The Bennets’ have differing views to each other over Lydia going to Brighton. Elizabeth shows how thoughtful she is when she warns her father of the dangers involved in sending Lydia to Brighton considering her vulnerable characteristics.
‘She represented to him all the improprieties…temptations must be greater than at home.’
Elizabeth tries to say that her behaviour will get extreme at Brighton because Mrs Foster isn’t mature enough to look after her uncontrollable behaviour. Elizabeth is responsible and considerate because she thinks about the possible dishonour the family could face if Lydia went to Brighton.
‘Lydia will never be easy till she has exposed herself in some public place…under the present circumstances.’
Elizabeth shows great concerns over Lydia going to Brighton, as she is sure of Lydia doing some harm to the family status. Elizabeth approaches her father and attempts to convince him of Lydia’s weaknesses and how she could bring disgrace upon them all. She warns her father,
'If you were aware, of the very great disadvantage… you would judge differently in the affair.’
Elizabeth says all this to ensure that the family pride is not affected in any possible way. She is conscious of the great possibility of Lydia exposing the family honour at Brighton. However she expresses her dissatisfaction to no constructive effect as she fails to persuade her father because he has different views of the matter. Elizabeth is left angry and feels Lydia’s foolish behaviour is because of her fathers’ lack of concern.
Mr Bennet is not greatly concerned about Lydia going to Brighton. He feels that Lydia will mature slowly and doesn’t give her behaviour too much thought. Mr Bennet allows Lydia go to Brighton not because of her own happiness but rather to maintain peace at Longbourn, as he says,
‘We shall have no peace at Longbourn if Lydia does not go to Brighton…us to lock her up for the rest of her life.’
This shows his laid back and careless character. He is more bothered about having peace at Longbourn than the possible disgrace that Lydia could cause the family. He is the father of the family and should think more responsibly like Elizabeth did. His character is weak because he isn’t successful in being a good father. There are indications that he his easily deceived, as Mrs Bennet talks him into letting Lydia go to Brighton even though Elizabeth had warned him.
Mrs Bennet is eager for her daughter to go to Brighton and find a husband. This is seen when she says,
‘I am sure I cried for two days together when Colonel Miller’s…broke my heart. If one could go to Brighton.’
Mrs Bennet openly lets her daughter know about her own affair and wants the whole family to go to Brighton. She puts marriage above everything else. This is a representation of her main aim life, which is to get her daughters married. She wishes the best for her daughter and wants her to marry an officer, as both mother and daughter are very similar to each other. Mrs Bennet shows her delight to the invitation and wants Lydia to be happy, this is shown in the following quote,
‘Mrs Bennet was diffuse in her good wishes for the felicity of her daughter…enjoying herself as much as possible.’
Due to her loud and dominant character Mr Bennet, a peaceful man, gives into her will.
Lydia is overjoyed when she receives the invitation and begins preparing to go to Brighton. As Elizabeth and the other family members discuss the matter, Lydia roams about the house in a restless happiness. At this point Lydia has no consideration for Kitty’s feelings.
Kitty is very much under the influence of Lydia. Her intentions are the same as Lydia and she is also fond of officers. Elizabeth feels that Kitty will be affected by Lydia’s actions when she says,
‘In this danger Kitty is also comprehend. She will follow wherever Lydia leads. Vain, ignorant, idle, and absolutely uncontrolled!’
Kitty feel very disappointed, because Mrs Foster didn’t invite her to Brighton. This is conveyed when she says,
‘I cannot see why Mrs Foster should not ask me as well as Lydia…I am two years older.’
Kitty envies Lydia and wants to be in her place.
Jane is worried about Bingley moving out of Brighton and isn’t hugely involved in Lydia going to Brighton. However she does try to prevent Kitty from wanting to go to Brighton. She is mature and understands the dangers of Lydia going to Brighton much like Elizabeth.
Mr and Mrs Foster want Lydia to come to Brighton in reply to their invitation. Mrs Foster and Lydia are good friends as they share many qualities.
After receiving the awful news that Lydia had eloped with Wickham, various reactions are observed. Elizabeth is affected the most by Lydia’s elopement, because her chance of marriage has decreased. Her chances of marriage have decreased because the whole family was now looked down up on due to the shame Lydia had bought up on them
Elizabeth’s initial reaction is of shock, anguish and distress.
She tends to blame herself for not warning Lydia of Wickham’s false character.
‘You know him too well to doubt the rest…she is lost forever.’
Elizabeth is worried about Lydia’s safety and at the same time she is hugely concerned about the family honour. Her character turns out to be pessimistic, as she becomes certain of the disgrace that will be placed on the family name. Elizabeth knows that Wickham won’t marry Lydia because he only uses women. She begins to feel hopeless.
‘But nothing can be done…It is every way horrible’
Elizabeth feels that there is no hope because Lydia has no money, which could possibly tempt Wickham into marrying her.
‘Wickham will never marry a women without some money.’
