The Intrigue Of Lydia Bennet

[@cherylbrooks7005]

The casting in the 1995 version was utterly amazing! ❤😊❤

[@80sdreamwave32]

1995 Pride and Prejudice is perfect version of this book

[@TudorSmith]

It’s very close to the book isn’t it?

[@victoriabishko4359]

Nearly word for word!!!!

[@kittykatz4001]

It’s the “definitive” version!

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

I cannot remember the book that well, I was young when I read it. At that age I found the language rather old fashioned,

[@МарияИвликова]

It's interesting that Elizabeth and Lydia are actually very similar. Different side of the coin) They are both fearless, parent's favourite, have sibling as best friend, and at some point liked the same man.

[@heatheralice89]

@@МарияИвликова 💗

[@Natasha-tu5qs]

Lydia is Elizabeth minus her intelligence.

[@kkitao217]

The parallels between Lydia and Elizabeth are interesting, but it was their differences that influenced how they ended up.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Lydia like any man in uniform, that's not Elizabeth.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

Elizabeth and Lydia have the parallels that you point out, but they're not parallels of personality or attitude. They do both have a lively personality, but that's their only important similarity. Elizabeth is bold, though neither reckless nor fearless. Lydia is so foolhardy and reckless, she doesn't pause to consider how much she risks.

[@rachelc1492]

Very interesting analysis as always. I wonder if Mrs Bennet's favouring of Lydia lies in the fact that they are very similar? They both seem to be driven by whatever emotion they feel at any particular moment, with little regard for anyone else's feelings or interests.

[@Sojourners3]

Great observation.

[@susanmercurio1060]

Oh, yes.

[@juttapopp1869]

Definitely.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

Yes indeed. I think that's why Mrs. Bennett couldn't have given Lydia better parental guidance if she'd tried. They're alike, both with all the same character flaws. I really don't think Kitty is all that much like Lydia or her mother, but when Lydia is nearby her dominating personality overwhelms Kitty's Plus, I see Kitty (and Mary, but for different reasons) as the "middle children" who get the least attention from their parents and much more mature older sisters, so Kitty seeks attention where she can most find it (Lydia and their mother).

[@kerrychristensen7204]

👍

[@Bella1584]

Mrs. Bennett sees herself in Lydia, and that's why she's her favorite. Jane is is her second favorite because of her beauty and what that beauty can potentially get the family. Elizabeth is too sensible to be a favorite of her Mom. What I found hard to believe is that Lydia really would have no awareness of the societal consequences of running off with Wickham and continuing to live with him, unmarried. I mean, she was a great gossip, loved to know the dirt on everyone and so should have known how her actions at the time would be perceived and gossiped about. How could she not know how immoral what she did was?

[@AurinneA]

I always read it that Lydia had an unrealistic concept of her own charm and the value of marriage. She fully believed that she was going to marry Wickham. She thought that being married would both wipe out some of the scandal of running away with a man, and that having secured a marriage and raised her status from an unmarried girl would be worth whatever gossip there might be about her. Additionally, although she enjoyed gossip, she enjoyed it for the thrill, and she felt that elopement was romantic and thrilling. Basically, Lydia thought herself to be worldly, but in fact was too inexperienced and too confident in her own view to see things as they really were - and, of course, was constantly encouraged by her own mother not to question her ideas. 🤔

[@vikiirnawenzel1722]

A lot of young people are fascinated by the catastrophes of others, yet feel themselves to be invincible and untouchable.

[@MichaelRooke-pe6oy]

I can only think that Lydia's [ and her mother's] main characteristic is stupidity. For someone as selfish, shallow, idle and self-absorbed as her to run off with a man who could provide her with literally nothing but himself can only be explained by a total lack of intelligence. Both she and her mother possess the worst kind of ignorance, because they both think that they are actually clever and it inevitably leads to disaster.

[@oneslikeme]

@@AurinneA This is how I see it as well. Lydia LOVED attention and I think she would have got a kick out of being the center of gossip, especially believing Wickham was going to marry her.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

@@AurinneA I think Lydia actually did know the social norms and mores, but she didn't care. She was amoral, self-centered, rebellious, headstrong and reckless, saw Life as one endless joke, and greatly overestimated her own charms, so she assumed that her escapades would always turn out all right eventually. It probably took her years into her marriage before she realized that Wickham didn't love her, and she probably never figured out that he married her not because he wanted to, but because Mr. Darcy forced him to.

[@rooo358]

Julia Sawalha brings Lydia to the screen so well!

