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Villain in Pride and Prejudice
Every novel has its own villain and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice isn’t any different. George Wickham, a suave middle class gentleman, takes on the role of a villain as his character reveals him to be an affected and an egotistical young man. The villainy of his character serves to reinforce the concept of pride and prejudice within the novel. Furthermore, Austen enhances the meaning of the novel by creating in Wickham a foil for the aristocratic Mr. Darcy.
George Wickham is first introduced to the reader as a man of “fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address”. His good looks and fine manner win him an easy acceptance as he becomes “the happy man towards whom almost every female eye was turned”. From the very beginning George Wickham acts as a foil to the aristocratic and proud Mr. Darcy, who shuns all company and becomes notorious for his arrogance and rudeness. However, the good and the evil in the characters is soon reversed as we find out the villainous nature of Wickham. A selfish, money-loving man of pretense manners, Wickham often leaves nothing but enemies and debts as traces behind him. His attempt to elope with the aristocratic Gerorgiana Darcy when the latter was only fifteen not only reveals a breach in his manners but foreshadow the true extant of his villainy as it exposes itself towards the end of the novel. Crucial to the further exposure of Wickham’s character are his affectations to Mary King, a girl with a fortune behind her, and his lies concerning Mr. Darcy’s cruel disposition. The villainy is finally brought home when Wickham elopes with Lydia Bennet, a girl he had had no intention of marrying until offered a bribe by Mr. Darcy. There can therefore be no doubt that Wickham’s villainy revolves around his selfishness and irresponsibility where money matters may be concerned. He cares for neither affection nor reputation – be it his own or somebody elses.
Throughout the novel, Wickham enhances the meaning of the work by representing the concept of impulsive prejudice, all the while acting as a foil for Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth Bennett, an acquaintance of both young men, falls into the trap of hasty prejudice when she befriends Wickham for “his smiles and his easy address” while criticizing Darcy for his arrogance and immoral demeanor. However, just as gradually as Wickham begins to fall in Elizabeth’s eyes, Darcy begins to rise. Set against the superficial character of Wickham, Darcy appears to be all the nobler. Therefore, when the elopement between Wickham and Lydia takes place, Wickham is reduced to a state of villainy while Darcy is elevated to a state of heroism. The fact that both men are the opposite of what they appear adds meaning to the idea of impulsive prejudice within the novel.
Wickham’s villainy enhances yet another meaning in the work – that of pride. It is Wickham’s elopement with Lydia that allows Darcy to admit to Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner his own “mistaken pride”. However, [next page]