I'm sad for Lydia, flirty yet naive, spoiled by her mother, overshadowed by older sisters, ignored by her father. In the words of Cyndi Lauper "I wanna be the one to walk in the sun...Girls just wanna have fun." The new Mrs. Wickham's return to Longbourne is embarrassing to almost the whole family, but she is triumphant. As the only married sister, she even says to Jane, the oldest, "sister I take your place now." I fear at best poverty and neglect if not outright abuse are in her future.
Her mother is also triumphant. A daughter married. And at only 16! Mrs. Bennet pivots rapidly from taking to her room in nervous collapse to planning for Lydia's wedding clothes as though this was a normal marriage. I'm not sure if Austen wants me to sympathize with Mrs. Bennet or just cringe at her melodramatic and clueless responses. Living for years with a husband who has shut her out and ridicules her to her children can't have been easy.
And what of Mr. Bennet? He had run after Lydia in such a state of anger that his wife feared he would be killed in a duel. (Was he truly recklessly angry or is that Mrs. Bennet's perception based on her truest fear, that his death will result in Collins taking over Longbourne and throwing them all out?) After his unsuccessful search for Lydia, Mr. Bennet retreats to his study with an apparent "what's done is done" attitude. His sole response to his brother-in-law finding Lydia appears to be concern for this new indebtedness to him. He wants to know how much Mr. Gardiner had to pay Wickham to arrange the marriage and mulls how he can pay him back. (In truth he knows he will never repay the debt but needs to know how beholden he now is to his brother-in-law.) He rues that he has not saved more so that he could settle this debt and also to better support the futures of his wife and daughters, but then seems to shrug this off too. Even indolence seems too active a word for him. I think he is in the midst of a major depression that has seriously impacted his entire family.
Three sad lives.
Even without reading ahead I know there is a happier ending in store for Elizabeth. The big bombshell in these chapters is what Lydia lets slip - Darcy had attended her wedding! A letter in reply to Elizabeth's query to her aunt confirms it was actually DARCY who found Lydia and Wickham and it was DARCY who made the arrangements and DARCY who made the payments that assured a marriage took place. Her aunt and uncle assume he did this for Elizabeth. DARCY has also has apparently urged Bingley to return to wooing Jane. Thus he has shown he's all in, and has delivered to Lizzy his bouquet of roses, so to speak. We're ready for the big finish unless Austen has more obstacles in these last few chapters.
It's hard to pity Lydia very much because she's SO proud of herself and can't see that she did anything wrong at all despite all the trouble her family went through because of her actions. It's unfortunate, but I do somewhat think she and Wickham deserve each other.
I honestly don't believe that Lydia knows she did anything wrong. She got married as her mother always wanted and her family welcomed her. She's not reading the room, but she never has done that. I'm sure all the deal making was done by the men without her participation. Technically being chaperoned at these officer parties, she's basically been running wild with no real guidance.
Even a badly brought up girl at that time knew that running away and being alone with a man was the ultimate taboo. She would have known she was transgressing but due to lack of guidance she didn't have ability to act against her immediate desires. Young women now do similar but different things like experimenting with drugs. Some can come through like Lydia but for others it ends tragically. Without Darcy it would have such a different and worse outcome
I imagine that Lydia’s being “headstrong” will work to her advantage and she will take no nonsense from Wickham and hopefully live her life not too unhappily. One can dream 🥹
I love this reading of Lydia, Maryann. I found myself SO sympathetic to her this time around. (Maybe because of how much inner child work I've been doing in therapy, lol!) She feels like such a naive and silly girl--who is also teased so much by her own father and looked down on by her sisters. I always wonder what a few more years of maturity would've done for her attitude. The novel almost seems to present Caroline Bingley as a kind of cemented form of Lydia's burgeoning arrogance; while Jane Bennet is the kind of innocent goodness that cannot be corrupted by arrogance or a handsome militia man. I think Lydia is a "type" but I cannot figure out what her ultimate form would become: Mrs. Bennet? Is she doomed to repeat her mother's lack of self-awareness? Could she ever have learnt from Lizzy or Jane how to be more self aware (and self preserving)?
I hate to think that Lydia deserves Wickham, because he's obviously a lot older and has attempted to run this scheme multiple times; she's just the girl whose circumstances allow for it to run through all the way. Darcy seems to recognize this. He not only resolves the issue of the marriage scandal. He also sets *Lydia* up for financial comfort, even if it means Wickham will be okay, too. Talk about a lack of pride...
I didn't know they were re-releasing the movie, so please know I read your intro, gasped, immediately bought a ticket to my local theater, then came back and read the rest of this post. So excited to see it on a big screen!
