P & P Blog 5

Elizabeth receives a set of letters from Jane that fastidiously describe a terrible truth: Lydia has run off with Wickham. This especially angers Elizabeth because she knows of his shady past with Georgiana. She's also aware that it is imminent that the Bennets' reputation will be completely ruined. She doesn't exactly blame Lydia for this, in fact she blames herself for not exposing Wickham for the scumbag that he is. After telling Darcy, he is also upset with himself for not exposing Wickham. Elizabeth assumes that Lydia is implacable at this moment, and would be difficult to locate and pull out of this predicament. What's interesting about this situation is that she holds Lydia with no responsibility, she is only disappointed in herself for not realizing that Lydia was an easy target for Wickham. She is also having trouble understanding why Wickham would want to marry Lydia, because he should be aware that the marriage would bring him no wealth, and it has been proven that he specifically cares about his wealth and status. Elizabeth believes that doing what she can and stopping the marriage if possible is incumbent and extremely important for her family's posterity to prosper.