Pride & Prejudice, ch. 16: S.O.B. Story

Unfortunately, I don't know who to credit for this
portrait of a knowing Mr. Wickham. I got it from
a site called York Notes.

In this never-ending game of finding a mate, it’s interesting that Mr. Collins, having selected Elizabeth as the target of his courting skills, spends his time at the Philips’ flattering Aunt Pittypat (I know, that’s not her real name, but let’s go with it) instead of maybe actually courting Elizabeth. Well, I say “flatter,” but he ends up talking more about Lady Catherine and her expensive digs. This implies a couple things: 1) the notion that Mr. Collins finds talking to older women easier than talking to those his own age, and/or 2) he assumes that he can bypass much of a typical courtship because he knows he’s going to pop the question and believes that she’ll say yes no matter how much work he puts into said courtship. I mean, he could at least take this opportunity (sans soldiers) to pay Lizzy a compliment. Who’s to say he hasn’t got a few prepared already?

Alas, once the soldiers arrive, Mr. Collins is sidelined. Lizzy is mesmerized by Mr. Wickham, struck with the feeling that “she had neither been seeing him before, or thinking of him since, with the smallest degree of unreasonable admiration.” Considering that so far she has disliked more men than she’s approved of, this is an awfully quick development for her. It’d be one thing if the narration noted that Lizzy’s been thinking about him because of Darcy’s weird reaction to him, but that’s only left as possible subtext. Anyway, Mr. Wickham chooses to sit by her (oo-ohhh). Lydia is also super interested in him, but it turns out that she’s really competitive at the lottery/betting game that they’re playing, so Lizzy has him all to herself.

Mr. Wickham begins by showing his wit and warmth during a conversation about the weather of all things, but it’s not until he asks about the occupants of Netherfield that things really pick up. Wickham reveals that he has known Darcy since birth and also reveals that he noticed her observation of his stare-down with Darcy the other day. Oh, here be spoilers: Wickham’s a bad guy. So I will be discussing how Austen hides this—if not from the experienced reader, then at least from Lizzy.

Now, here’s where one might pause to contemplate Wickham’s choice to single Lizzy out: is it at all influenced by said observation? This is part of the really insidious way Austen writes Wickham—a first-time reader would tend to skip over this or attribute a good or neutral motivation to his action. And we gobble up Lizzy’s heated response because this character is so far at her best when she’s fired up about something—Darcy in particular. So even though she overshares here, we go with it because it’s time to get the topic back to Darcy.

Wickham susses out that Lizzy isn’t trying to be covert about her opinion, a funny detail that a reader might gloss over in her first- or second read. He’s checking to see what kind of reputation Darcy has around town—and after all, he has “known [Darcy] too long and too well to be a fair judge.” Wickham will continue to pull this trick of masking caution in the tones of modesty. He tentatively shares that he and Darcy grew up together, that he loved Mr. Darcy Sr., and that even though Darcy’s treatment of Wickham was “scandalous,” Wickham has chosen to forgiven him out of his love and respect for Darcy Sr.

What that forgiveness entails is left unsaid.

Wickham explains that the militia attracted him because it’d be able to keep him active and sociable. It’s funny that he hits on “society” as one of his desires, and I wonder if he’s trying to position himself as the opposite of Darcy? Like, he knows how anti-social Darcy tends to be and he could surmise that Darcy’s rudeness is one reason why Lizzy and the whole town dislike Darcy. It has the feeling of an extra jab at Darcy’s expense, that’s all.

Anyway, Wickham reveals that Darcy reneged on a promise his father made to Wickham before he died. (Important life lesson: Get it in writing, kids.) Lizzy is shocked out of her previous shock by this new shock* and exclaims, “I had not thought Mr. Darcy so bad as this—though I have never liked him.” She also recalls Darcy’s “boasting … of his having an unforgiving temper.” What Darcy would be asked to forgive here appears to be that Mr. Darcy Sr. liked Wickham more than his own son—which, now that I think about it, weirdly resembles the plot of Tom Jones. Wow, I guess Lizzy really isn’t a great reader if she doesn’t recognize the similar plot beats. (Can someone please write the crossover of Tom Jones and P&P, by the way? My brain won’t let me think about anything else.) Wickham’s gentle manner of telling his courtesy-of-Henry-Fielding origin story has also convinced Lizzy that his “countenance may vouch for [his] being amiable”—in stark contrast with the chips on the shoulders of Darcy and Mr. Collins, neither of whom she likes. It’s … understandable.

Lizzy struggles (a little) with the “dishonesty” Darcy has shown—“he should not have been too proud to be dishonest,” she reasons. Wickham’s like, yeah, that’s so weird, right? That’s human nature for ya. Then he lists all the good stuff that Darcy is known for, couching it in language like “generally cried up as” and “not to appear to” that makes it sound like Darcy does these things for the sake of appearance rather than out of the goodness of his heart. Wickham describes Georgiana Darcy as basically the female version of Darcy: she liked Wickham once upon a time, but then got an attitude. For a guy who insists that “she is nothing to me now,” Wickham sure sounds up-to-date on Miss Darcy’s current whereabouts. Lizzy wonders how on earth Bingley became Darcy’s friend (same), to which Wickham says that Darcy will suck up to someone “if he thinks it worth his while.” Because Bingley’s so, um, important and high-ranking. Right?

Thanks to Mr. Collins’s usual lofty brag, Wickham can give Lizzy the low-down on Lady Catherine: she’s actually Darcy’s aunt, and Darcy and Anne de Bourgh are low-key engaged. Again, Lizzy offers her opinion on Lady Catherine before Wickham chimes in. He confirms that Lizzy is more right than she knows (I bet it feels pretty good to hear that, especially when it’s about a person she hasn’t even met), that Lady Catherine has built up a positive reputation through her “rank” and demanding behavior. Lizzy’s all, that makes total sense, thank you for validating my powers of observation.

And now she’s totally crushing on Wickham. Keep in mind that this guy’s only major, textual personality trait is that he has a complicated/negative history with Darcy.

Chapter the next: Elizabeth dissects the Wickham/Darcy story with Jane, an invitation is given, and (shudder) Mr. Collins makes a move.

*Credit to Sir Terry Pratchett for this turn of phrase.