I've read P&P many times throughout the years, but it hasn't been until recent years, at an older age, that I've been able to appreciate the depth of Elizabeth's and Darcy's growth, how they learn from each other and reflect on their own character and make real changes, becoming better people in the process. And I hadn't explicitly thought of the connection between Lydia Bennett and Georgiana Darcy. I really appreciate your analysis of this section!
Yay! It's so exciting that it's coming back to theaters!
I love the way we can grow with characters in stories as wonderful as this one. It's beautiful that you've been able to revisit their relationship over time and see how they, and you, are changed in the interim. Thank you so much for reading along!
I have an annotation in my copy about Mr. Bennet's comment about how he thinks Wickham would not take Lydia for a farthing less than ten thousand pounds - in essence, it seems that he exaggerated, perhaps in part because of how little he values Lydia as well as his understanding of how little Wickham must value her as well.
Ooooof. That's so spot on. I hadn't thought about it that way -- the exaggeration as a poke at Lydia. It almost could be read as: "you'd have to be crazy to marry a girl this annoying without 10k...,"? Am I reading that right? That is just.... so mean. Haha. Damn.
Yes, I'm certain that Wickham does not value Lydia much at all so certainly there would need to be quite a sweetener to make him go ahead. But I also think it's a case of Mr Wickham having the upper hand in the negotiation because the Bennets will pay nearly anything to rescue the reputations of their other girls. If Lydia goes down they all go down.
Another contrast I noticed in these chapters was that of time; the more fickle and passionate union between Lydia and Wickham forms surprisingly quickly. In contrast, Jane and Bingley’s relationship, which is more characterized by a similar temperament and understanding, takes more time to become realized. But most of all, at least we hope, Lizzy and Darcy coming together is long! This is likely due to their more striking differences, which Elizabeth later points out as a complementarity which would be to their advantage (though they still share many common values and traits). These contrasts seem to say, anything valuable takes time. And so I hope our patience will be rewarded…
A lot happens in these chapters - feels like we are galloping towards the end 🙁 I love Mrs Gardiners letter, especially the sign off about her children (so real). Also as well as Lydia & Mrs Bennet’s dramatics Lizzy is also quite dramatic with the despair during the two visits of Bingley & Darcy. Also doesn’t really bear thinking about the future for Lydia and Wickham classic marry in haste repent at leisure. I’m currently reading a book called Love & Marriage in the age of Jane Austen by Rory Muir which I recommend on real life (& fictional) relationships of the period.
Regarding the re-release of the 2005 movie. Could we get a final P&P post on what movie did well and what not. Maybe also in comparison to the 1995 mini series. I haven't seen both in a while, but from what I remember I would say, that the beginning is very faithful to book 1 and then it starts to shorten and simplify the story. I still think that it is a good adaptation, they manage to keep a lot of the character growth and the novel's theme of love and marriage. But I need to rewatch it ASAP though.
I would love to do that!! I am about halfway through the 1995 adaptation (it's only my second time watching it) and I am loving it so much! And, as I've mentioned, I've seen the 2005 version like a million times -- It's one of my comfort movies. I'll put some thoughts down :)
I found Mrs Bennet cold shouldering Mr Darcy so frustrating. Lizzie not letting on the details of the behind-the-scene machinations by Mr Darcy which alone managed to “persuade” Wickham, literally paying him off, to marry Lydia is beyond me!
Oh! I don’t want it to end. My favourite quote this week comes from chapter 10 when Lizzy considers, “For herself she was humbled; but she was proud of him (Darcy). Proud that in a cause of compassion and honour, he had been able to get the better of himself”. Darcy’s lesson complete. Now for the two of them to unite.
Mr and Mrs Gardiner do have children of their own and may have more. Mrs Bennet says that *if* they didn't exist, then all his money would come to her and her children. She is so self-absorbed it's almost funny.
When I first read P&P I was in high school (I'll be 49 next week) and during that reading I remember wanting to be Jane so very much. But this reading 30 some years later has me realizing that throughout my life I've been maddening mix of Lydia (enthusiastically and obliviously choosing the wrong men for the wrong reasons) and Mary ("Mary petitioned for the use of the library at Netherfield; and Kitty begged very hard for a few balls there every winter")
Hayley, I loved your question based on Keith Oatley's quote: "An important part of any love story is that to start with, one doesn't know much about the other person" and how Pride and Prejudice grapples with this premise.
I started to write about Lizzie and Darcy and then thought about how this question applies to so many of the relationships in this book. Fascinating! I expect to be happily down this rabbit hole for some time to come. Makes me reflect, too, of how little I knew about partners and friends before deep diving straight into relationships.
I'm sad for Lydia, flirty yet naive, spoiled by her mother, overshadowed by older sisters, ignored by her father. In the words of Cyndi Lauper "I wanna be the one to walk in the sun...Girls just wanna have fun." The new Mrs. Wickham's return to Longbourne is embarrassing to almost the whole family, but she is triumphant. As the only married sister, she even says to Jane, the oldest, "sister I take your place now." I fear at best poverty and neglect if not outright abuse are in her future.
