The scandal surrounding
Lydia's marriage and her preceding escape from the soldier camp causes the
Bennet family a great deal of distress. Considering social issues of the times,
compare her family's reaction to the incident to a similar event in 2015. What
has changed?
Lydia decides to elope with Mr. Wickman, and because of that the Bennet’s go on mad hunt for her, to ensure her safety and successful marriage. Their reaction was very appropriate for the time period in which they were in, along with the type of personality her mother has. Lydia running away, during that time period, caused a great uproar because they couldn’t reach her by any means, and there was also the chance that she would not get married to Mr. Wickman. Today, however, I believe elopment is better received by the family of the couple. Usually because, there are largely better means of communication, so that even if a couple would elope, they could communicate the progress of the marriage. Also, today, dating is more commonly accepted and occurs for a longer period of time than back then. A couple that elopes today, would usually be in a relationship for quite some time before proceeding with the elopment. However, back then, there was hardly dating, so it was a greater risk to run off and elope with a man that you would hardly know. These reactions are vastly different largely to due with the new norms relationships that are presented today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you're saying as elopement being much more accepted today that it was during the novel's time period. Elopement has become much more common, especially in Las Vegas, because it has also become much more accepted to divorce as well. During the time when the novel took place, it's absolutely unheard of to divorce your husband, so elopement in such a short time was a much bigger deal since they would be stuck with that person until the end of time!
DeleteWhen the Bennet's catch wind of the news that Lydia and Mr. Wickman eloped, they were more concerned with the lack of future marriage plans than the elopement itself. As customary in the time period of the novel, eloping and marriage always came together as a pair. The scandal with Lydia was such a big deal because of the severe consequences that would arise if there was truly a situation of elopement without marriage. In those times, that would not only ruin Lydia's chances of ever finding a husband, but it could also affect her sister's chances and stain the reputation of the family. Therefore, the Bennet's insisted that they find Lydia and arrange a marriage for her sake and theirs. In modern times, eloping is not nearly as common as it was in the time period of Pride and Prejudice. Such a thing occurring would not permanently ruin a woman's chances of finding a husband, but it would still cause a great deal of unrest in a family if they didn't know where their daughter was. Another reason reactions would be different in 2015 to this situation is the dynamics of relationships in general. Nowadays, couples are together for multiple years before being married instead of being pushed into a marriage too early without knowing each other well enough. Also, women's reputations aren't permanently affected when a relationship ends. Because of these changes, elopement isn't as common in 2015, and it wouldn't cause the same frantic reaction as it did in Pride and Prejudice.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the whole episode of the commotion regarding Lydia’s elopement with Mr. Wickham, the main subject of concern always leads back to appearance. They were all disgraced by having a sister, or daughter, who would run off with a man and live with him more than they were actually concerned about the situation of her doing this itself. Once the marriage was arranged, they were all filled with relief at the distraction from the scandalous beginning of the relationship, and all was made well once the appearance was made acceptable to their reputations. Today, relationships aren’t as under the microscope and marriage isn’t as necessary for financial and social security. Relationships are also much less serious than they once were, and are more commonly formed without future intentions. The rush to marry isn’t as expected of people, and it is more encouraged to focus on other aspects of people’s lives than their personal lives. Someone living with someone today is much more common and accepted and usually won’t be a situation that causes families to feel the need to frantically and hurriedly arrange a marriage out of it.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that "the main subject of concern always leads back to appearance." Especially with Mrs. Bennet, and in turn Lydia, everything they do is to impress someone. She has taught Lydia and Kitty to long for attention and Lydia succeeds in doing this, but just in the wrong way. So Mrs. Bennet frets and frets until their reputation is secured once again, happiness and love pushed aside. I also agree that relationships are not as serious as they used to be. Take high school for example; most people here don't date thinking that they're going to be married and they definitely don't do it according to social rank, they do it for fun and because they enjoy each others company. Back in the time of this book that wasn't even a thing, you had a relationship only if it led to marriage.
