Wickham

Mr. Wickham is the lying gambler, whose only goal in marriage is to acquire a fortune.

            Wickham lies constantly through out the novel. His most prominent lie involves the evils that he claims Mr. Darcy has done to him. Wickham begins his lying from the moment he first speaks to Elizabeth about this matter by saying, “I have no right to give my opinion” (Austen 75). Wickham then goes on to explicitly give his opinion on Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth fell victim to Wickham’s lies, and would not marry Darcy because she believed that he “deprived [Wickham of] the best years of his life of that independence which was no less his due than his desert” (190). When Mr. Darcy explains the situation truthfully to Elizabeth, Wickham’s deceitful nature is recognized. Wickham’s interest for money is demonstrated when his attention turns from Elizabeth to Miss King the moment he learns that she has inherited a large sum of money. Knowing that Wickham’s motivation for marring is primarily mercenary, everyone is surprised when he is engaged to Lydia, who is far from rich. Mr. Darcy learns that Wickham, being the greedy man that he is, had no intention of marrying Lydia. Darcy had to bail Wickham out of his many gambling debts, and pay extra money for him to marry Lydia.

            Wickham is a tiger that preys upon the innocent minded. The women in the novel are his prey. He deceives them with lies, and the prejudiced Lizzy, optimistic Jane, and foolish Lydia believe these lies. Once the truth is realized his true nature as a weak cat is revealed. He is a pathetic gambler who requires the help of the pride leader, Mr. Darcy, to bail him out of trouble.

            Wickham was a traitor to his good friend Darcy, as Benedict Arnold was a traitor to America.