Lydia Bennet is the youngest of the Bennet children. The favoritism is portrayed numerous times throughout the novel, such as here where Mrs. Bennet comments on how she was once young and energetic like that of her daughter, Lydia. Her mother supports her in her frivolous behavior constantly. She spends the majority of her time gossiping and flirting. At one point in the novel, Elizabeth announces to her father that her sister Lydia is “In danger of becoming a flirt in the worst and meanest degree of flirtation – vain, ignorant, idle and absolutely uncontrolled.” ( pg. ). Lydia’s lack of common sense is revealed when she first takes pride in being the first Bennet girl to be married. She fails to take into consideration the circumstance of her marriage, the personality of her husband, or the prospects of their marriage in the future.
Here is where we can see the true connection between Lydia and her mother. Lydia, like her mother, got married for all the wrong reasons. The marriage between her and Wickham was based on appearances, good looks and youthful vivacity, similar to that of the Bennet’s. What they do not see is that once these qualities can no longer be seen by each other, the once strong relationship will slowly fade away. Their marriage gradually disintegrates, and Lydia becomes a regular visitor at the homes of her sisters (It was not for quite a while that she was allowed back into the Bennet’s residence, due to her escape with Wickham). The point Jane Austen is trying to make here is that a marriage based on superficial qualities will never last.
There are two main reasons why the Bennet’s marriage lasted. First, divorce was not allowed in the society they were living in. Second, Mr. Bennet, instead of speaking with his wife about the things that got on his nerves, he figured out a way to tune her out. He also used mockery and sarcasm, which, for the most part, she didn’t catch on to. This can be seen early in the novel, when Kitty was coughing, and Mrs. Bennet snapped at her – “Don’t keep coughing so, Kitty, for heavens sake! Have a little compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces!” (pg. 3). Now, instead of speaking to his wife in a civilized manner, he says, “Kitty has no discretion in her coughs, she times them ill.”
(pg. 4). This mix between Mrs. Bennet’s uncertain temper and Mr. Bennet’s sarcastic humor just begins to portray the downhill relationship they have going. Even worse, when Mrs. Bennet became too much for him to handle, he isolated himself in his library – away from his family. Mr. Bennet’s self realization at the end of the novel in which he discovers that his lack of attention toward the way they are was too late to save the family. This is Jane Austen’s classic example of a weak, irresponsible father.
One other character of this novel that shows of his arrogance and his pompous attitude is Mr. William Collins. Collins plays a clergyman selected by Lady Catherine de Bourgh to serve her parish. However, he is sent to the Bennet’s to eventually inherit Mr. Bennet’s property. It seems as if Jane Austen introduced this character as one of her targets for satire, and also as a criticism of snobbery in society. Yet, his snobbery is not based on his rank in society, as is Lady Catherine, but instead by association, meaning he is completely at the will of his patroness (Lady Catherine) that he has most probably forgotten his own morals. Due to his foolish speeches, Collins becomes one of the key examples of comical stupidity in the novel. When he is first introduced, his immediate exaggerated politeness made him an easy target to ridicule. Mr. Bennet cannot control himself he is so amused – “May I ask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from impulse of the moment, or are they results of previous study?” (pg. 50). Mr. Collin’s response was somewhat weak, and Mr. Bennet found that his cousin was “as absurd as he had hoped”.
His marriage to Charlotte was one of different nature than that of the others; their relationship was one based on economics more than anything. Once Elizabeth rejected him, Mr. Collins stumbled upon Charlotte, proposed, and Charlotte married him. She did not marry because of love, but because at this point in her life she felt it was the only thing left for her to do, otherwise, she would become an old maid – where this was a way and the only way she could save herself. The marriage between these two was not, for the most part, a happy and successful one. For Charlotte, she is now stuck with a man she does not know fully, or love, and must now suffer, and there is nothing she can do. For example, a gathering between Mr. Collins, his wife and Elizabeth, “When Mr. Collins said anything of which his wife might reasonably be ashamed, which certainly was not seldom, Elizabeth would involuntarily turn her eye on Charlotte. Once or twice she could discern a faint blush; but in general Charlotte wisely did not hear.” (pg.116).
Out of the 7 different marriages presented in the novel, there were only two truly successful ones, Elizabeth and Darcy, and Jane and Bingley. Both of these marriages revealed the key elements that should make up a marriage – love, honor, trust and so on. Taking Elizabeth and Darcy as an example, they were truly the only couple that started off distant and gradually worked their way up. They found their faults and corrected them. They began to understand one another. Because of all this, their mutual understanding is the foundation of their relationship and will lead to a long-lasting marriage, something that cannot be said for the rest of the couples in this novel. This marriage reveals the importance of really getting to know one another – getting to know his or her flaws ahead of time, so that it is possible to work them out, which would have done a lot for the couples in this novel.
