Pride and Prejudice #5

Quote

"To Elizabeth, however, he voluntarily acknowledged that the necessity of his absence had been self-imposed" (Austen 88).

Response

Mr. Wickham, for lack of a better term, is a punk. He directly contradicts what he said in the previous reading. He stated before that he would not be swayed in his decisions by Mr. Darcy, basically saying that he would go to the ball even if Mr. Darcy was there. Once again through Elizabeth's prejudice towards Mr. Darcy she cannot see what Mr. Wickham is doing. Her intellect is being compromised by her emotion. It seems as though Mr. Wickham was scared of Mr. Darcy so he backed out of the ball at the last second.

Quote

"Janes temper was not desponding, and she was gradually led to hope, through the diffidence of affection sometimes overcame that hope, that Bingley would return to Netherfield and answer every wish of her heart" (92).

Response

Jane is very easily swayed by the opinions of others, she believes whatever anybody tells her. She goes to Lizzy with the thought that Mr. Bingley is leaving based on the unreliable Caroline Bingley and within a few minutes she begins to tak the opinion of Lizzy. She reminds me of Huck Finn as he cannot make his own opinion, he was very easily influenced by society and Pap and Ms. Watson that he never had a chance to think for himself.