Pride and Prejudice - in the view of 2026 society is Mr. Wickham simply a predator?

I suppose the icky part of Emma and Knightley's love story is that he's known her since childhood. And been a close family friend in that time, not just some local landowner who her family has vaguely known. So even though Marianne and Brandon's age gap is bigger, at least he didn't know her when she was 7. I'm not a massive Colonel Brandon fan though. People swoon over Rickman's screen depiction of him, even though the real Brandon was more portly and far less dashing. I feel like he sees his chance and swoops in when Marianne is a bit broken.

I don’t think Emma’s devotedness has anything to do with Mr Woodhouse’s selfishness, hypochondria and permanent state of anxiety! You’d have to speculate a backstory for it, but as Isabella, Emmas’s older sister, is also a raging hypochondriac, something to do with the early loss of his wife/her mother? And/or the permanent-presence of Perry the apothecary, who never contradicts any of Mr Woodhouse’s mad theories about draughty or cake, and is getting rich enough on attending him and everyone else in Highbury to buy a carriage?

This thread has made me realise that while the Dashwood, Bennet & Morland families aren’t perfect, they do sound happier & more supportive than the families in JA’s later 3 works.

Then again, the heroine’s family in Sanditon sounds nice whereas Lady Susan is an appalling mother, which destroys the youthful - mature work family pattern.

My post was for @AlonsoMosley

True, but I don’t think it’s intentional. He suffers from severe anxiety.

He is a "most affectionate, indulgent father”

‘Meh!’

I agree that she is devoted. But - she is young. So, at certain points when she wants to carry on like a young person, go to a party etc, he moans and groans all the way through. He nags a lot.

Oh, they undoubtedly love her, and Mr. Kightley stands up to her and encourages her to be better. I really like that for Emma because nobody else can or will.

But , he is older and more than a little jaded.

Her dad loves her too, but in a very selfish way.

... she is mid ...

That is what mine would say!

It’s understandable why Mr Woodhouse is like this. Emma is devoted to him.

But he does love her!

"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."

Same!

And her father is utterly suffocating so between he two of them ... !

This is a lovely thread.

Lots of critical speculation about why Mr Collins isn’t a Bennet. Most likely theory is that he’s descended from a younger son (as Mr B is presumably descended from a line of eldests) who changed his name at some point in the past to inherit (like one of JA’s own brothers) .

Mr C is the last generation covered by the entail — it’s not like inheritance law, as I understand it; someone has to specifically set up an entail on their estate, to protect the family land against a gambler son or the like. It only usually lasts two generations, or three (though I think the one in Sense and Sensibility is longer) . Mr Collins will be able to leave Longbourn to whoever he likes, because he will own it without conditions.

There is an even a bigger age gap between Marianne and Colonel Brandon.

I'm just re-reading Emma alongside dd who is grossed out at the age gap (21 and 38). Yes both adults but he would have been an adult and her a child for most of their relationship. And again she is "silly" a lot but now I'm older reading it, at times you just want him to fuck off and let her be her.

Sorry!

I thought the reason Mr Darcy kept silent about Wickham and his sister, was to protect Georgiana’s reputation and prevent a terrible social scandal.

I won't encourage further modern language pollution of the shades of this thread!

The modern version does remind me a bit of the 'lolcats' craze years ago - people condensed entire books into this 'lolcats' one liners language. Someone did all Antonia Forest's Marlow novels and they were hilarious, not sure if anyone dared touch Jane Austen though.

Ok so Darcy didn’t tell people about his sister nearly being Wickham’s victim in order to preserve his own Mr D legend and status and future options, rather than speaking out on it for the good of the other girls? So he shows morally sinful pride/self interest in that sense?

I really doubt he'd have done that because that would besmirch his sister's reputation with strangers. Certainly he wouldn't tell gently brought up girls about such a thing, and even if he did feel obliged to tell their parents, who would believe him? from the get go he had this reputation in Meryton of being proud and arrogant, and Wickham was everyone's favourite for his approachability and friendliness. People would just assume it was rich man trying to destroy man fighting for his country.

@AlonsoMosley “I also think that by the time we meet Mrs. Bennet, she is menopausal, and in the throes of panic.”

I think that too.

"You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion for my poor nerves."

I can’t get over the rewrite below. It’s sacrilegious.

I hope no school touches it but who does

It kind of is.

I also think intelligence plays a considerable role. One has to wonder if Mrs. Bennet was more inclined to intellectual pursuits would the relationship be different?

I also think that by the time we meet Mrs. Bennet, she is menopausal, and in the throes of panic.

My reading nowadays is that both Lizzie and Darcy suffer equally from pride and prejudice. It is evenly distributed!

When we meet Darcy, he has a complacent, rather empty headed pride which is based entirely on inherited station and wealth. As a result he is complacent, and stuck in a rut of convention. The things he would have to do for himself, like the daily grind of interpersonal relationships he does not really bother with - no dancing, sneery, letting the Bingley sisters make the efforts on his behalf etc. His prejudice towards all others not of his station is easy to see.

Lizzie has holds hard to her pride even with the full knowledge of the shortcomings of her family. She shows not a little pride in her conceit that she would not do what Charlotte Lucas did, and settle in a pragmatic relationship. She is very prejudiced towards Darcy from the get go because she recognizes his acidic nature and snobbism. I think it triggers her, as it is very close indeed to how her father speaks of, and to, her mother.

They are both locked and loaded with P&P, each one challenges both feature in the other, and in so doing, they make each other better. At least imo! 😛

JA is truly an artist. I bloody love that book.

In The Big Bang Theory, Amy watches Indiana Jones, and points out a huge plot hole, that Sheldon hasn’t spotted.

So, in retaliation, he reads P&P to try to ruin it for her somehow.
But, he tells Leonard: I can’t. It’s a flawless masterpiece.

Wise words!