[@kittykatz4001]

She is the “definitive” portrayal of Lydia!

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Yes, she is good as Lydia, I just wish there was less bosom emphasis.

[@friendlyvoice3912]

One thing about the Lydia/Wickham association … could be included in a “things you might have missed” video: when they have eloped and are hidden away in London, still unmarried, Lydia giggles and boasts about herself doing something none of her sisters has done, and seems thrilled that she did this being “younger than them all” .. but Wickham’s body language and expression shows that he actually has contempt for her naivety.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

I always caught that subtlety. Wickham knew exactly what Lydia meant, and so did all the Bennetts when Lydia coarsely alluded to the same thing when reminded to write home often as she and her husband were leaving for the north. Also, in the brief clip of Lydia and Wickham during the double wedding at the end, Wickham already looked as if he were weary of Lydia and he was drinking too much. Thanks to Mr. Darcy, however, Wickham knew he couldn't just run off and dump Lydia as he had dumped previous young women he'd run off with. He was stuck with her (and she was stuck with him).

[@5apph1b1u3]

So true, I watched the BBC version in 1995 with my mother (each 1 hr episode, we watched together) and I remember blushing at that scene - I’m not conservative at all but the BBC version was so beautifully done you’re caught up in the story, the history, culture etc of that time and to see Lydia act like that made me think I should be clutching my pearls.

[@treacybird975]

It always seems to me that Wickham quickly tired of Lydia’s immaturity once they were holed up together in London. Once he’d had his wicked way with her, I really don’t think he’d any intentions of marrying her. If Darcy hadn’t arrived and forced his hand, surely he wouldn’t have gone through with it at all?

[@rowanaforrest9792]

@@treacybird975 You are right. Wickham was already tired of her and intended to abandon her alone and penniless as soon as he'd decided where to go next. This was Wickham's modus operandi, which would have continued had Mr. Darcy not forced him to marry Lydia.

[@judithstrachan9399]

@@treacybird975, absolutely.

[@jillbryan6993]

You have struck a nerve with Austen's many fans with your insightful videos. It's a rare talent to be able to put into words what we see and subconsciously know from this wonderful novel. I have watched the 1995 version many times and it never gets old. A happy confluence of great acting, direction and production that is rarely achieved.

[@TudorSmith]

All of the actors played their parts so well, right down to the background and supporting artists.

[@adellajones9887]

I was Lydia when I was 15 years old. What's funny....at 60+years old...I am more like Mary. I want to be a homebody, read, play music and have a few friends 😅

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

I was born an old man, now my body has met my mind and character.

[@pmarkhill519]

Austen themes reiterate the ancient truth from Proverbs: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting…”

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Yes, a wee bit sad. Who doesn't want to be charmed? And who doesn't want a beautiful partner? Mr. Bennet erred because he let his genitals override his brain, you can find an intelligent, respectable and beautiful partner with some discernment.

[@ldcraig2006]

Lydia was the "baby" of the family, and as such, she was most horribly spoiled. I'm not sure how long after she was born that Mr. and Mrs. Bennet realized there would be no more children, and thus, no son and heir. But it's clear that the disappointment Mr. Bennet must have felt at losing a chance to secure Longbourne against the entailment was reflected in the lack of parental supervision he gave to his daughters. "Daughters are the mother's responsibility," I read somewhere (not in any of Austen's works), so it's clear that Mr. Bennet felt that raising their daughters was Mrs. Bennet's domain, and he metaphorically washed his hands of them until Lydia's escapade made him realize that his own lack of supervision regarding their upbringing was at least partially his fault. In the 1995 version, Mr. Bennet tells Lizzie something to the effect of "the burden is mine, and I should feel it. It shall pass, I fear, all too soon." So he not only realizes that his lack of parental guidance regarding Lydia caused her elopement to Wickham, he also acknowledges that the discomfort and shame he feels won't stay with him as long as it should. If Lydia has character flaws (and she does), her mother isn't the only person she inherited them from.

[@marilynsobel7414]

So true. And although Mr. Bennett did not elope with Mrs. Bennett, he does appear (it's more explicit in the book) to have married her impulsively and mainly because of her sex appeal.

[@pmarkhill519]

Excellent point.

[@kellydalstok8900]

@@marilynsobel7414 even though the times prohibited mu parents from acting impulsively I do believe that physical attraction was the main cause that brought them together, because I always felt they had very little in common. They also argued an awful lot because of it. People mostly choose a partner based on what they want them to be, not what they turn out to be when they really get to know each other. It happened to me, and I divorced him in order to avoid a life of bickering like my parents had.

