Anonymous asked: Wickham is a smooth charmer. He was best friends with Darcy, yet he decided to "romance" Georginia and abandon her. Darcy was furious because not only was Wickham generally a jerk to women, but Georgina was very very young. Lizzie was taken in by Wickham and regretted not telling her parents about him, since otherwise Lydia might have been protected. I really don't understand using Wickham/Lydia as a example of a teen/adult relationship that's like..okay?
I’m not using it as an example of a relationship that’s okay; I’m using Pride and Prejudice as an example of a book which features a not-okay relationship where the story is nonetheless beloved, and where - given the real-world historical context - we know that Lydia doesn’t have a lot of great options once Wickham seduces her, given her personality, her level of education and her lack of money. So when people read or watch Pride and Prejudice, even knowing that Wickham is a skeevy, predatory douche, we don’t tend to think of the story’s ending as a tragedy, not because we’re objectively okay with what’s happened to Lydia, but because the character herself is happy and offered some tangible protection by her connection to Darcy and his family.
shedog89 liked this
nowwavingnotdrowning reblogged this from fozmeadows
nowwavingnotdrowning liked this
azula-stark liked this
flootzavut liked this cinqueform liked this
nikichidon liked this wherethewindisblowing liked this
catwholurks liked this
jezebelgoldstone liked this
bookgeekgrrl liked this
itsathought2 said: I guess I’m saying we probably shouldn’t project a “good marriage” in the modern meaning on that book. Marriage was a different beast in that time. The idea of marrying for love or refusing to marry for any other reason was still quite new. And then the expectations she place on the marriage relationship did not exist. We expect an emotional and spiritual fulfillment out of marriage. That was not expected then.
itsathought2 said: Lydia is written as a moral lesson on practical marriage. Don’t be a silly fool & throw away your future for sex. Because in their time all her cards were on that table, she was ruined & her life would certainly have been a Tragedy if Darcy hadn’t saved her. Wickham would have left her, & her family would likely have shunned her. She would be homeless without skills. Lydia saved from Tragedy became the plot pivot to Elizabeth marrying love & money. Moral of the story.
ivithedreamer liked this
mrdetectivedouche liked this
star-anise said:
Part of the point of Lydia is sometimes people make decisions that are frankly incomprehensible and upsetting, and you CAN’T just decide they don’t get to do that anymore. Sometimes YOU have to live with the shitty decisions OTHER people make. Life is full of messiness and moral ambiguity!
star-anise liked this
gardenercataloguer liked this fasach liked this
ourimpavidheroine liked this
ironedorchid liked this
aspiringpolymath liked this
waterhobbit liked this fozmeadows posted this