Pride and Prejudice
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Would You Have Fallen For Mr. Wickham?
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S.
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Feb 22, 2012 10:13PM
No. I remember watching the BBC series, having not read the book at the time, and hating him instantly. He was so...slimy. He was completely inconsistent, he ignores good and decent morals by speaking about such personal matters with an unwed woman without any bonds to him either by blood or marriage, and he is obviously all show and no substance. I might not like Darcy at first, but you know the minute you meet him that there are deep thoughts going on beneath his expensive hat. Besides, I'm the one friends come to and ask, what do you think of that guy. I'm 9 out 10 times right on the money. Wickham just doesn't feel right.
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If you despised Darcy´s pride, to me, seems logical that you would fall for Wickham´s false accusations because they validated your already formed opinion on him; and if the acuser (Wickham) is a charming, seductive, that give you attention kind of amn, you will initailly fall for everything that comes out of his mouth, until you start to see the truth, eventually.
Kassel wrote: "Chantelle wrote: "Hells no! I fell for Mr.Darcy from the very beginning!!!"The first time I fell for Wickham, but every single day after that I have been hopelessly in love with Fitzwilliam Darcy ;)"
I have always been in love with Fitzwilliam Darcy. He is the best.
I think if I really met Wickham at that time I would have fallen for him. I'm very capable of being influenced so I probably would've been really attached to him.
Though I think I would have liked the mysterious appearance of Mr. Darcy as well! :)
Though I think I would have liked the mysterious appearance of Mr. Darcy as well! :)
No I wouldn't have fallen for wickham am sure of it, because those whose manners are too good at first meet and are over friendly with you, you can never trust such people although they might be good looking
Yes! I definitely wouldn't have guessed a thing in the time is takes people to bond, but if we had "courted" I guess you would say back then, I would've been able to figure out that he's not all that he's cut out to be.
Yes, I would have. While it was clear that someone like Darcy was a better guy, Wickham had a lot of dash that would have been hard to resist. :)
I think if somebody as level headed as Lizzy could be taken in by his charms, then i think i probably would have been too.
I've never been one for smarmy, overly-flattering types! ;)
Mr Darcy observes that Wickham has the happy art of making friends but that it's less certain that he can keep them.Therefore, the handsome, charming Wickham may have been interesting at first to me, but, unlike Elizabeth, I'd most likely have spotted his flaws early on.
So my answer is, no; I'd never have fallen in love with him.
I rather doubt I would have; I don't particularly like people who are very charming and whenever someone says something really, really bad about someone else, I automatically get suspicious (of the person doing the accusing). Also, he was also constantly blathering about his misfortunes and he seemed like the type to be self-pitying, which is annoying.
And to be honest I always thought it rather unlikely that Lizzie fell for him, at all.
I could definitely see myself getting attracted to Mr Wickham (he sounded very charming), but I think I'd get tired of him easily. I had a bad feeling about him when I was reading the book, so I think meeting him in person would be the same.
Maria wrote: "I think that, given the age of all 3 women and the time period i would have believed in his misfortunes, firstly because...Darcy was not there to counterpoint them, to challenge the accusations. Wh..."My husband always says that the one who tells the lie first is believed. So it wasn't surprising Elizabeth believed his story, plus she was inclined to dislike Darcy. Wickham fed her just what she wanted to hear.
I don't know if I would have fallen for Wickham. Charming guys have a way of becoming social butterflies (or are men beetles?).
I immediately thought how boorish it was of him to describe the follies of Mr. Darcy to a virtual stranger. I am usually turned off by men being capriciously negative. A man ought to be strong enough not to regard such pettiness as worthy of a conversation and confide in such things with caution, once a friendship develops.
nah , i hate guys like that :/
Bill wrote: "I feel a bit like I'm butting in on "girls' talk" here, but don't we all follow Elizabeth's lead in falling for Wickham first time around? Same with Willoughby in S&S. Part of Austen's genius is ha..."I don't mind guys "butting in." :) And you're right about Austen's handling of the characters and how she misleads the reader. That is half the fun of the book.
Notice that there are similarities between Wickham and the young, callower Wentworth in Persuasion.Anne was right to say no the first time around.
Shelley
Rain: A Dust Bowl Story
http://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.com
"Mr. Wickham is blessed with such happy manners as may ensure his making friends— whether he may be equally capable of retaining them, is less certain."I have fallen for so many smooth talking devilish men. I am a fool for love and I am not smart enough to learn my lesson. I think perhaps I am a bad judge of character but, alas I am married to a wonderful Mr. Darcy. Sometimes us girls and even women fall for the bad ones. It is however a delicious weakness for even the Wickham's provide entertainment and experience.
Austen cleverly sets us up so we do fall for Wickham, and if someone as clever as Elizabeth did so, how would I not? It is not only that he is apparently handsome and charming, but that he is...we suppose...gravely wronged. Who doesn't love the poor, romantic underdog?(but yes, ultimately, my heart belongs to Darcy)
I've definitely had a Wickham in my life before! Of course that was when I was much younger. Now at 25 I don't have any room for them! :)
Gwen wrote: "I've definitely had a Wickham in my life before! Of course that was when I was much younger. Now at 25 I don't have any room for them! :)"must have been horrible :(
Kassel wrote: "Chantelle wrote: "Hells no! I fell for Mr.Darcy from the very beginning!!!"The first time I fell for Wickham, but every single day after that I have been hopelessly in love with Fitzwilliam Darcy ;)"
I have fallen completely and utterly for Darcy. He is pretty much everything I would want in a man, but he still has faults, so isn't too perfect. This makes him more believable as a character, I think. Now all I've got to do is find a real life Darcy! ;)
Given the time period, and the fact that my first reaction is to cheer for the underdog, I might have succumbed momentarily. His whining and blaming everyone else for his troubles would have turned me off real fast. 2-week infatuation, possibly. Love, no way. Elizabeth's attraction to him grew from her prejudice against Darcy, not from any of Wickham's personal qualities. When the time came, she parted with him too easily for there to have been any real attraction. The other girls were silly, young teenagers. If I were such a girl, sure, I would have fallen for him. I would have fallen for anyone. It wasn't really Wickham they fell for, but a man who paid them attention.