[@evelynwilson1566]

I think she was spoiled by her mother. I hope it wasn't because she was the baby ( a cliche, believe me😂). She was very like her mother but she had a father who paid her no attention and two older sisters who are beautiful and clever. I think she was silly and immature but it doesn't sit easily with me that she was essentially condemned because of her stupidity at sixteen.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

@@evelynwilson1566 In those times, the age of 16 wasn't viewed as it is now. A 16-year-old could legally marry without parental consent, join the military, etc. Therefore, they were regarded as young adults, not children. It wasn't just Lydia's stupidity that she was condemned for (though I believe she knew the rules, but was just too amoral and reckless to care). The worst thing was because she was absolutely selfish and self-indulgent, uncaring that she very nearly ruined the future of all her sisters. She would have ruined their futures (and her own) had Mr. Darcy not rescued her and her family by forcing Wickham to marry her.

[@aguitargirl]

My favorite quote regarding Lydia from the 1995 BBC mini-series comes from Mr. Bennett. "Our life holds few distinctions, Mrs. Bennet, but I think we may safely boast that here sit two of the silliest girls in the country."

[@kathleencraine7335]

I think Julia Sawalha did a great job of portraying a teenager, considering how old she was at the time of filming.

[@silentmentor5888]

Tudor Smith, more like this and I'll be back all the time!!!! It was late and I had to go to bed, but I had to finish your video first!! These are well done.

[@TudorSmith]

Sorry to keep you up and awake 🤣

[@raraavis7782]

I was always impressed by the sisterly regard Elizabeth had for her unruly younger sister. She did try to somewhat keep her in line (or make her father do so) and was clearly distraught, when the elopement took place. And not just because of how it affected her herself. In fact, that concern clearly came second for her, after her worry and guilt about Mary. At least initially. I think that somewhat changes, after the reality of the situation had truly sunk in. But nevertheless, there was a remarkable amount of affection towards a sister, who was mostly annoying and an embarrassment in public.

[@marilynsobel7414]

There's a line in the book (and movie) when they first get the letter saying that Lydia and Wickham have been found and are going to marry -- "And yet they must marry! And he is such a man!" Clearly Elizabeth thinks this marriage is a bad idea and is concerned for Lydia's happiness, even after everything that she has done.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

@@marilynsobel7414 Well, Elizabeth thinks Wichham is a bad man and will be a bad husband (which was true), but Elizabeth would never have suggested that Lydia not marry him. She was just sorry that Lydia had left herself no other option.

[@AnOldFashionedWoman]

Your narration/presentation is perfect, I thoroughly enjoy listening to you.

[@TudorSmith]

That’s kind of you to say. Thank you.

[@SprucesAndPinecones]

Loving these character analysis videos. Would love if you covered many more of the characters. And do enjoy your P&P videos in general. Keep up the good work Mr. Smith :)

[@nancyanneberg403]

Thank you for the second character analysis i have heard from you. Times have not changed ,have they? You have made this Austin book come roaringly alive and yet lovely, but so ruthlessly true to that cool analysis that makes literature so necessary to teach

[@alidabaxter5849]

I find your videos so fascinating, and it is worthwhile to try and examine the vast difference between the two eldest Bennett girls and the three younger ones. I think Lydia is indeed very probably her idiotic mother's favourite, since there's a constant harping on how much she too liked a red coat in her day. Mrs. Bennet seems secretly and sometimes openly to regard the two eldest daughters as marriagable but snooty, whilst Lydia is her pet, and no matter what she does her mother will forgive her. Lydia meantime has an IQ in two figures (like her mother) and will always take flattery for sincerity. Without Darcy's intervention she would undoubtedly have been left destitute and ruined, as Elizabeth clearly comprehends. Seeing him clearly after Darcy's written explanation, she absolutely despises him but knows the marriage to be essential. After all, by then Lydia might already be pregnant and even if not, has lost her chastity and reputation. The whole family are extremely well written on Jane Austen's part, since each member of it is so clearly defined. And Mr. Bennet's opinion of his wife is very clear also. He married a pretty idiot whom he has grown to despise more and more over the years, and the way he takes refuge in his library shows how little he wants to associate with her. Which in turn leads to the three youngest having too little sensible discipline. Austen really was brilliant and her characters are wonderfully interesting.

