Wickham
- Created by: abbie.wilkinson
- Created on: 03-11-16 17:49
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- George Wickham
- Introduced as 'of most gentlemanlike appearance'
- 'he wanted only regimentals to make him completely charming'
- 'His appearance was greatly in his favour; he had all the best part pf beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address.'
- The effect of Wickham's looks are universal: 'All were struck with the stranger's air.'
- In comparison to him, the other officers are suddenly seen as 'stupid, disagreeable fellows' by Lydia and Kitty.
- Wickham is introduced with a list of highly praised qualities, which is in direct contrast to the introduction of Mr Darcy. He ends as he began, a total contrast to Mr Darcy, whose good qualities are emphasised by the foil.
- However, Austen confines her praise of Wickham to his appearance and manners; it is his 'beauty', 'countenance', 'air' and such that attract her praise. But she tells us nothing of his moral or mind.
- Another difference between the two is that Mr Darcy is taciturn, and refuses to talk to people; Wickham had 'a happy readiness of conversation... perfectly correct and unassuming'.
- We trust Elizabeth's opinion of him as she called herself 'a good judge of character', and because her opinion of him is very positive (she was 'very willing to her him' and 'felt that she had neither been seeing him before, nor thinking of him since, with the smallest degree of unreasonable admiration') so is ours.
- He uses Elizabeth's attraction to him to manipulate her into being prejudiced against Darcy and to feel pity for him - he claimed that 'The world is blinded by his fortune and consequence, or frightened by his high and imposing manners...' - however, it is all lies. Also, telling a near stranger about a private dispute is very bad manners, but Elizabeth is too attracted to him to notice.
- Wickham is a manipulative liar.
- When Wickham meets Elizabeth at her aunt's gathering, Austen makes extensive use of dialogue to show how articulate and persuasive he can be, and how he shows himself in a good light by gaining sympathy both from the reader and Elizabeth.
- One reason Elizabeth believes him is how attractive she finds him: his '... very countenance may vouch for [his] being amiable'. She is also blind to how innapropriate such intimate revelations are to a person he hardly knows, largely because of her prejudice against Darcy.
- He eloped with Lydia to Scotland knowing that her family could not afford to pay for their marriage; this shows his selfishness as he knew that once Lydia was discarded, the whole Bennet family would be outcasts and Lydia would have to likely turn to protitution.
- This is even worse when you remember that not too long ago, he was chasing after Elizabeth.
- By the end of the novel, the audience loses all respect for him because we see his true self.
- This is linked to the novel, as our perfect 'first impressions' of Wickham and our not so good 'first impressions' of Mr Darcy meant that we were straight away prejudiced against Mr Darcy. However, by the end of the book, we have realised that in fact it is Mr Darcy who is gentlemanly and it is Wickham who is an unscrupulous villian.
- Jane's letters reinforce this point too, at first judging him as: 'thoughtless and indiscreet ... nothing bad at heart', however, even Jane, who always thinks the best of everyone, agrees he is 'not a man to be trusted' when the whole story is told.
- This is linked to the novel, as our perfect 'first impressions' of Wickham and our not so good 'first impressions' of Mr Darcy meant that we were straight away prejudiced against Mr Darcy. However, by the end of the book, we have realised that in fact it is Mr Darcy who is gentlemanly and it is Wickham who is an unscrupulous villian.
- When Lydia and Wickham visit the Bennets before leaving for their new life, Wickham shows himself to be shameless, saying to Elizabeth, 'We were always good friends and now are better.' The hypocrisy of the man who, less than a year before, offered himself as far more than a 'friend' and who has now married her sister in such disgraceful circumstances is breath- taking.
- Wickham is a perfect illustration of the theme which shows how deceptive appearances can be.
- Introduced as 'of most gentlemanlike appearance'
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