Wickham Pride And Prejudice Essay

Oftentimes people are quick to identify others as either good or bad- and nothing in between. In Pride and Prejudice, Wickham is perceived as a charming, chivalrous, and charismatic gentleman by the Bennet sisters. At the same time Darcy is considered rude and classist, due to his slighting Elizabeth and others at the ball. However, as the novel progresses, the positive opinions the other characters have about Wickham turn negative, and the negative views they have on Darcy become positive. The characters cemented their first impressions too hastily and did not entertain the idea of Wickham and Darcy being multifaceted characters.

The Philips’s dinner party is where Wickham enters the storyline; and he is immediately trusted by Elizabeth when he tells her that Darcy denied him of his own inheritance (Austen 54). Elizabeth sees him as a humble person. “I have no right to give my opinion,’ said Wickham, ‘as to his being agreeable or otherwise” (Austen 53). Wickham gains Elizabeth’s trust first; and then slanders Darcy. He does this to save himself from looking bad. The turning point of

Throughout a majority of the novel he is prideful and snobbish to people outside of his circle. When at the Netherfield ball, Darcy snidely remarks that Elizabeth is not nearly handsome enough to tempt him, and she is within earshot (Austen 7). Soon he realizes he likes her but is wary of her low social status and bizarre family. Unsurprisingly, Elizabeth turns his proposal down when he leads the question with an emphasis on her inferiority. After that blow to his ego, Darcy begins to change. His character is humbled and he seeks to set the record straight with Elizabeth. At the end of the saga, Darcy shows a final act of compassion by hunting Wickham down and bribing him to marry Lydia. Clearly a dynamic character, Darcy changed from being rude to showing concern and consideration for those in