DeleteThe Bennet family is extremely upset when they find out that Lydia has eloped with Mr. Wickham. They are upset about the deceit of their daughter but more so the fact that this situation will leave her tarnished to the rest of their world. Though Jane and Elizabeth are worried and frustrated because they know what Mr. Wickham really is, the rest of the family is distressed due to her now tainted image. Marriage is not seen as needing to be filled with love, but more of an agreement made between social statuses and wealth. In 2015, that idea of what marriage should be has completely changed. The majority of people marry because they are in love with each other and they want to spend the rest of their lives together despite any flaws. I think the idea of just being in a long-term relationship instead of getting married is also gaining a lot of speed. There aren’t as many rules regarding what marriage has to be anymore.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good point about the radical change that has occurred regarding both the definition and the societal meaning of marriage. From the novel it seems that marriage in those days was typically for the sole purpose of raising one's status, explaining pretty darn well why Lady Catherine de Bourgh was so persistent on having Darcy marry his cousin. These days it seems like class has a relatively small impact on potential relationships, except for the extreme ends of the spectrum. I also like that you mentioned the different fears that various members of the Bennet family where phased by; that the parents were concerned with Lydia's future ability to be married while Jane and Elizabeth were worried about the character flaws that they knew Wickham to have. That in itself is incredibly telling of where the priorities lie among the Bennets.
DeleteLydia's act of elopement was a big deal back then because it not only tarnished your reputation as a person (if you were to not have married the man), but your family's name as well. This 'rebellious' act during the 19th century was frowned upon because of the violations of decency and appropriateness in society during the Regency period. This move on Lydia's part was not so wise considering she barely knew Wickham and he only invited her because he knew she would out of desperation. Lydia not only looks vulnerable but if the marriage would have never happened, it would have been difficult to find another man. Lydia's marriage contrasts with her older sisters, Jane and Elizabeth, as they married out of affectionate and real love whereas Lydia's and Wickhams was merely out of attraction and desperation. In today's era, running off with a person is not so drastic where it will affect your chances of finding another man or your family name, but it is not encouraged. Most people during today's time meet and talk for a certain amount of time and try to understand each other exploring their strengths, weaknesses, passions, etc. and if they're compatible and truly love each other, they marry. Marriage isn't as abrupt as it was back then during the era of Pride and Prejudice which is why it's not so common to run away suddenly in today's era. With that being said, I think it's the pressure that has changed when it comes to marriage. Back then, it was a major priority/custom to get married for certain benefits but nowadays, it's not so uncommon to stay single and to just live your life the way you want.
ReplyDeleteWhen Lydia runs off with Mr. Wickham the Bennet family is very distraught and quite embarrassed as well. Back then marriage was viewed as something that was a necessity for a woman to make a life for herself. The Bennets needed money and an heir to the estate so it's understandable that they were very upset when one of their "respectable", eligible daughters ran off without any guaranteed financial security. But now woman have the opportunity to provide for themselves and don't need marriage and the financial security that used to be necessary. Back then eloping was out of the question for any respectable young woman so the Bennet's distress was warranted, but in today's society the idea of marriage has become very deluded itself. With high divorce rates and one night-marrying sessions in Las Vegas I think that eloping wouldn't be a very shocking event.
ReplyDeleteCasey I completely agree with what you have here. In the society that existed back in the day, marriage was considered a must, and women had very little independence with their life choices. They did not inherit any money and were expected to attract suitor or else they would die a spinster. Marriage was held in much higher regard in those days, and once married you married for life. An elopement would not seem as big of a problem nowadays with marriage being an almost casual thing.
DeleteGiven that time period, marriage was an all-consuming theme of life and Lydia's sudden elopement posed the greatest of scandals to the Bennet family as it jeopardized their reputation and Lydia's potential marriage.
ReplyDeleteIn modern times, it would be rare to see elopement like this. Of course, Lydia would show rebellion of some sort but she would most likely take it out on social media or cat-fishing some poor soul on the internet for fun. Today, relationships are much more casual and women are actually granted the miracle of choice rather than adhering to the expected patriarchal roles that dominated 200 years ago. There would be no need cater solely to reputation and thus, the modern day Bennets would likely be more concerned with the physical whereabouts of their daughter rather than the fear that she may not marry.
If a situation similar to Lydia’s happened in the times we live in today, there would be a lot more concern and controversy than what is expressed in the book. As more and more is learned of Lydia’s whereabouts, the Bennet family is more concerned with her marrying Wickham, rather than for her own well-being and happiness. It would be near impossible for this to even occur in the times today for a number of reason, the first being that you can’t marry under the age of 18 without parental consent, which Lydia clearly didn’t have. Because she’s under 18, there would huge search parties sent out and Wickham would have been taking to jail for kidnapping a minor. The way children are treated today is much more constricting and safe than what it was during the novel’s time period and this can account for many of the differences between the differing ways that families would respond to the incident similar to Lydia’s.