[@alyceameliahopkins3907]

This was such a great analysis of Lydia Bennett. I think it was always very clear that Mrs Bennett's favourite children were her oldest and youngest, which is strange as they were the complete opposite in everyway! I always wondered what Wickham's motives were to eloping with Lydia? But as you said financial security were his pure motives. I always think back to the last scene at the wedding Lizzie and Jane, Darcey and Bingley, getting married the happiness the scene shows, then they show a clip of Lydia and Wickham, . Lydia completely oblivious to what she's done. George Wickham looks unhappy, forcing a smile while drinking. It showed how foolish he was to play his games of deceit and manipulation. Please make more of these videos! I would love to see one on Mr Bennett! He had so many funny lines and moments that it think go unseen sometimes!! Best wishes

[@TudorSmith]

Mr Bennet will be fun to do. He had his failings as the story suggests but for all of that he does come across as a decent sort of fellow 😊

[@MichaelRooke-pe6oy]

@@TudorSmith Decent men make sacrifices to provide for their family. Mr Bennet might be good company but he spent twenty-odd years of marriage without saving a penny for his children, he was content to pass the problems he created onto the next generation { his hoped for son } and he allowed his younger daughters to run wild. He was probably good company over a glass of wine but you would not want to depend on him for anything important.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Mrs. Bennet just favored Lydia. Of Jane, Mrs. Bennet just saw a beautiful girl who would marry well and ensure her future should Mr. Bennet die and Mr. Collins take over Longbourn. With Jane it was self interest on Mrs. Bennet's part.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

You are right that Wickham's ultimate goal was financial security, but that wasn't why he eloped with Lydia. He was about to be kicked out of Col. Forster's regiment due to being deeply in debt (considered a seriously dishonorable offense for an officer), but he intended to leave alone. He knew quite well that Lydia had only a very small dowry and her family had no money for him to extort, so he had no interest in marrying Lydia. He needed to marry a rich woman. He only took Lydia with him because she made it clear that she was eager to come along, so Wickham planned to get some weeks of pleasure with her in the obscurity of London before abandoning her alone and penniless while he continued his hunt for a rich woman to marry. Wickham wasn't aware that Mr. Darcy had so much regard for Elizabeth Bennett that he would rescue her and her family from scandal by hunting down Wickham and forcing him to marry Lydia. Wickham did not get what he wanted: He only got his current debts paid, but not the wealthy comfortable gentleman's life he wanted. He and Lydia struggled for money and remained fairly poor for the rest of their life.

[@carinarodebak9419]

You make very interesting videos. As a fan of Austen they give me enjoyment. I want to point out a small fact that might be somewhat tributorial to Lydias decision to elope from Brighton. She is young, spoilt, naive and ill- versed in the way of life as many others have pointed out. Yet at the moment of her elopement, she is away from the support of the family she might have recieved. The chaperone and support available to her is a young, newly wed girl of her very own age. If I recollect rightly mrs Colonel Foster, who had invited her to accompany her as a best friend to Brighton was about the same age, a contributing factor to them becoming fast friends. In her Lydia can't but see a girl, who could have been herself, as a person of good social standing. As the colonels wife, she has the highest female rank of the regiment and must have been treated with outward deference and respect by the other officer. A young girl in a social position, who might be somewhat envied by Lydia, who also wants to see herself as an adult with standing, not the youngest girl of the family. A role model for another girl who also longs to become an officer wife and gain status over her elder sisters. Elopement to gain such status as officers wife might not seem so bad for Lydia, far away from the family influence.

[@j.t.1215]

Beyond fabulous analysis. This is rich with considerations. *I can't wait for the discussion on Kitty* and will be waiting. Oh, how I love these videos!!!!❤

[@TudorSmith]

It’ll be an interesting topic bearing in mind that Kitty as a character has limited plot lines and is shown to follow Lydia’s lead despite being older! Hopefully I can come up with something 👍

[@marikasamogin]

This video was very interesting, i like your analysis. It would be great if you do an analysis of all the Bennett dynamics.

[@TudorSmith]

I’m considering more individual videos but no you’ve mentioned the Bennet Dynamics as a family I wonder if that could be a video in its own right - covering all of them at once.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

@@TudorSmith That would be great, and you also mentioned doing a video focusing on Mr. Bennett?

[@pollyparrot9447]

Your analyses of the various P&P characters are very enjoyable. I like the way Jane Austen wrote realistically about Lydia's situation rather than going down the melodramatic path most novelists would have taken. The idea that Mr Bennet might fight a duel over his daughter's honour is dismissed as ridiculous; the notion that Lydia might be 'thrown on the town' - i.e. rejected by her family and forced into a life of prostitution - is also dismissed as it is assumed that between Mr Bennet and the Gardiners some sort of provision will be made for her if they can only find her. Finally, she learns no lesson from her misadventure and returns home more confident and annoying than ever.