Her mother is also triumphant. A daughter married. And at only 16! Mrs. Bennet pivots rapidly from taking to her room in nervous collapse to planning for Lydia's wedding clothes as though this was a normal marriage. I'm not sure if Austen wants me to sympathize with Mrs. Bennet or just cringe at her melodramatic and clueless responses. Living for years with a husband who has shut her out and ridicules her to her children can't have been easy.
And what of Mr. Bennet? He had run after Lydia in such a state of anger that his wife feared he would be killed in a duel. (Was he truly recklessly angry or is that Mrs. Bennet's perception based on her truest fear, that his death will result in Collins taking over Longbourne and throwing them all out?) After his unsuccessful search for Lydia, Mr. Bennet retreats to his study with an apparent "what's done is done" attitude. His sole response to his brother-in-law finding Lydia appears to be concern for this new indebtedness to him. He wants to know how much Mr. Gardiner had to pay Wickham to arrange the marriage and mulls how he can pay him back. (In truth he knows he will never repay the debt but needs to know how beholden he now is to his brother-in-law.) He rues that he has not saved more so that he could settle this debt and also to better support the futures of his wife and daughters, but then seems to shrug this off too. Even indolence seems too active a word for him. I think he is in the midst of a major depression that has seriously impacted his entire family.
Three sad lives.
Even without reading ahead I know there is a happier ending in store for Elizabeth. The big bombshell in these chapters is what Lydia lets slip - Darcy had attended her wedding! A letter in reply to Elizabeth's query to her aunt confirms it was actually DARCY who found Lydia and Wickham and it was DARCY who made the arrangements and DARCY who made the payments that assured a marriage took place. Her aunt and uncle assume he did this for Elizabeth. DARCY has also has apparently urged Bingley to return to wooing Jane. Thus he has shown he's all in, and has delivered to Lizzy his bouquet of roses, so to speak. We're ready for the big finish unless Austen has more obstacles in these last few chapters.
It's hard to pity Lydia very much because she's SO proud of herself and can't see that she did anything wrong at all despite all the trouble her family went through because of her actions. It's unfortunate, but I do somewhat think she and Wickham deserve each other.
I honestly don't believe that Lydia knows she did anything wrong. She got married as her mother always wanted and her family welcomed her. She's not reading the room, but she never has done that. I'm sure all the deal making was done by the men without her participation. Technically being chaperoned at these officer parties, she's basically been running wild with no real guidance.
Yes, exactly. It’s certainly not all her fault, but my goodness, she’s frustrating.
This is the same dance I do with Lydia! I can pity her...but only so far!! She's so exhaustingly bratty!!!
Even a badly brought up girl at that time knew that running away and being alone with a man was the ultimate taboo. She would have known she was transgressing but due to lack of guidance she didn't have ability to act against her immediate desires. Young women now do similar but different things like experimenting with drugs. Some can come through like Lydia but for others it ends tragically. Without Darcy it would have such a different and worse outcome
I imagine that Lydia’s being “headstrong” will work to her advantage and she will take no nonsense from Wickham and hopefully live her life not too unhappily. One can dream 🥹
Agreed.
I love this reading of Lydia, Maryann. I found myself SO sympathetic to her this time around. (Maybe because of how much inner child work I've been doing in therapy, lol!) She feels like such a naive and silly girl--who is also teased so much by her own father and looked down on by her sisters. I always wonder what a few more years of maturity would've done for her attitude. The novel almost seems to present Caroline Bingley as a kind of cemented form of Lydia's burgeoning arrogance; while Jane Bennet is the kind of innocent goodness that cannot be corrupted by arrogance or a handsome militia man. I think Lydia is a "type" but I cannot figure out what her ultimate form would become: Mrs. Bennet? Is she doomed to repeat her mother's lack of self-awareness? Could she ever have learnt from Lizzy or Jane how to be more self aware (and self preserving)?
I hate to think that Lydia deserves Wickham, because he's obviously a lot older and has attempted to run this scheme multiple times; she's just the girl whose circumstances allow for it to run through all the way. Darcy seems to recognize this. He not only resolves the issue of the marriage scandal. He also sets *Lydia* up for financial comfort, even if it means Wickham will be okay, too. Talk about a lack of pride...
I didn't know they were re-releasing the movie, so please know I read your intro, gasped, immediately bought a ticket to my local theater, then came back and read the rest of this post. So excited to see it on a big screen!
I've read P&P many times throughout the years, but it hasn't been until recent years, at an older age, that I've been able to appreciate the depth of Elizabeth's and Darcy's growth, how they learn from each other and reflect on their own character and make real changes, becoming better people in the process. And I hadn't explicitly thought of the connection between Lydia Bennett and Georgiana Darcy. I really appreciate your analysis of this section!
