Language In Clarissa, Evelina And Pride And Prejudice

practice well enough to know that at his marriage
settlement, Bennet would have settled a portion for all
of his younger children. Bennet, however, considers the
entire matter a "trifling exertion" (250). Mona
Scheuermann believes "It is Wickham's callous use of
blackmail and his abnegation of responsibility that
offend Austen, not merely the fact that Wickham seeks
some sort of financial base from his wife as wives often
do from their husbands" (207) . Austen presents us
with the short end of strict settlement practice in Pride
and Prejudice . She pointedly alerts the reader that
marriage does not always fit the classic mold of
settlement practices, the worst examples of which are the
five Bennet daughters and Wickham's marriage to Lydia.
Pamela Bromberg proposes that Lydia and Wickham
"illustrate the dangers of narcissistic egos and
unprincipled greed" (131) .
For women, Lydia's narcissism and greed seem far
more dangerous than Wickham's. Like her mother, she does
not see marriage for more than its appeal at the moment.
Mr. Bennet sees Lydia as a commodity, her escapade as an
expense of his marriage. He tells Elizabeth that "Lydia
will never be easy till she has exposed herself in some
public place or other," and that her doing so now "under