[@lisawillis8227]

"Lydia's obliviosness to the scandal " was matched by her clueless mother. Lydia seems to be exactly like her mother.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Mrs. Bennet had a father that controlled her flirtations. Lydia just had her 2 oldest sisters to check her behavior.

[@judithstrachan9399]

@@Ponto-zv9vf, very good point, & I don’t doubt it for a second. Maybe *her* father hoped Mr B’s sense would calm her down.

[@morgsjoboo2247]

Morning What a great analysis of Lydia Bennett. Throughly enjoyed this video. Hope you've had a lovely weekend ❤

[@marilynsobel7414]

A very interesting analysis of Lydia's character! I particularly enjoyed hearing more about the wider social setting. One really wonders what would have happened if Lydia had not eloped and merely returned to Longbourne after her Brighton visit. It seems unlikely that Lydia would ever become really mature; her self-centered nature seems as innate as Jane's kindness. One of the great things about Austen's characters is that they seem so real it is easy to treat them as if they existed and to play with such alternative realities.

[@TudorSmith]

I always find it interesting that Jane Austen interweaves the stories of her characters - making them as important as the main protagonists. Those subplots make the main storyline more intriguing.

[@winnepeterson6570]

Thank you!

[@TudorSmith]

You're very welcome!

[@sharondowling8896]

Great fun! Thank you!❤

[@TudorSmith]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@rachelfandel8536]

I love your Pride and Prejudice videos!! So well done - thank you Tudor!!!!

[@TudorSmith]

Thank you Rachel 🙏

[@Sojourners3]

Thank you, Tudor Smith, for another wonderful upload.

[@TudorSmith]

Your welcome and thank you for watching 🙏

[@sherryd3299]

I was so excited to see you had uploaded another vid! Without this excellent video I wouldn't have realized that Wickham has two motives in marrying Lydia. 1. To get money from Lydia's family. 2. He realized that Darcy had his eye on Elizabeth and he could taint her family with scandal which would make it difficult for Darcy to marry the woman he loved. Perfect scheme! Thank you again. I love that you put together so many wonderful discussions on my all time favorite series.

[@MichaelRooke-pe6oy]

I think Whickham took Lydia mainly because she would have had a purse full of pin money from her over-indulgent mother which would finance his escape from his creditors in Brighton. Sex came into it but he would not have wasted his own scant money on coach fare , food etc for Lydia when he could have found a woman in London easily enough. The theory about Whickham knowing about Elizabeth and Darcy is often mentioned, but there is absolutely no evidence for it. Whickham is not so very clever after all. If he was he would not have gone from being the favoured godson of one of the richest men in England to being a penniless deserter relying on Lydia Bennet's pocket money.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

@@MichaelRooke-pe6oy I heard another analysis from a Jane Austen expert (if that's the right word) who reached a similar conclusion. I don't think that at the time Wickham eloped with Lydia, he was aware that Darcy and Lizzie were becoming friends. No one in Darcy's inner circle or Lizzie's family would have let word slip out, as they were all too discreet and knew that idle gossip at the wrong time could ruin things, so I don't think Wickham knew that Darcy would step forward to save Lizzie's family from scandal. The other Jane Austen expert believes that Wickham wasn't planning on making a play for Lydia at all. He was just having fun flirting. He'd gotten himself in trouble with gambling and other debts while an officer under Col. Forster, and back then an officer who failed to pay his debts, especially gambling debts, could be kicked out for conduct unbecoming. So, Wickham knew he would soon by kicked out of Col. Forster's regiment, but he planned to leave alone and hunt up some young woman whose family had money. (He knew he could get very little if any money from Lydia's family.) The only reason he took Lydia along was because she was so eager to come along, so he figured it would be harmless fun (for him) to enjoy her for a little while in hiding in London while he decided where to go next, and then he meant to dump her penniless and ruined as he'd done to other foolish young women before. He didn't fear the Bennetts, but he was actively hiding from Mr. Darcy because he was the only man he knew who had the power to spoil his fun. That's what I read, anyway.

[@sherryd3299]

@@rowanaforrest9792 I agree with everything you said. Thank you.

