pride and prejudice wickham quotes

english cie igcse

“of most gentlemanlike appearance” p77

Wickham’s introduction to book - “gentlemanlike” adjective, charming, dashing - shows how easily he appeals to people before even interacting with them, elements of his trickery which is later exposed - “appearance” noun, way something looks or performs - foreshadows the later reveal of all of his actions simply being an appearance, none of it was true, was all merely acting

“Whatever he said, was said well; and whatever he did, done gracefully.” p91

highlights Wickham’s natural eloquence and charm - “well…gracefully” both adjectives depicting Wickham’s actions as polite, charming, of high standard - shows a well practiced grace/honed in skill of appearance - is able to appear easily good natured - shows how perfect he comes across - “whatever” - inclusive of everything, no matter what - all of his actions were of this charm, had no slip ups - almost too perfect

“not in her nature to question the veracity of a young man of such amiable appearance as Wickham” p93

“veracity” noun, accuracy - implying people won’t second-guess Wickham’s trustworthiness due to his charming appearance and personality - shows how he uses this to his benefit in his trickery and lies - also telling of how in Regency Era people tended to just trust people who appeared nice - both in terms of looks and superficial conversations/charms - rather than getting to know people and trusting those who were actually worthy - contrast to Darcy who is trustworthy but disliked due to not having such easy manners/charms

“The sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds was the most remarkable charm of the young lady to who he was now rendering himself agreeable” p159

highlights Wickham’s opportunistic nature and mercenary value - jumps at the chance to marry someone who he’ll gain a lot of money from, disregards anyone and everyone he previously showed interest in - “the most remarkable charm” - “most” superlative - sarcastic/sardonic - emphasises Wickham’s priorities of money over genuine feelings or attraction - treating this as if this large sum of money is the most incredible quality anyone’s every had - so desperate for money

“His countenance, voice, and manner had established him at once in the possession of every virtue.” p219

“established” - verb, determined, made certain/concrete - implying there is no uncertainty in what his appearance presents him as, he keeps up his charm so well that there is never any doubt he is anything but a gentleman - “every” determiner, referring to all individuals without exception - saying he has all possible positive qualities, he is lacking in no ways - shows how convincing his charm is

“no more substantial good than the general approbation of the neighbourhood” p219

Wickham hasn’t done anything notably kind or good, was only viewed so well due to a general liking from the neighbourhood, never did anything which stood out due to its goodness - the gossip of Meryton was what decided he was a good, moral man - fact it’s not in direct speech emphasises this, as it’s not directly coming from anyone, almost as if it’s still whispers and a compilation of many different voices rather than one certain fact - shows how compelling yet untrustworthy gossip can be and the dangerous impact in can have

“She was now struck with the impropriety of such communications to a stranger…”

Elizabeth realises how improper Wickham’s actions were and how ungentlemanly they were - “now” adverb - only now that she’s not faced with his compelling charm and trickery can she this - shows how captivating Wickham and how he uses this to shield the people he’s lying to from the truth - encapsulates them in his charm - emphasises how Wickham was able to get away with improper behaviour simply because he was charming

“he had then no reserves, no scruples in sinking Mr Darcy’s character” p220

referring to after Mr Darcy and the rest of that group (Bingley etc) had left Meryton - nothing stopped Wickham from damaging and ruining Mr Darcy’s reputation, but only after he had left - Elizabeth realises this is because it meant Wickham didn’t have to fear Darcy revealing the truth anymore - “no reserves” - nothing holding him back - connotes his immoral, rakish, selfish character - once he had no reason to worry about himself and his own reputation, he was perfectly fine with ruining someone else’s

“views solely and hatefully mercenary” p220

”solely” - adverb, only, not involving anything else - his reasons and thoughts were focused only on money and nothing else, is truly a mercenary as he has no thoughts but those of his own financial gain - “hatefully” adverb - connotes anger, aggression, violence - suggests his motives are so focused on money that he has hate for those who can’t help him gain money, also implies he may get to a point of violence if his wants of money aren’t fulfilled - danger of being so economically focused

“an affectation and a sameness to disgust and weary” p248

now Elizabeth understands his true character and how fake all his charm is, she finds him boring and repulsive - all it takes is the truth to see how his act is just repeated for every scenario and every person - his fabricated behaviour is just tiring - “affectation” - an act, a fakeness/front - his lack of authenticity makes him eventually boring and a disgusting companion

“his affection for her soon sunk into indifference” p414

feelings for Lydia quickly turned to apathy - shows how easily he bores without new excitement - his patience easily wears thin - like a child who needs to be constantly entertained - constantly needs more, is greedy - “sunk” - connotes drowning, being consumed - any feelings he had for her have been consumed by his constant need more, almost pitiful how desperate he is

“gone to enjoy himself in London or Bath” p414

“enjoy himself” - euphemistic - implies he is going to flirt with possibly sleep with other women - shows how the only way he can have fun is to constantly have something which is a novelty and is exciting - immoral, rakish behaviour - has no reservations about cheating on his wife, feels no obligation to her - indirect speech as this would never be said directly, is such a taboo subject or idea that it can’t even be spoken of, emphasises how terrible Wickham’s actions are