Wickham Didn’t Target Lydia for Revenge

Common Pride & Prejudice Misconceptions, Part 4

I know what you’re thinking, “This is a common misconception???” Let me tell you, about once a month someone comes up with this theory and posts about it online. The response is usually mixed, but I shall present evidence here that should make the answer an unequivocal “no” (or at least that’s my goal!)

The Elopement by Pierce Egan

The Theory: Wickham knew that Darcy liked Elizabeth, so out of revenge against him (for obvious reasons) and her (for rejecting him), Wickham ruined Lydia.

Why this is most likely not true:

1. Wickham wants two things in life (though which is more important could be debated): money and revenge. Eloping with Georgiana Darcy fulfilled both goals, he would gain control of her £30,000 fortune and deeply hurt Darcy. Eloping with Lydia only would give him moderate revenge, and in a very round-about way. I think there is evidence in the novel that Wickham cares more about marrying for money than he does about hurting Darcy (this is from Mrs. Gardiner’s letter):

He confessed himself obliged to leave the regiment on account of some debts of honour which were very pressing; and scrupled not to lay all the ill consequences of Lydia’s flight on her own folly alone. He meant to resign his commission immediately; and as to his future situation, he could conjecture very little about it. He must go somewhere, but he did not know where, and he knew he should have nothing to live on. Mr. Darcy asked why he did not marry your sister at once. Though Mr. Bennet was not imagined to be very rich, he would have been able to do something for him, and his situation must have been benefited by marriage. But he found, in reply to this question, that Wickham still cherished the hope of more effectually making his fortune by marriage, in some other country.

2. We have no evidence in the text that Wickham knew Darcy liked Elizabeth, and even if he did, it does not follow that he thought Darcy would marry Elizabeth. In fact, Wickham knows Darcy well enough that even if he watched them flirting, he probably wouldn’t think marriage was on the table, because Darcy himself didn’t believe the marriage was possible or prudent. Caroline Bingley, who knows Darcy fairly well and is told directly that Darcy admires Elizabeth, does not think a marriage will happen until Pemberley (even though she is jealous earlier). It just doesn’t make sense that Wickham would try to get revenge by ruining Elizabeth’s marriage prospects, because he wouldn’t consider marriage as a possibility

Thomas Rowlandson

3. It was Wickham who dropped his interest in Elizabeth first to pursue Mary King and there doesn’t seem to be any bad blood between them

4. This is not victim blaming, because Lydia was young and believed he would marry her, and Wickham should not have taken advantage, but the novel does say that the elopement was more of Lydia’s idea than Wickham’s. It does not seem like he targeted her in the same way that he did Georgiana. This was not a revenge plan on his part or even that much of a plan at all, it sounds very spur of the moment:

Wickham’s affection for Lydia was just what Elizabeth had expected to find it; not equal to Lydia’s for him. She had scarcely needed her present observation to be satisfied, from the reason of things, that their elopement had been brought on by the strength of her love rather than by his; and she would have wondered why, without violently caring for her, he chose to elope with her at all, had she not felt certain that his flight was rendered necessary by distress of circumstances; and if that were the case, he was not the young man to resist an opportunity of having a companion

5. If Wickham did think Darcy was in love with Elizabeth and he wanted to use Lydia for revenge, he would have tried to extract money, especially given his circumstances. After all, he’s far in debt and running away from his regiment. However, this isn’t what Wickham does until he’s found and knows that Darcy will negotiate for Lydia. If Wickham had any idea that Lydia could bring him a ransom, he would have sent a note and he wouldn’t have hidden so well.

I believe that we are shown in the novel Wickham as more of an opportunist than a planner. His actions are generally impulsive, so it’s no surprise he gets into gambling debt. We are never told how he knew Mrs. Younge, but the possible elopement with Georgiana seems to be the most planned out thing he ever did. Otherwise, it seems like he just runs with whatever happens to fall into his lap, be it a town that hates Mr. Darcy or Lydia Bennet.

The novel tells us that eloping with Lydia was most likely an impulsive act in the moment, driven by Wickham’s need to run from his debts and the temptation of having a companion. His plan was probably to abandon Lydia eventually, if he had a plan at all. There is no indication in the novel that he eloped to attack Darcy or that he even knew Darcy liked Elizabeth. And, since he avoids Darcy carefully in Meryton after their first meeting, Elizabeth & Darcy’s relationship isn’t something he knows much about at all. It also doesn’t seem to be a subject of local gossip.

Wickham isn’t a mustache-twirling mastermind, he’s just an exploitative jerk

(I would love to know the connection between Mrs. Younge and Wickham. Was she a plant or did he seduce her afterwards? Were they related? Why did she chose to betray such a powerful family? I wish we knew more!)

Cover picture: The Elopement (from Richardson’s, ‘Clarissa’, book I, letter 94)

More:

Lady Catherine Can’t Fire Mr. Collins Common Pride & Prejudice Misconceptions, Part 1

Jane Bennet isn’t an Old Maid Common Pride & Prejudice Misconceptions, Part 2

Darcy Didn’t Pay Wickham £10,000 to Marry Lydia Common Pride & Prejudice Misconceptions, Part 3

Elizabeth Bennet isn’t a Gold Digger, Part 1 & Part 2

Darcy Smiles a Lot Actually (even before Pemberley)

It’s Not “Modern” to Call Mr. Bennet a Terrible Father

Did Mr. Darcy want his Friend Bingley to Marry His Sister?