L Y D I A
"Untamed, wild, noisy and fearless.”
Lydia is shown from the first to be silly and unprincipled. She is sure
of herself, though she is only sixteen, for when her mother suggests that
perhaps Mr. Bingley will dance with her at the ball she retorts, "Oh, I
am not afraid; for though I am the youngest, I'm the tallest". She leads
her sister Kitty into various escapades with the young officers of the
militia, and the two spend their time giggling at the remarks of these
young men when they meet and seeking to arrange that they do meet frequently.
She is without shame and even when she returns home she is not at all abashed.
Her sisters blush for her but she does not blush for herself. She explains
how she showed her wedding-ring to a rider on horseback by letting down
the window of the carriage in which she was sitting, and she tries to put
her eldest sister in the background by saying, "Ah, Jane, I take your place
now and you must go lower because I am a married woman".”.
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