[@judithstrachan9399]

@@rowanaforrest9792, I agree, too, but with one caveat. Wickham may not be all that bright but, as soon as Darcy got involved, I think he suspected why. (Probably not expecting an engagement, though - unless he believed one already existed!) I do think he then bargained for the best terms he could get, certainly better than Mr Gardiner could afford.

[@LeslieFitzpatrick-j6j]

I always have thought Mary and Mr. Collins would be well matched and could have a contented marriage. I think that they would respect and appreciate each others' qualities and that they would be the most insufferable couple in England!

[@TheBeliever1204]

Julia Swahla does portray her well.

[@HRJohn1944]

My favourite quote about Lydia: "Lydia was Lydia still; untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless." - preceded by "even (Jane) Bennet was shocked". Btw I'm not convinced that part of Wickham's motivation in eloping with Lydia is to ruin Darcy's chances with Lizzy: quite apart from the fact that it's not clear that W. had any intention of running off with L (she seems to have thrown herself at him, and he wasn't the sort of guy who would say "No"; his primary reason for running off was to avoid his debts, especially his gambling debts), when would he have had any idea that Darcy might be interested in Lizzy? Apart from Caroline Bingley, and Lizzy herself Darcy has remained quiet on the matter. An acute observer might have divined something at the piano scene at Rosings, but W was the last person who would be a guest of Lady Catherine. Even on the last evening before the regiment leaves Meryton, all that Lizzy tells W is that while at Rosings she changed her view of Darcy, but jumping from that to any attraction (by either of the other) would have been a greater leap than was Caroline's from his admiration of "a pair of fine eyes" to matrimony.

[@TudorSmith]

Yes that's interesting how you mention Wickham's motives because as you point out, no revelations were made regarding any attraction between Darcy and Elizabeth. Certainly not in any scene where Wickham is present.

[@DMRoper1]

Mrs. Bennett's favourite child. I see the resemblance.

[@rachelleshapiro6091]

Wickham had to leave Brighton and the regiment because of gaming debts, but that doesn't answer the question of why he took Lydia with him. He must have known the Bennet's financial situation. He was attracted to Elizabeth, but must have found out she would only inherit 1000 pounds and looked towards Miss King's 10,000 pounds. Furthermore, he knew Lydia's uncles were merely a country attorney and a man in trade with four children who lived in Cheapside. That doesn't suggest a big payoff possible for eloping with Lydia.

[@TudorSmith]

Is it likely that Wickham was just going to use Lydia and then abandon her afterwards?

[@judithstrachan9399]

@@TudorSmith,I think very likely. “Lose” her in London.

[@tyronewhitehead2737]

Thankyou tudor i found that Thoroughly interesting look forward to more .

[@TudorSmith]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@heatheralice89]

I am looking forward to the Kitty video:)

[@TudorSmith]

I’m looking forward to creating it - oh and the one on Mr. Collins should be interesting too 🤣

[@heatheralice89]

@@TudorSmith Yes!! 💖

[@judithstrachan9399]

@@TudorSmith, I’ve sometimes wondered whether the adaptations are quite fair to Mr Collins (especially the excellent 1995 one). As I saw someone comment about Miss Bingley, he was much younger than portrayed. He may still have had the capacity to grow less pompous & more gracious, especially if Charlotte used her gentle influence. I don’t completely despair of him. Not yet. (I know, I just like what Matt Smith did with him.)

[@warrengday]

Thank you. I've been interested in Lydia since watching the Emmy-winning The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on youtube. Being the first video-blog adaptation of classic literature, once the series had broken new ground and developed its tone, it was able to deliver one of the most impactful episodes of dramatic cinema I've seen, an episode that involves both Elizabeth and Lydia. And being modernised the writers had to update various aspects of the story, including using a new scandal that is reputation ruining now, and also adapt as appropriate Lydia's arc and her relationship with her sisters post-scandal.

[@ГалинаГоглева-к8р]

