus; if Salieri had been covetous instead of envious, he would have
desired Mozarts wife and son perhaps, but not his music talent. The covetous person loves what
others have, and wants them for himself at the others expense; unlike envy, it is imperative that
he get his object of desire7. To the covetous, power appears when he is appeasing his pride,

7 DeYoung, Glittering Vices, 43

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becoming greater than other people through material possession, and being viewed as superior
for them.
A good example of covetousness in film is 8 Mile. The story concerns a white male from
a slum who is trying to rise up the social ladder. His efforts to distinguish himself involve a
venue where he tries to rap in order to become famous. The film sets the ambition towards
coveting very quickly; he is not envious of others skills, he is envious of what they have that he
doesnt. Their own apartments, good cars that arent old and faulty, jobs that he wishes he could
get, and what he feels he should be superior to them in. He covets what the people who have
gotten out of the ghetto have gotten. His disdain to the opposite faction in the city shows he feels
superior, he just cant prove it through material possessions. Though never directly related to a
person, his desires are deeply covetous in nature. He is ashamed of his housing and
transportation, and finds power in trying to overcome them. The film ends only after the main
character, Jimmy, has accepted that he cannot be governed by covetousness forever, turning
down the allure of dreams and promises that have motivated him throughout the film. He gives
up chasing his dreams and the superiority they promise in favor of a different foundation for his
actions8; not comparative but personal.
Jealousy is the final aspect of Envy that needs to be addressed. Jealousy is the desire to
keep something that you love safe and to yourself; it has been linked to your self-worth and selflove thus is mustnt be taken away from you. It is the least prideful of the three, mainly due to
love having a greater part in it. Despite this, Pride is a fundamental root of Jealousy; it is the
feeling that the object you love so deeply is instrumental in your greatness and supremacy that

8 DeYoung notes something similar to this when talking about how to eliminate
envy in page 53
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leads to fear for it and the need for control9. We feel jealous because our pride cannot deal with
the powerlessness we feel encroaches upon us. Power is once again a factor reliant on pride but
different; in jealousness, power comes from knowing the focal point of jealousy is safe and
unimpeachable.
An example of jealousy can be found in the play The Father by August Strindberg. In the
play, a wife, envious of her husbands control over the household and her husbands choice of
education for her daughter, tries to remedy her situation through manipulating the father and
making him uncertain and jealous. This is done by insinuating that the titular father, Adolph, is
not the birth parent. The protagonist goes through a crisis of self-worth, how his control over the
house which at first seemed so sure is now falling apart, and how his precious daughter is being
(figuratively) taken away from him. He becomes jealous of his wife for her certainty of
parenthood and her affinity for manipulation, and jealous of his old self for having control.
Adolph is jealous because he took pride in knowing he had the greatest power in the household, a
power that is now threatened and taken away, and over his daughters education, which is
similarly threatened. In his jealousy he finds power in anger, in trying to defend through physical
means what he loves. This proves to be his downfall, as he is declared insane and dies shortly
thereafter. This play shows the immediacy of jealousness, its incentive and prideful roots. Laura
(the wife) only hints at the possibility and Adolph is certain it is true; his pride cannot stand even
a passing challenge and that is why he feels compelled to be defensive.
Throughout this paper Pride has been extensively linked to Envy and its three faces,
however there are arguments to be made against this connection. One such argument is that envy
cannot be reliant on pride when by default the position of the envious is assorted as lower than
9 DeYoung, Glittering Vices, 44
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the others. The answer to this one is that while pride is the attempt and desire to excel, we are all
too aware of the reality being different when that is the case; Salieri knew he was inferior to
Mozarts skill, Jimmy was aware he is lacking his own house and affluence, Adolph is protective
because he doesnt have complete control over his house. This argument fails because pride is
not generally conceived as the definition given for this paper early on. Another argument is that
Greed should be included in the roots of Envy just as Pride was. While it is true that Greed,
meaning the uncontrollable desire for everything, unshackled and unrestrained, could connect
with Pride to form certain parts of Envy, Envy is separate due to its personal and competitive,
combative nature. Envious, covetous and jealous people dont want something just as good as
anothers, they want something better than what others have, or unique to themselves.
Through this paper, I have tried to show that Pride is the root of Greed. It is a foundation
of all three aspects of Envy, cannot be separated from it without greatly lessening or entirely
dissolving the problems of enviousness, covetousness or jealousy. Interconnected, basic and
irreplaceable to and with everything that Envy is, Pride is indeed the root of this vice.

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Works Cited
8 Mile. Directed by Curtis Hanson. 2002. Universal Pictures, 2003. DVD
Amadeus. Directed by Milos Forman. 1984. Orion Pictures, 1995. DVD
DeYoung, Rebecca Konyndyk. Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their
Remedies. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2009.

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