Wickham vs Darcy

[DahliaBlood]

Wickham has all the appearance of goodness while Darcy is the true good character. Justify this statement....
Any ideas guys??
Much appreciated.:D

[Dorian Gray]

I'd say sometimes first impressions are false. Some people you meet seem distant or unfriendly but then you get to know them and they're sweet and shy. It also works the other way around. Friendliness is sometimes a mask of sorts that can be used to hide a person's true feelings. Wickham was manipulative. He was charming and used it to his advantage. I still don't know why he ran off with Lydia though. He could've done better than that...

[DahliaBlood]

Yes first impressions are important as the first title for the novel was first impressions so I should include that...I think Wickham suspected something between Darcy and Elizabeth and he knew that Elizabeth knew what he had done. Hence he eloped with Lydia so that Darcy would feel guilty for not exposing his secret in order to keep the family name...

[Dorian Gray]

Indeed, though I've always considered Pride and Prejudice a better title. More classy. :D

But the last time Elizabeth saw him (before he eloped) she and Darcy didn't get along yet did they? She told him she didn't wish to be acquainted with him. Couldn't he have eloped with a rich girl? Charming men tend to marry rich women.

[DahliaBlood]

I suppose but he was after Miss King for a while and then he suddenly dropped her...Maybe Lydia was good in bed :p But it is strange as marrying Lydia would get him no financial gain. Their marriage is a lot like Mr Bennet and Mrs Bennets....ok this doesnt help me in my answer lol. Erm what else could I talk about?

[Dorian Gray]

I doubt even Lydia would give up her virtue before their elopment. With so many admirers, she couldn't have been so careless.

Miss King probably found a better offer.

[DahliaBlood]

Well who really knows.....We can only assume...I also think he married Lydia to spite Elizabeth and try to ruin her chances with Darcy....Could I talk about Darcy paying for everything so it shows that Darcy really is good and Wickham only has the charisma to fool everyone?

[Dorian Gray]

But Wickham didn't even know Darcy was interested in Elizabeth. He probably believed them to be indifferent to each other.

Darcy paying was definitely proof of his goodness though.

[DahliaBlood]

So basically I have 2 points to develop? Im doomed. Also should I talk about Elizabeths first reactions to both of them and Mrs Bennets favoritism to Wickham?

[Dorian Gray]

Yes, I think you should. You could also mention their strengths and weaknesses.

[DahliaBlood]

Aaaah yes yes I see. Thank you oh so much for your help :D Anyone else with anything to contribute?

[JBI]

Wickham has no intention of marrying Lydia. He did it because he had to, and because Darcy offered cash. Darcy on the other hand always does the right thing, though his weird prejudices make him look rough on the out side (he originally feels the Bennets and everyone else in the country are beneath him) but the point is he is so taken with Elizabeth, that he is willing to withdraw from his prejudices, and open up (and eventually shows her that he isn't such a blah).

Wickham on the other hand first tried to seduce Georgianna Darcy for her money, thus causing the feud between he and Mr. Darcy, then tried to have a fling with Elizabeth (he didn't go to the party however out of cowardice from Darcy) Darcy on the other hand is different in the sense that he is more interested in the girl than in a fling.

Prejudice is one of the major themes of the book, we originally prejudge Darcy and Wickham, but are put aright at to who is the good and who is the bad.

[sciencefan]

Wickham has all the appearance of goodness while Darcy is the true good character. Justify this statement....
Any ideas guys??
Much appreciated.:D
descriptions of Wickham:
chapter 15-
"of most gentlemanlike appearance"
"All were struck with the stranger's air, all wondered who he could be"
"for the young man wanted only regimentals to make him completely charming"
"His appearance was greatly in his favour; he had all the best part of beauty -- a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address."
"a happy readiness of conversation -- a readiness at the same time perfectly correct and unassuming"

These accolades concerning Wickham are the complete opposite from the first impression people receive from Darcy.
Wickham who is acually a scoundrel, and Darcy who is actually a good and generous man, give a first impression actually opposite of who they are.
Wickham has the natural ability to easily please and charm people, while Darcy is rather shy and reserved, his stiffness amongst strangers appearing to be arrogance.
chapter 16-
"but Mr. Wickham was as far beyond them all in person, countenance, air, and walk"
"the agreeable manner in which he immediately fell into conversation, though it was only on its being a wet night, and on the probability of a rainy season, made her feel that the commonest, dullest, most threadbare topic might be rendered interesting by the skill of the speaker."
Ah yes. Well, we get the picture. There are a few more descriptions of Wickham's wiles elsewhere, but this will suffice.

What kind of first impression does Darcy make?
chapter 3-
"Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien; and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend."
"What a contrast between him and his friend! Mr. Darcy danced only once with Mrs. Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, declined being introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party. His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and every body hoped that he would never come there again."
chapter 34-
"From the very beginning, from the first moment I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form that ground-work of disapprobation, on which succeeding events have built so immoveable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry."


In truth, Wickham turned out to be a scoundrel of the worst kind: a gambler who didn't pay his debts, a lazy moocher, a womanizer, a man who married a woman he didn't love, for the money.

Darcy, we learn from his housekeeper, is the epitome of a true gentleman.

[DahliaBlood]

^ I lurve you so much :D Thanks.

[Blackjack Davy]

I suppose but he was after Miss King for a while and then he suddenly dropped her...Maybe Lydia was good in bed :p But it is strange as marrying Lydia would get him no financial gain. Their marriage is a lot like Mr Bennet and Mrs Bennets....ok this doesnt help me in my answer lol. Erm what else could I talk about?

Wickham was paid off to marry Lydia by Darcy.. otherwise he certainly wouldn't have bothered. It must have cost Darcy a lot. He did if for the sake of Elizabeth.

(And yes, it's very much a bad marriage like Mr and Mrs Bennets... thats the point.)

[sciencefan]

Though it's not stated outright,
many people believe Darcy paid Wickham 10,000 pounds,
besides paying off his debts.

I refer you to a previous post of mine on this subject:
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showpost.php?p=338739&postcount=74

[Blackjack Davy]

Yes, I couldn't think of the direct amount/quote off the top of my head and I wrote it in a hurry and didn't read your post properly. ;)

A farthing was a quarter of an old penny i.e. the smallest denomination of coinage possible.

[imatreky03]

Did anyone notice that in the movie Wickham was totally annoyed by Lydia after they were married???? Even though he was a jerk he could have done sooooo much better than Lydia. Mr. Darcy came across as extremely serious and he really didn't want to have anything to do with anyone that he didn't know. I find it rather amusing that he didn't want to dance with Elizabeth when Bingley told him to and then he ended up marrying her.

[darcys-tango]

Wockham and Darcy:

The real difference is in each character's honesty. Even before Wickham arrived in the Meryton scene he had a reputation as a womaniser, drinker and gambler, leaving debts in his wake everywhere he went. His character in public was just an act, a charade and, as such, a total deception. Add to that, his account of his dealings with Darcy were totally untrue, making him also a liar.

Darcy was an honest man. Brutally so in as much as he spoke the truth whether it hurt to hear it or not. ( "Disguise in any form is my abhorance") His problem was a class one, a sense of superiority forged of his upbringing as a rich man's son. " I was given good principles but allowed to follow them in pride and conceit" were his own words. Apart from his initial foolishness in dismissing Elizabeth without even meeting her, and his clumsiness in expressing his proposal, he showed no real faults in the story. His sister adored him and his housekeeper praised him to the skies. Both were closer to him than any others.

The comparison of the two, given all the facts, places them miles apart in character.