Yay! It's so exciting that it's coming back to theaters!
I love the way we can grow with characters in stories as wonderful as this one. It's beautiful that you've been able to revisit their relationship over time and see how they, and you, are changed in the interim. Thank you so much for reading along!
I have an annotation in my copy about Mr. Bennet's comment about how he thinks Wickham would not take Lydia for a farthing less than ten thousand pounds - in essence, it seems that he exaggerated, perhaps in part because of how little he values Lydia as well as his understanding of how little Wickham must value her as well.
Ooooof. That's so spot on. I hadn't thought about it that way -- the exaggeration as a poke at Lydia. It almost could be read as: "you'd have to be crazy to marry a girl this annoying without 10k...,"? Am I reading that right? That is just.... so mean. Haha. Damn.
Yes, I'm certain that Wickham does not value Lydia much at all so certainly there would need to be quite a sweetener to make him go ahead. But I also think it's a case of Mr Wickham having the upper hand in the negotiation because the Bennets will pay nearly anything to rescue the reputations of their other girls. If Lydia goes down they all go down.
Another contrast I noticed in these chapters was that of time; the more fickle and passionate union between Lydia and Wickham forms surprisingly quickly. In contrast, Jane and Bingley’s relationship, which is more characterized by a similar temperament and understanding, takes more time to become realized. But most of all, at least we hope, Lizzy and Darcy coming together is long! This is likely due to their more striking differences, which Elizabeth later points out as a complementarity which would be to their advantage (though they still share many common values and traits). These contrasts seem to say, anything valuable takes time. And so I hope our patience will be rewarded…
A lot happens in these chapters - feels like we are galloping towards the end 🙁 I love Mrs Gardiners letter, especially the sign off about her children (so real). Also as well as Lydia & Mrs Bennet’s dramatics Lizzy is also quite dramatic with the despair during the two visits of Bingley & Darcy. Also doesn’t really bear thinking about the future for Lydia and Wickham classic marry in haste repent at leisure. I’m currently reading a book called Love & Marriage in the age of Jane Austen by Rory Muir which I recommend on real life (& fictional) relationships of the period.
Muir's book sounds really interesting! Thanks for the tip :)
Ditto! Thanks for the rec!
It does feel like we're galloping, doesn't it!? I've been so excited to get to the end, and now that we're here it's so bittersweet.
Regarding the re-release of the 2005 movie. Could we get a final P&P post on what movie did well and what not. Maybe also in comparison to the 1995 mini series. I haven't seen both in a while, but from what I remember I would say, that the beginning is very faithful to book 1 and then it starts to shorten and simplify the story. I still think that it is a good adaptation, they manage to keep a lot of the character growth and the novel's theme of love and marriage. But I need to rewatch it ASAP though.
I would love to do that!! I am about halfway through the 1995 adaptation (it's only my second time watching it) and I am loving it so much! And, as I've mentioned, I've seen the 2005 version like a million times -- It's one of my comfort movies. I'll put some thoughts down :)
The 1995 BBC adaptation is SUPREME!
Please do. I finished reading, so have just binged both versions.
Great idea 👏🏼
I found Mrs Bennet cold shouldering Mr Darcy so frustrating. Lizzie not letting on the details of the behind-the-scene machinations by Mr Darcy which alone managed to “persuade” Wickham, literally paying him off, to marry Lydia is beyond me!
Oh! I don’t want it to end. My favourite quote this week comes from chapter 10 when Lizzy considers, “For herself she was humbled; but she was proud of him (Darcy). Proud that in a cause of compassion and honour, he had been able to get the better of himself”. Darcy’s lesson complete. Now for the two of them to unite.
Mr and Mrs Gardiner do have children of their own and may have more. Mrs Bennet says that *if* they didn't exist, then all his money would come to her and her children. She is so self-absorbed it's almost funny.
Right?? I thought they had kids (didn’t name watch them while they traveled?) so that line was confusing.
When I first read P&P I was in high school (I'll be 49 next week) and during that reading I remember wanting to be Jane so very much. But this reading 30 some years later has me realizing that throughout my life I've been maddening mix of Lydia (enthusiastically and obliviously choosing the wrong men for the wrong reasons) and Mary ("Mary petitioned for the use of the library at Netherfield; and Kitty begged very hard for a few balls there every winter")
Hayley, I loved your question based on Keith Oatley's quote: "An important part of any love story is that to start with, one doesn't know much about the other person" and how Pride and Prejudice grapples with this premise.
I started to write about Lizzie and Darcy and then thought about how this question applies to so many of the relationships in this book. Fascinating! I expect to be happily down this rabbit hole for some time to come. Makes me reflect, too, of how little I knew about partners and friends before deep diving straight into relationships.