Спасибо большое вам Тюдор Смит за обзор и анализ характеров персонажей, таких как Лидия и Уикхем из романа "Гордость и предубеждение! "Я с вами полностью согласна! Мне кажется, что Лидия очень похожа на свою мать в молодости. Возможно, Лидия ещё более безрассудная, разбалованная, эгоистичная, слишком эмоциональная, живая, без контрольная! Она купается в любви своей матери и сестёр! Она самая младшая, поэтому ей всё позволено!Тем более, у неё очень привлекательная внешность! Она это знает и пользуется своим положением в семье! Все относятся снисходительно к её проказам, потому что она ещё ребёнок! В этом и состоит ошибка взрослых в понимании того, что Лидия, будучи ребёнком - женщина!Пусть маленькая, слишком молодая - но женщина! И как любая женщина она не лишена чувств и знает,что надо выйти замуж,и желательно за обеспеченного мужчину! Мысли Лидии заняты мужчинами и балами! Будучи глупенькой, она не понимает, что своим поступком ( бегством с Уикхемом), ставит под удар честь своей семьи! Таких девушек как Лидия очень легко обмануть и в чëм-то убедить! И такой нечестивец как Уикхем, тому доказательство! Он увлек, соблазнил и склонил к побегу Лидию, преподнеся ей это действие, как что-то романтическое! Будучи хитрым, двуличным, порочным человеком, и имевший опыт в отношениях с женщинами, ему не составило труда обольстить девочку! Бедная Лидия! Мне очень жалко её, что она попала в сети Уикхема! Думаю,что она будет разочарованна и несчастна,когда поймёт,с каким человеком связала свою судьбу! Возможно, это расплата за безрассудство и глупость!

[@Quzinqa1122]

Yes, Lydia will probably end up like her mother, complaining about her "poor nerves".

[@audreykennedy90]

Well as Lizzie Bennet said it so well. Lydia was stupid and thoughtless.

[@FuriousVixen82]

Great video 🎉

[@TudorSmith]

Xx

[@terrecisco2467]

Excellent

[@TudorSmith]

Thanks

[@heatheralice89]

Great video 😊

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Wickham only loved himself, a very narcissistic man. Lydia loved any man with a uniform. It is hard to understand that a young woman can be so oblivious to social norms and scandals, even a 15 year old.

[@aguitargirl]

Mrs. Bennett was oblivious to social norms and scandals. When informed of Lydia's impending nuptials, she found it "nonsense" that she should be married anywhere but Longbourne church where all her friends could see her. Even after it is pointed out that Lydia was living in London with Mr. Wickham, and if she should return home, unmarried still. She replies with "I suppose it must be if you put it like that."

[@kkitao217]

Another very interesting video. Thanks so much. One thing I’ve often wondered about both Mrs. Bennet and Lydia is whether either of them ever had a chance to turn out differently. If Mrs. Bennet had married a man who didn’t wind her up for his own amusement and make her worse, if she married a man who was sensible and patient but firm with her, would she have settled down? Or would she have been the same no matter who she married? If Lydia hadn’t married someone like Wickham, and if Lizzy had taken Lydia under her wing, as she did Kitty, would Lydia have improved? (Of course Kitty seems to have been essentially a follower, and she likely improved because she had someone better to follow.) Or were both Mrs. Bennet and Lydia doomed by their characters from the start?

[@rowanaforrest9792]

I don't think anyone could have improved Lydia, not even Mr. Bennett or Lizzie had they tried harder to guide her. Lydia was extremely rebellious, headstrong and reckless, I doubt she would have listened to anyone. I think the only way to keep Lydia out of serious trouble would have been to keep her very tightly supervised, but even that might not have been enough. Mr. Bennett does bear blame for not trying harder to guide and discipline his younger daughters, but somehow I doubt it would have improved Lydia, only perhaps kept her more under control.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Mr Bennet chided his wife because it was better than hating her or beating her or divorcing her. He was ashamed he married such an air headed woman because of his lust and ended up not respecting the woman. Unfortanately in this humanist world where everyone is told they can be whatever they want without ability, there are people like Lydia who cannot be anything other than what she is, a brainless idiot.

[@kkitao217]

@@rowanaforrest9792 I think you’re probably right about Lydia. On the other hand, while Mrs. Bennet was never going to be a model of sense and propriety, I think that if she’d married a man who treated her as something other than a source of his amusement, she might have been better. As JA said of Caroline of Brunswick, “I am resolved...to think that she would have been respectable, if the Prince had behaved only tolerably by her at first.”

[@briteddy9759]

Lydia is certainly reckless, but I feel for her also. She is only 15 and just a teenager, though on the wild side! Like all of us, we can do as we please, but consequences follow! Too bad Lydia had parents who failed to attempt to guide her in her upbringing.

[@geraldinePavincich]

Luckington Court is up for sale. If you have a spare 9 million pounds put in an offer

[@TudorSmith]

🤯 I’ll buy a lottery ticket this week and try my luck. I could throw a house warming party 👍

[@julijakeit]

I wonder if Wickham eloped with Lydia because he learned that Darcy took interest in Lizzy and thus he wanted to benefit from marrying Lydia.

