It is important for a young woman, especially one of Lydia's uncertain future, to marry decently; in the Bennet household, marriage is held as the uttermost goal by the lady of the house, if not her husband. And Mr. Bennet, if he has any true qualms about Lydia's behavior, does nothing to stop it. When Elizabeth confronts him later in the novel about his cultivation of Lydia's alleged frivolity by allowing her to go to Brighton, Mr. Bennet brushes her concerns off by saying, "Lydia will never be easy till she has exposed herself in some public place or other" (Austen 158). Elizabeth continues to protest his decision, arguing that her own respectability will be negatively affected by Lydia's conduct. Mr. Bennet only says that wherever she and
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Lydia is, if nothing else, a product of her father's opinions; because he offers his opinions disguised as statements of fact, readers are inclined to take them as such, forming their own judgments of Lydia based on his.
If Mr. Bennet sets Lydia up to fail, it is Elizabeth who cements her status as the careless, imprudent Bennet sister. Elizabeth's power over the narrative in Pride and Prejudice is unmatched; she captures readers' hearts, and the story is told mainly through her eyes. It is her condemnation of Lydia's behavior that settles the matter. In Elizabeth's eyes, Lydia is wrong; therefore, Lydia must be wrong. From where does Elizabeth derive her opinion of Lydia? At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth has very little to say about …show more content…
She illustrates complex social dynamics within Pride and Prejudice, as well as how characters' opinions can both shape the attitude of other characters, as well as the attitude of the audience itself. Lydia is a product of her culture's insistence that a woman needs to get married, of her mother's obsession with marrying well, her father's constant condemnation of her character, and her sister's easily swayed judgments. Her character is shaped because the opinions of Mr. Bennet and Mr. Darcy are taken as fact, and because Elizabeth Bennet, beloved and believed by readers, trusts those
Lydia is, if nothing else, a product of her father's opinions; because he offers his opinions disguised as statements of fact, readers are inclined to take them as such, forming their own judgments of Lydia based on his.
If Mr. Bennet sets Lydia up to fail, it is Elizabeth who cements her status as the careless, imprudent Bennet sister. Elizabeth's power over the narrative in Pride and Prejudice is unmatched; she captures readers' hearts, and the story is told mainly through her eyes. It is her condemnation of Lydia's behavior that settles the matter. In Elizabeth's eyes, Lydia is wrong; therefore, Lydia must be wrong. From where does Elizabeth derive her opinion of Lydia? At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth has very little to say about …show more content…
She illustrates complex social dynamics within Pride and Prejudice, as well as how characters' opinions can both shape the attitude of other characters, as well as the attitude of the audience itself. Lydia is a product of her culture's insistence that a woman needs to get married, of her mother's obsession with marrying well, her father's constant condemnation of her character, and her sister's easily swayed judgments. Her character is shaped because the opinions of Mr. Bennet and Mr. Darcy are taken as fact, and because Elizabeth Bennet, beloved and believed by readers, trusts those