Character Description 1

George Wickham, from the novel Pride and Prejudice, is branded by the negative characteristics of lying and gold digging.

In many instances, George Wickham tells falsehoods, especially about Fitzwilliam Darcy. Among the reasons why Elizabeth would not marry Mr. Darcy was because he had supposedly, “deprived the best years of his life of that independence which was no less his due than his desert” (Austen 190). However, Mr. Darcy wrote a letter to Elizabeth to reveal Wickham’s true character. Mr. Wickham was to inherit one thousand pounds from Mr. Darcy’s father and become a clergyman at Pemberly. Instead, he took three thousand pounds to study law. After not hearing from Wickham for three years, Mr. Darcy was confronted by him again, and he wished to become a clergyman at Pemberly only if he received more money.

George Wickham may be described as the wind. Throughout the novel, he is always coming and going. The situation Mr. Darcy explained in his letter is a perfect example of this comparison. George Wickham is all about the money, and this can be seen in his brief relationship with Ms. King. Ms. King was to inherit a fair amount of money from her deceased grandfather, and that is when Mr. Wickham turned his attention towards her. Elizabeth was slow to see the mercenary in Mr. Wickham, and was shocked when she realized, “How differently did every thing now appear in which he was concerned! His attentions to Miss King were now the consequence of views solely and hatefully mercenary; and the mediocrity of her fortune proved no longer the moderation of his wishes, but his eagerness to grasp at any thing” (204). Later on, Mr. Wickham gets married to Lydia rather unwillingly, and comes after the newly married Mr. Darcy for more money after he had paid off all of Mr. Wickham’s debts.

In short, George Wickham’s stealing and lying make him similar in many respects to former president Bill Clinton, who lied under oath while claiming to tell the truth.