If Wickham married Lydia it would reduce the amount of humiliation on the family. On the whole Elizabeth feels partially guilty for the current situation and also feels anger towards her father whom she had warned earlier. Elizabeth has mixed feelings towards her father. She blames him for not carrying out his duties as a father and lacking parental qualities. On the other hand she sympathises with him, because he has hurt his family by being irresponsible. In general Elizabeth is aware of the social conventions of the time regards to running away with a man, and therefore is aware of the consequences the remaining sisters will have to undergo. Lydia’s action has jeopardised the daughters’ social position in society and their chances of marriage.
Jane is devastated when she realises Lydia has eloped and writes a letter to inform Elizabeth of the situation. She wishes for Elizabeth to return from Pemberely, as she can’t take charge of the situation herself. Her only reaction was seen in the letter she wrote to Elizabeth,
‘My head is so bewildered’
Jane is naïve and has an optimistic feeling. She believes Wickham will marry Lydia. This again shows she is quick to see the good in people.
Kitty to everyone’s astonish was absolutely aware of this and wasn’t stunned.
‘To Kitty, however, it does not seem so wholly unexpected.’
Kitty was aware of Lydia’s nature and wasn’t shocked.
‘Poor Kitty has anger for having concealed their attachment; but as it was a matter of confidence one cannot wonder.’
Lydia was confident with Kitty and made her intentions clear to her. Kitty had kept it secret all along. Kitty does not know the seriousness of Lydia’s action and never told anybody.
Mr Bennet never spoke a word for ten minutes upon hearing about Lydia’s elopement. He feels guilty and blames him self at first however his mock sternness towards Kitty is an early hint that he cannot take his responsibilities seriously.
Mrs Bennet pretends to be ill and takes to her bed and leaves the family to deal with all the shame and humiliation. Nevertheless when she hears of the marriage she is quick to recover and begins to recover and begins to prepare for the wedding. This proves her aim in life of getting her daughters married. To start with Mrs Bennet panics and doesn’t know how to react, yet later on she is happy with the overall outcome.
The Bennets reputation was affected by the reactions Mr Darcy and Mr Collins. Elizabeth felt that Mr Darcy would be ashamed of the Bennets. She also began to believe that her possibility with Mr Darcy has failed due to Lydia’s elopement.
‘And never had she so honestly felt she could have loved him, as now, when all love must be in vain.’
Darcy’s reaction comes as a surprise to everyone, because instead of looking down on the family he sympathises with them. This shows us that he was only labelled as being a proud man, but in actual fact he wasn’t.
Darcy reaction can be justified. He reacted in a sympathetic way because he was familiar with Wickhams deceitful character, as his sister had previously been a victim of Wickham. Darcy feels empathy and regret for not warning the Bennets of Wickhams character. His deep love for Elizabeth is the cause for his caring thoughts. Darcy was the main cause of Lydia’s marriage in the end because he paid off all Wickhams debts and gave them money. Darcy did all this secretly which demonstrates that he is not an arrogant man but a humble man.
Mr Collin is a clergyman and feels that Lydia’s elopement is a religious crime and a great offence. He visits the Bennets to show the amount of shame the have bought upon themselves. It was considered socially wrong for a man and women to stay together without being married, and Mr Collins understands the consequences. He told them that their marriages would be affected because of Lydia. He expresses his sympathy and informs them of the seriousness of the action,
‘The death of your daughter would be a blessing in comparison to this’
Mr Collins makes the Bennets feel worse as he tells them that the death of Lydia would be a good thing in comparison to her elopement. Collin explains the amount of disgrace upon him and how he is also affected, because he is part of the family.
Lydia has no regret to her actions and feels they are perfectly fine. Lydia’s letter shows her immature nature,
‘You need not send them word at Longbourn of my going…and sign my name Lydia Bennet’
Lydia fails to recognise the harm she has caused her family. She doesn’t feel what she has done is serious. Not much more needs to be said of her character. She is too young to understand the importance of reputation in the society. Her actions don’t take any consideration of possible affects on others. The blame should be given to the parents who allowed her to go to Brighton.
To conclude I will discuss how the elopement of Lydia has affected the lives of the remaining sisters. The greatest reaction was seen from Elizabeth. The reason for this is that she is aware that her family will be looked down upon by others and the chance of her marriage would be ruined. She fell in love with Darcy and felt that after Lydia’s elopement Darcy would not want to associate himself with her or her family. The Bennets lost their reputation in society and were not respected. The honour of the family lied in the daughters, and after Lydia’s elopement the family honour was lost. Jane is left distressed after Lydia eloped because Bingley may never want to speak to her again. Both Kitty and Mary would struggle to find husbands in future. This is because people will feel that the family has a past record of daughters running away with men. Darcy is the man who saves further shame for the Bennets when he pays Wickham to agree to marry Lydia. However money is not a foundation for marriage and it seems that Lydia and Wickham will not have an everlasting marriage like the one of Darcy and Elizabeth whose is based on true love. Mr and Mrs Bennets irresponsible characters lead to Lydia’s actions. Neither of them makes a good parent as they fail in carrying out their parental duties.
From ‘Pride and Prejudice’ one can learn that you should never judge a book from its cover. Darcy is seen as an arrogant and bigheaded man however turns out to be a humble and caring individual. On the other hand Wickham was seen as a pleasant and agreeable man and later he shows his true colours and runs away with Lydia. I feel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is a classic novel, as it has great relevance to many cultures even in the twenty first century.