Pride and Prejudice Blog 5

Through her side by side juxtaposition of the engagements of Lydia and Wickham as opposed to Jane and Bingley, Austen looks to highlight not only the differences between the two couples but also in doing so, show the true personalities of the characters around them. Through showing the differences in the ways their relationships progressed and the courting process, or lack there of, the personalities of the characters involved become all the more vivid as Austen provides the reader with insight into their reasoning. The reactions and support of the people closest to them are then offered as a window into those characters real motives and thoughts on the matters of marriage and happiness.
Lydia and Wickham's engagement comes as a result of imprudent, rash decision making on behalf of both. The pair had been known of "being in love with each other many weeks" (281). Wickham has lured Lydia while she is away from home and at the whim of her flirtatious nature as she has been "given up to nothing but amusement and vanity" (274). This goes against the societal expectations that are displayed through the ways of Bingley who asks Jane to dance, speaks with her, and visits her home. The bond between Bingley and Jane took them months of proper courting to be built and is a family affair, Mrs. Bennet urges her daughter "make haste...Bingley has come"(333). On the opposite hand, the relationship of Wickham and Lydia begs questions like "why all this secrecy...why must their marriage be private"(274). Austen uses the discrepancy between the amounts of courtship and family involvement to set the stage for the motives of each character. Wickham is known to have "neither integrity nor honour" (275), and having also his less than desirable state of financial affairs, the only motive behind his marriage to Lydia was monetary, he "cherished the hopeof making his fortune by marriage" (313). Bingley on the other hand is well provided for in the least, he may reside at Netherfield and makes "four or five thousand a year" (337). This and the fact that his character thus far has proved to be only noble and kind shows that he is after Jane for all of the right reasons. Jane and Bingley have known eachother for a longer period of time than Lydia and Wickham and even Elizabeth concedes that Bingley's "expectations of felicity (were)...rationally founded"(336).
The reactions of the other characters to the impending engagements in the novel are employed by Austen to give insight into their true character. When Mrs. Bingley learns of Lydia's scandalous wedding, "to know that her daughter would be married was enough. She was disturbed by no fear of her felicity, nor humbled by any remembrance of her misconduct" (296). This displays that her true motive really is to marry her daughters off at all costs. Happiness, tarnishing the family name, and love are of no concern to her so long as her life's goal is met. This depicts Mrs. Bingley as a more fake, self centered character than one may have already assumed. Elizabeth's honesty shines through as she learns of Lydia's marriage saying "Small as their chance of happiness, and wretched as is his character, we are forced to rejoice"(294). Elizabeth never waivers from her displeasure in her sister's imprudent marriage and this shows her steadfast character. In contrast, when she hears about Jane's engagement, she has a "delight which words could but poorly express"(335). The reactions of Elizabeth display the the way in which the marriages should have been viewed: contempt for the frivolous and happiness for the in love.
Austen portrays these two meaningful engagements back to back in order to make the comparisons all the more clear. She uses the character opinions and the couples' courtships to show the differences between what society deems appropriate and not so much, and in doing so shows how the Bennet family may be less than conventional. The differences in the engagements also serves the purpose of showing the differences in the characters and who they really are.