Jane Austen successfully adapts the form of the epistolary novel by including a large number of letters in her novel and these have two main functions: to show significant development in the plot and to develop the reader’s understanding of the character.
One character whose personality is clearly shown through her letters is Lydia Bennet. The first reference to a letter from Lydia is on page one hundred and eighty two in Chapter Nineteen of Volume Two. Before Lydia leaves for Brighton, she promises her mother and older sister Kitty that she will write often and ‘very minutely’. Lydia does not keep this promise. She very rarely writes and when she does, her letters are short and frivolous. They contain talk only of flirting with officers, balls and new garments that she buys. This shows Lydia’s personality to be vain and silly. She does not think that her family might be concerned about what she is getting up to and how she is. Lydia’s letters contain things that no one really needs to know rather than important details. The letters Lydia wrote to Kitty, although longer than the ones sent to her mother were not appropriate for anyone other than Kitty to see.
Lydia’s second letter is to her friend Harriet Forster. The letter appears in full, on page two hundred and twenty one, in Chapter Five of Volume Three. The letter informs Harriet of Lydia’s elopement. From the letter we can see that Lydia has no idea of the consequences of her actions, she says to Harriet ‘You will laugh when you know where I am gone’. Lydia tells Harriet that she is going to Gretna Green with Mr. Wickham. From this information Harriet would assume that Lydia and Mr. Wickham were getting married as Gretna Green is a famous place for ‘runaway weddings’. In Jane Austen’s time, the marital age in Scotland for boys was fourteen and twelve for girls, but, in England, anyone under the age of twenty one could not get married without parental consent; so many couples would elope to Gretna Green, in Scotland to get married. The reader, having known about Wickham’s previous attempt to elope with Georgiana Darcy and knowing Wickham's true character, would know that it was highly likely that marriage was not Wickham’s intent.
The letter shows that Lydia has no idea about how serious her actions are, her main concerns are the ball she will be missing and not keeping her engagements to dance with officers, ‘Pray make my excuses to Pratt, for not keeping my engagement’. She says that she will dance with Pratt at the next ball, not realising that if the fact that she has eloped with Wickham is made public, she will be a disgrace in the eyes of society and probably will not attend another ball. Another of Lydia’s biggest concerns is that one of her dresses needs to be mended and that all her clothes are to be sent to her. Lydia is very vain and selfish. She does not think about how worried people will be about her, in the very last line of the letter, she suggests that everyone should drink to her and Wickham’s ‘good journey’. Again, she is being thoughtless and does not think about the fact that everyone would be in a frantic panic, wondering if she is okay, where she is and if it is possible to keep the elopement quiet.
Lydia’s final letter is on page two hundred and ninety six in Chapter Nineteen of Volume Three. The letter is shown in full and is to Elizabeth. The letter is to congratulate Elizabeth on her marriage to Mr. Darcy; she says ‘I wish you joy. If you love Mr. Darcy half as well as I do my dear Wickham, you must be very happy.’ The letter is short, and after the first line, the letter turns from congratulations to asking Elizabeth to think of her and perhaps offer some financial aid; ‘It is a great comfort to have you so rich, and when you have nothing else to do, I hope you will think of us.’ This shows us that Lydia is very selfish. She also goes on to say ‘I am sure Wickham would like a place at court very much’ and asks for three or four hundred pounds a year as ‘I do not think we [Lydia and Wickham] shall have money enough to live upon without some help.’ She suggests that Elizabeth should not ask Mr. Darcy about it ‘if you [Elizabeth] had rather not.’ It is very inappropriate and impolite to ask for money like this, but as usual, Lydia has no idea of social etiquette.
Two letters that deal with important aspects of the plot are written by Jane to Elizabeth and appear in full on pages two hundred and six to two hundred and eight in Chapter Four of Volume Three. The first letter informs Elizabeth of Lydia’s elopement. The letter arrived late as ‘Jane had written the direction remarkably ill.’ The letter was dated five days prior to Elizabeth’s opening of it. The first half of the letter contained nothing more than an account of the Bennet family’s ‘little parties and engagements’. The second half, however, was dated a day later and had been written in ‘evident agitation’. The letter informs Elizabeth that an express had come at midnight from Colonel Forster informing the Bennets of Lydia’s elopement to Scotland with Wickham. According to Jane, Kitty was not at all surprised, the reader would know that this was probably due to the fact Lydia wrote letters to Kitty that contained information no one else should know about. As usual, Jane tries to see the best in the situation and the people involved;
‘But I am willing to hope the best, and that his character has been misunderstood. Thoughtless and indiscreet I can easily believe him, but this step (and let us rejoice over it) marks nothing bad at heart.’
Jane goes on to tell Elizabeth that ‘Our poor mother is sadly grieved. My father bears it better.’ Jane then explains that Lydia and Wickham must have ‘passed within ten miles of us [the Bennets]’.