ReplyDeleteI whole heartedly agree with you. While in the novel, this marriage is more of a social issue, in modern times it would be much more of a legal and safety issue. Even despite this, it still is odd to me that there is such a lack of emotion from the Bennets when looked at with this perspective. The fact that their fifteen year old girl had gone off with a man in his mid twenties, should have stirred more emotion that simply a gentle panic about the financial repercussions of this.
DeleteThe closest thing this scandal would come to in modern day times, would be the scandal itself. While women do have more independence and choice in whomever they have a relationship with, the issue here is more of safety than societal norms. While eloping at all can be scandalous in some communities, the age of the participants would be a much larger point of interest. Lydia, being the ripe old age of 15 is way too young to be dating someone in their mid twenties, let alone eloping with them. The reaction of the Bennet family to this would likely hold up today as they are mostly concerned with her safety. The only difference caused by the change in time period would be the effect it would have on the Bennet's social lives. While they would deal with some spiteful rumors initially, their ultimate fate from a financial standpoint would not be in as much of a question. When it comes down to it, a naive teenager running away with an adult is concerning in every era, regardless of social norms.
ReplyDeleteI like the points you raised, Mydra. I completely forgot the whole pedophile angle. If this scandal was to occur in modern times, I'm sure the Bennets would be more preoccupied with the whole notion that their 15 daughter was abducted by a much older man, probably spawning a whole slew of clickbait media stories on the web. Wickman is too old to be chasing after a relationship with a 15 year old girl who's too young to be making life altering choices such as elopement. Then again, I'd love to see Wickham featured on Dateline.
DeleteAfter receiving word that Lydia had run off with Wickham, the Bennets were in a state of panic and urgency to relocate their then missing daughter. I believe that many of the anxieties they faced stemmed from the lack of clarity surrounding the entire situation. The Bennets had no knowledge as to why Wickham would want to run off with Lydia as they knew that he was in a financial state that would have made it much more beneficial to marry into money. Because the Bennets had very little in terms of money and assets, there was no obvious reason as to why Wickham would waste his time courting a gal with so little financial value. As we saw in both Bingley’s and Darcy’s proposals it was typical in that time for the parents of the potential bride to be involved in the decision as to whether marriage was ultimately a good option for the family. Disregarding this social norm, when Lydia and Wickham ran off it made it so Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were completely removed from the event.
ReplyDeleteThese days, if a strange man that was barely acquainted with a family ran off with their sixteen year old daughter as they made claims that they were in love, I believe that the police would be involved rather quickly. If she was an actual adult and chose to run off and get married it would be much more acceptable these days than it was then.
When considering the factors that go into the family's reaction of Lydia's elopement, there are many that would not be such an issue if the same scandal would occur in the modern day. To begin with, there is the subject of communication. Communicating nowadays is incredibly easier then it was back then through the phone, computer etc. When the only way you have to talk is through letter, there is much to be worried about. Secondly, instead of the family having to ride on horses to try to scour the country for the couple, police and other services would help much faster then if the same family were to have to search all by themselves. Thirdly, the main issue with Lydia's scandalous elopement is that it ruined the chances of finding suitors for the rest of the girls, and brought shame to the family name. If a woman eloped with a man today, there is a very small chance that it would affect her sisters chances of finding a husband. Overall, an elopement similar to Lydia's in today's society would not be that large of a deal, as long as she was safe and cared for.
ReplyDeleteLydia's elopement with Mr. Wickham and the family's pursuit of her demonstrates a deep importance to maintain reputation to their family's name. Mr. Bennet immediately pursues to try and recollect her from disgracing the family name even farther. Running off with someone rather than asking permission of marriage at this time period is equivalent to today's standards of marrying without knowing the other person. The objectives of marriage in the book are to marry up into a better, longer life and class than the one that Lydia has now. She has done the opposite by marrying for current happiness rather than long term happiness. Today that is what marriage is about rather than marrying for money or gaining class. Marriage into gaining wealth is given a negative connotation and is compared to leaching off of others rather than providing for oneself. Today we see poorer happy people, and richer unhappy people. The richer have wealth and used this as the basis of marriage rather than true love.
ReplyDelete