Pride and Prejudice Blog #3

I believe Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are to blame for the elopement of their daughter, Lydia, and Mr. Wickham.“The business of her life was to get her daughters married”(7); if Mrs. Bennett didn't have this mindset, she could have easily avoided much of the destruction she has caused.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett's five daughters were raised with very little structure and discipline, causing them to act out and be looked down upon by those higher in society. This lack of structure seems to have affected the youngest daughter, Lydia, the most, possibly due to the parent's lack of energy to stay on top of her actions after raising four other young girls. At this point, the strongest impression Mrs. Bennett had made on her daughter was the importance of marrying off to a rich and successful man. Unfortunately his had now become the business of Lydia's life as well. Mr. Bennett's inactive role in Lydia's life very well may have made just as much of an impact as Mrs. Bennett's overly active one. If Mr. Bennett had been able to stand up and teach her that she can be strong on her own rather than depending on a man for happiness, she would not have turned out the flirty and conceited young woman we see her become. Her actions regarding the soldiers in town are a perfect example of how she believes she should act around marriage prospects, explaining the bad name she continues to give the entire Bennett family. Lydia is slandering the family name by coming off as a desperate young woman who will go after any man she comes across in order to put herself ahead.These actions are not something Lydia could have simply picked up on her own, these are actions that Mrs. Bennett approved of and forced Lydia to believe to be socially acceptable. In reality, they were the opposite.
It may seem as though parents cannot be to blame for how a child turns out, which is arguable, but this is a very specific case. This is a case in which the child happens to have a somewhat invisible father, and a rather crazy and demanding mother. This is not a good mix. Lydia did not have anyone there to possibly refute the ideas that her mother drilled into her brain her entire life. These ideas consisting of it being a necessity to marry rich, at a young age, and into a family that will strengthen their own family name. When this is the situation a young girl is put into, the outcome is nearly inevitable. This outcome is exactly what is seen take place in Pride and Prejudice. If Mr. Bennett had been able to step up and set ground rules for Lydia, he would have never allowed her to set off to Brighton, and she would have never been able to elope. At the same time, if Mrs. Bennett hadn't brought Lydia up in such a fashion, her head would not have been so wrapped around the idea of getting married as soon as possible, and she would not have even wanted to elope so badly. In conclusion, both parents are equally to blame for the elopement of Lydia and Mr. Wickham.