“So imprudent a match on both sides! But I am willing to hope the best, and that his character has been misunderstood. Thoughtless and indiscreet I can easily believe him, but this step (and let us rejoice over it) marks nothing bad at heart. His choice is disinterested at least, for he must know my father can give her nothing” (254).
Even in Jane’s letter to Elizabeth regarding the events with Lydia and Wickham, Jane is still able to find some good in the situation. Jane observes that, Mr. Wickham knows the financial status of Lydia’s family, so he must not be marrying for mercenary values. Jane’s optimism finds in Wickham a possibility for virtue. However, this is a foolish attempt to better Mr. Wickham’s values.
When Jane opened the letter from Darcy, she learned the truth about Wickham. She realized that his “attentions to Miss King were […] solely and hatefully mercenary” (195). She also recognizes that there could only be two reasons for Mr. Wickham to fancy her. The first is that he could have “been deceived with regard to her fortune” (195). The second is that he may have “been gratifying his vanity by encouraging the preference which she believed she had most incautiously shown” (195).
In the case of Elizabeth either of these cases could have been true, but concerning Lydia, the reason for his actions is obvious. Wickham certainly knows that a marriage with Lydia offers no monetary benefits, so it is clear that these happenings with her are only for his own vanity, as Elizabeth observed. He, being vain, enjoys inspiring affection and sympathy for himself in others.
Jane’s optimism is contrasted by what characteristic in Elizabeth?
A. Hatred
B. Prejudice
C. Honesty
D. Loyalty
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