The Dastardly Mr. Wickham
In this episode we take a deep dive into Mr. Wickham’s character, contradictions, and complaints.
Show Notes
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Transcript
Welcome back to another episode of My Cousin Jane. Each week, we look at what you might think of as the behind the scenes featurettes or deleted scenes of a particular chapter in Austen’s books.
This week, we’re going to talk about Pride & Prejudice Chapter 16.
Chapter Summary
In Chapter 16, the ladies of Longbourn are accompanied by Mr. Collins for an evening at the Philipses. The highlight of the evening is when some of the officers of the regiment join them, and Elizabeth has a chance to get to know Mr. Wickham a little better.
Mr. Wickham
This week, let’s take a moment to examine Mr. Wickham. Austen’s works are sometimes described as “novels of manners”, which according to the Encyclopedia Britannica means:
a work of fiction that re-creates a social world, conveying with finely detailed observation the customs, values, and mores of a highly developed and complex society.
The conventions of the society dominate the story, and characters are differentiated by the degree to which they measure up to the uniform standard, or ideal, of behavior or fall below it.
Encyclopedia Britannica
And that’s certainly true at one level, but at a deeper level, I’ve always thought that a core message found in Austen’s novels is that of a cautionary tale against dating the wrong sorts of men.
Some examples of this include Henry Crawford in Mansfield Park, Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility, Frank Churchill in Emma, Frederick Tilney in Northanger Abbey, and of course, Mr. Wickham.
Wickham’s Self Contradictions
Wickham is handsome and charismatic, and so perhaps it’s understandable that Elizabeth fails to notice the number of times he contradicts himself in this chapter, and it’s not until much later, once she gets to know Mr. Darcy better, that she begins to see the inconsistencies in his behavior.
Opinion on Mr. Darcy
As Elizabeth and Mr. Wickham chat, Mr. Wickham asks after Mr. Darcy, wanting to know how long he’s been in the area, and whether Elizabeth knows him well. After hearing Elizabeth express how disagreeable she finds the man, Wickham begins to open up, though cautiously. At first he claims he can’t give any fair opinion of Darcy, seeing as he’s known him for so long:
“I have no right to give MY opinion,” said Wickham, “as to his being agreeable or otherwise. I am not qualified to form one. I have known him too long and too well to be a fair judge. It is impossible for ME to be impartial. But I believe your opinion of him would in general astonish–and perhaps you would not express it quite so strongly anywhere else. Here you are in your own family.”
Pride & Prejudice – Chapter 16
But then after learning from Elizabeth that most people in down seem to dislike Darcy, Mr. Wickham decides he will, after all, share his opinion:
“I cannot pretend to be sorry,” said Wickham, after a short interruption, “that he or that any man should not be estimated beyond their deserts; but with HIM I believe it does not often happen. The world is blinded by his fortune and consequence, or frightened by his high and imposing manners, and sees him only as he chooses to be seen.”
Pride & Prejudice – Chapter 16
Not to be Frightened
We don’t see this contradiction take place until a couple of chapters later, but Wickham—now that he knows the prevailing opinion on Darcy, feels confident enough in his perceived moral high ground to claim to have no fear of seeing Mr. Darcy.
“I wonder,” said he, at the next opportunity of speaking, “whether he is likely to be in this country much longer.”
“I do not at all know; but I HEARD nothing of his going away when I was at Netherfield. I hope your plans in favour of the —-shire will not be affected by his being in the neighbourhood.”
“Oh! no–it is not for ME to be driven away by Mr. Darcy. If HE wishes to avoid seeing ME, he must go. We are not on friendly terms, and it always gives me pain to meet him, but I have no reason for avoiding HIM but what I might proclaim before all the world, a sense of very great ill-usage, and most painful regrets at his being what he is.
Pride & Prejudice – Chapter 16
Of course later we see that like most things Wickham says about Darcy, this claim is untrue. Wickham is in fact, afraid of Darcy, and refuses to go to the Netherfield ball when invited.
What’s interesting about this contradiction is that that Elizabeth later notices it, but decides to blame Darcy for it rather than wonder at Wickham’s character and still doesn’t question anything else about his story.
Exposing Darcy and his sister
Wickham continues to speak with Elizabeth at length about his connections with the family, explaining that his own father was the steward of Mr. Darcy’s father. A steward in those days acted very much like an XO or second in command, carrying out many regular duties on behalf of his employer.
Wickham then explains how much Mr. Darcy’s father liked him and how jealous it made Darcy. He then shares that Mr. Darcy’s father promised to provide for Wickham in his inheritance by granting him a living, but that Mr Darcy’s jealousy led him to deny Wickham what was rightfully his.
As we discussed in a previous episode, the assignment a clergyman had was referred to as a “living”, and it could produce varying amounts of income, depending on its size, management, and the composition of parishioners who lived within its boundaries. Wealthy landowners often had access to one or more livings they could grant to clergy of their choice.
When Elizabeth asks Wickham why he doesn’t tell more people this story, he claims he could never bring himself to speak ill of the family, due to his affection for Darcy’s late father:
“Some time or other he WILL be–but it shall not be by ME. Till I can forget his father, I can never defy or expose HIM.”
Pride & Prejudice – Chapter 16
At this point, Wickham has completely forgotten his earlier statements that he isn’t qualified to give a fair opinion on this subject, and proceeds to further criticize Darcy’s character, outlining the faults he’s known about him since childhood.
When Elizabeth asks about Mr. Darcy’s younger sister, Georgianna, Wickham also has no trouble sharing her faults:
He shook his head. “I wish I could call her amiable. It gives me pain to speak ill of a Darcy. But she is too much like her brother–very, very proud. As a child, she was affectionate and pleasing, and extremely fond of me; and I have devoted hours and hours to her amusement. But she is nothing to me now.
Pride & Prejudice – Chapter 16
We can only assume that Wickham is in a great deal of agony at this point, having had to speak ill of so many Darcy’s.
Parting Thoughts on Wickham
This quote at the end of the chapter is a good summary of Wickham’s public behavior and its influence over Elizabeth.
Whatever he said, was said well; and whatever he did, done gracefully. Elizabeth went away with her head full of him. She could think of nothing but of Mr. Wickham, and of what he had told her, all the way home;
Pride & Prejudice – Chapter 16
This same set of traits are used to describe many of Austen’s more infamous male characters.
A consistent theme in Austen’s novels is that while people are quick to trust men who are highly charismatic and amiable, it is often the quiet, more serious men who prove to be more trustworthy in the end.
Conclusion
That wraps up this episode of My Cousin Jane.
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“I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope.”