After reading Jane’s first letter, Elizabeth instantly starts to read the second. The letter starts with Jane apologising for the hastiness of the previous letter, but explains that she is still so ‘bewildered’ that she may not be able to write any more coherently than the last letter. Jane explains that Lydia and Wickham may not be getting married after all, and it is feared that they have not gone to Scotland. Although Lydia had told Mrs. Forster that they were going to Gretna Green, Denny, Wickham’s friend, ‘expressed his belief that W. [Wickham] never intended to go there, or to marry Lydia at all.’ Jane informs Elizabeth that Colonel Forster traced Lydia and Wickham to Clapham but could not find them as they took a hackney coach somewhere. Still, Jane cannot think ill of Mr. Wickham, even though Mr. and Mrs. Bennet fear the worst; ‘My father and mother fear the worst, but I cannot think so ill of him.’ Jane believes that a young girl such as Lydia with no fortune or connections could not appeal to Wickham unless he truly loved her. Jane asks how long it will be until Elizabeth arrives home, but says; ‘I am not so selfish, however, to press for it, if inconvenient.’ This is just like Jane, unwilling to be a burden on anyone, unselfish and the complete opposite of Lydia. Jane also informs Elizabeth that Mr. Bennet has gone to London to look for Lydia and Wickham there. In the final sentence of the letter, Jane asks for her uncle’s good advice.
The most important letter in the novel is the one written by Darcy to Elizabeth after she refuses his proposal of marriage. It appears in full on pages one hundred and fifty to one hundred and fifty six in Chapter Twelve of Volume Two. The letter is very long, but, unlike the letters of Elizabeth’s other proposer, Mr Collins, it is not long-winded. Mr. Darcy starts by informing Elizabeth that the letter is not another proposal;
‘Be not alarmed, Madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments, or renewal of those offers, which were last night so disgusting to you.’
Mr. Darcy breaks his letter down into two parts – the two ‘offences’. According to Darcy the two offences are ‘of a very different nature, and by no means of equal magnitude’. He starts with Elizabeth’s accusation of Darcy separating Bingley and Jane. Darcy explains that he had seen Bingley ‘fall in love’ many times before, but not in the way that he was falling for Jane. Darcy does not deny this accusation and explains that he could not see that Jane had any affection for Bingley and therefore, he did not want his friend getting hurt. For this reason, he convinced Bingley that Jane did not love him.
Darcy then moves on to Elizabeth’s next accusation – that Darcy had mistreated Wickham. Darcy explains Wickham’s background and connection with the Darcy family. He explains that George Wickham’s father was a respectable man who managed all of the Pemberley Estates. Mr. Darcy Senior put George Wickham, his god-son, through school and afterwards through Cambridge. Mr. Darcy Senior wanted George Wickham to go into the church, but after his and his own father’s death, Wickham went to Darcy and asked him for three thousand pounds instead of the living Mr. Darcy Senior had left him as he said he wanted to study law. Darcy obliged but Wickham frittered his money away gambling. Wickham then came back to Darcy saying that law did not suit him and asked him for the living. Darcy refused. Mr. Darcy then goes on to inform Elizabeth of Mr. Wickham’s attempted elopement with Darcy’s younger sister Georgiana who was fifteen at the time. Elizabeth is the only person other than Wickham, Georgiana and Darcy who knew about this. Darcy ends his letter by saying; ‘I will only add, God bless you.’
This letter is particularly important because it completely changes Elizabeth’s view of Darcy. Without this letter, Elizabeth would still detest Darcy, Jane would probably not be with Bingley and Elizabeth would still believe that Wickham was a good, honest man.
Letters are important in this novel not only to develop the plot and illustrate character but also to bring about a satisfactory conclusion to the story. Just before the end of the novel, Lady Catherine de Bourgh turns up at Longbourn to see Elizabeth. Lady Catherine interrogates Elizabeth about if Darcy has proposed to her. She says that she has received a ‘report of a most alarming nature’ that informed her that Jane was to marry Bingley and that this would probably mean that Elizabeth, as Jane’s sister would marry Darcy, Bingley’s good friend. Lady Catherine asks for Elizabeth’s word that she will not accept a proposal from Darcy and when Elizabeth refuses to accept, Lady Catherine goes to try and convince Darcy not to propose to Elizabeth. Elizabeth later finds out that it was the Lucases who informed the Collinses of Jane and Bingley’s wedding, who then proceeded to tell Lady Catherine. Unknown to Lady Catherine, her going to Darcy actually gives Darcy hope. Lady Catherine tells Darcy that Elizabeth refuses to promise to refuse his proposal and Darcy thinks that this might mean that she would accept if he proposed, so he rushes straight to Longbourn to propose and Elizabeth accepts. Jane, Bingley, Elizabeth and Darcy all get married at the end of the book, much to Lady Catherine’s dismay and even though for a short time Darcy is so angry with Lady Catherine he refuses to speak to her, by the end of the book, they are on good terms again.