We all have a Mr. Wickham in our past. ; - )
not really, darcy would definetely spark something in me, i always like the quite mysterious type, especially when he's got such air as darcy.. but the very obvious handsome and friendly (flirty) type.. not my cup of tea
not really, darcy would definetely spark something in me, i always like the quite mysterious type, especially when he's got such air as darcy.. but the very obvious handsome and friendly (flirty) type.. not my cup of tea
No I probably won't fall for jackass Wickham, Lydia was just stupid, dumb and any other adjectives related to the prior. Mr. Darcy is still number 1 :*)
Nouran wrote: "not really, darcy would definetely spark something in me, i always like the quite mysterious type, especially when he's got such air as darcy.. but the very obvious handsome and friendly (flirty) t..."yeah I definitely agree :)
Keli wrote: "Given the time period, and the fact that my first reaction is to cheer for the underdog, I might have succumbed momentarily. His whining and blaming everyone else for his troubles would have turne..."I agree with Keli. As the question is if we were in Lizzy’s position back then during that time period, then certainly I would have fallen for him. Given the fact that these women were far more sheltered back then, and the way Mr Darcy had slighted people at the dance, it makes sense for Lizzy to believe him. We can look at it today and say we would not have been fooled, but our society allows us to be more aware of people being as false as Wickham was. I may not trust somebody now who acts as he did, but if I had been there back then, I think it would be different.
I don't think I would; I'm usually quick at picking up deception in people. And a man talking to a stranger about such sensitive matters would have sounded suspicious.
Unfortunately, I'm a sucker for good-looking men who are rakish and a bit of a renegade. Mystery writer P.D. James recently wrote a murder mystery featuring Lydia and Wickham, called "Death Comes to Pemberley." A good read, indeed, but ultimately forgettable. I myself can't even remember "who-dunit."
I would have been so bored and miserable living in that world that I would have probably fallen for both of them just to give me something to do.
I'm laughing at Rebecca's comment. You're right! How a woman of Jane Austen's intelligence survived that insulting age, I'll never know.And yet there are women who also survived the 1950's!
Shelley, http://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.com
Not only *would* I have fallen for Wickham, but I HAVE fallen for a Wickham in real life. It's easy for us to say we wouldn't have, because we know who really has the heart of gold here. But Lizzy didn't know, and she was prejudiced against Darcy, and so ate up any gossip about him. Yes, I would definitely have fallen for him, I'm sorry to say.
No, I didn't fall for Wickham.I didn't trust him since his first appearance...something about his look and the way he carried himself, it just seemed off.
I know Elizabeth was immediately taken by him but there were hints of his true character. His awkward reaction to Mr. Darcy, his manner of speaking to other people and him dancing with the new wealthy girl just confirmed my intuition.
Doubt it he wouldn't come across as a challenge and I'm one of those girls who likes the guys who don't like me so if I lived in this time period I would be screwed most likely.
Now that i know every bit of every character of P and p so yeah obviously no. But perhaps i would have considering that more than Mr Darcy, I sometimes have a penchant for the henry Tilneys in the world (hero of northanger abbey) who does remind you a bit of Wikham without the evil thingy considering they both were witty and charming and talkative.(main point!!)
No. I have a sixth sense that goes off when it comes to cads. =P
Probably not..;) if I did it wouldnt last long
nope, can spot slimy charmers from a mile away
I doubt I would have fallen for mr Wickham,I cannot take gossipers especially of the pity-seeking kind... Wickham always annoyed me while Darcy intrigued me - I was infatuated with his coldness and handsomness and was just waiting to discover a heart of gold underneath his cold demeanour. Yeah, Wickham seemed too good to be true and thus I immediately found him false and sly, while Darcy seemed honest
Kim wrote: "Bill wrote: "I feel a bit like I'm butting in on "girls' talk" here, but don't we all follow Elizabeth's lead in falling for Wickham first time around? Same with Willoughby in S&S. Part of Austen's..."Very good point.
Alas, I must be one of those girls who likes to have a man be a bit of a challenge for me. Or at least I did. (My husband pursued me - but not in a syrupy sweet Wickham sort of manner thankfully). When it comes to initial attraction, however, I prefer to have the man be a bit aloof so that I can spend time figuring him out.In my estimation, Wickham was too smooth, too available and that would have caused me to question the hell out of him.
Kressel wrote: "I think most women do fall for a Wickham at some point in their lives."so true.
With enough insecurities I feel like almost anyone would fal for him. Attention from a smooth talking, handsome man is flattering, and at such an age, it proves to be allring and enticing enough to take hold of a young girl's mind. However, with age and experience, I think most women would see him as a pathetic slimeball.
Most certainly not! I never could understand why Elizabeth admired him in the first place!
Gretchen wrote: "Most certainly not! I never could understand why Elizabeth admired him in the first place!"He was charismatic and had an agreeable personality... A little fishy but charismatic all the same..
Not just no, but hell no.
No, I don't think I would. Too many faux pas
No, I am always hesitant about people who spill their guts after knowing me for all of five minutes, especially when there stories reflect negatively on others.
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