[@TudorSmith]

Yes it’s an interesting thought. More so than my original idea that he may have wanted to harm Darcy’s potential match with Elizabeth.

[@debraleighscott]

​@@TudorSmith I have always felt that Wickham did this to harm Elizabeth, because, in their last conversation, she indicated a change of heart about Darcy.

[@rowanaforrest9792]

I think Wickham was happy to harm Lizzie and her family by causing scandal, but he never wanted to marry Lydia because as far as he knew, marrying her wouldn't benefit him. He knew she had a very small dowry and her family was too poor to extort for more money, and he didn't know that things had changed so much between Mr. Darcy and Lizzie that Darcy would hunt him down and force him to marry Lydia. What Wickham wanted was to marry a very wealthy woman so he could live comfortably off her dowry. He didn't mind having his fun with Lydia, but he never wanted to marry her. They struggled for money for the rest of their lives, always insecure.

[@ethanlewis1459]

For the 30th anniversary of the show next year what are your ideas for events and celebrations

[@TudorSmith]

I have no ideas but wouldn’t it be cool if the cast did a gathering?

[@ethanlewis1459]

@@TudorSmith I suggest that they put the series on the cinema for a special screening

[@catherinehubbard1167]

Lydia is not endearing. She is entirely selfish; one of our first views of her in the ‘95 adaptation is a screeching fight after she steals her Kitty’s bonnet. Typically, their mother tells Kitty she has to give it to her obvious favorite, Lydia. Mr Bennet is very wrong in letting Lydia follow her most ruinous impulses, with disastrous consequences for the whole family. Lydia is very young, but she is already despicable and she always will be.

[@TheBeliever1204]

Kitty was played well in 1995 adaptation. Mr Bennett very neglectful

[@TheBeliever1204]

Why he eloped with Lydia I don't know. He was a libertine

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Those type of men, narcissists, never look at the negative outcomes, they just go for what they think they will get, which is money from Mr. Bennet, not to marry Lydia but to pay his debts, so he can try to sway another gentlemen's daughter to run off with him. It is his way to make money without working in trade, priest or attorney.

[@JULIESHOPEN]

I would like to share with you something I'm afraid to say I see very significant differences in the writing of Jane Austen's books And I have a deep feeling that the book Pride and Prejudice was not written by her Someone wrote with the look of a man's eye The same atmosphere that is not found in the other of her books Has anyone taught ever like me?

[@TudorSmith]

It’s hard to tell. I’m sure it was written by Austen herself but perhaps her brother may have made some contributions? If we take the novel and the 1995 production side by side, then we get Andrew Davies input and he did say that he wanted to make parts of the story from the point of view of the men.

[@yvonnemoujalli6904]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@danmc7815]

The big miss I see on both versions, Mr. Collins is not a small man. He is a "tall, heavy looking man" who is 25 years old. The manners are close, but not the man.

[@TudorSmith]

Yes. Perhaps a casting flaw on the part of production. Lost in Austen nearly gets it right - what with the height, although Guy Henry lacks the "heavy looking" part!

[@Bethi4WFH]

I think the actor playing Mr Collins in the 1995 version was absolutely perfect.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

In the 1980 version Mr Collins is a tall, heavy man, and he looks at least 25. I don't think that actor did a better job, Malcolm Rennie, a Scot, but he did look ridiculous dancing with Elizabeth.

[@CB-ss7cz]

Good day. I didn't see all the adaptations of P and P but I did not like the movie. I love the 1995 adaptation you comment on. I loved it so much that I bought it. In a recent comment, I was asking you to compare Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Jane Austen's characters. I thought the Bingley's sisters were perfect comparison to Meghan. I changed my mind. I think Wickam is. What do you think?

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Ms Markle and Harry Windsor are not of any consequence to me. All I can say is long life and God bless them.

[@Irulan10]

Gosh, I hate Lydia with the utmost force. I can't find anything redeeming in her. She's (as you say) self-centered and careless, but also rude, insensitive, vain, and appallingly stupid. At least that rogue Wickham is intelligent and well-mannered. And yes, as another commenter said, she is her mother's favorite because she reminds Mrs Bennett of her young self, but Mrs Bennett, annoying as she is, at least knows what love means, and is genuinely trying to help her daughters.

[@MichaelRooke-pe6oy]

Agree about Lydia but not about the other two. Whickham blew the best position any stewards son probably ever had and ended up as a penniless deserter before Darcy bought him a commission. Mrs Bennet I think is as bad as Lydia, she wants her daughters married for her comfort not theirs. Look at the men she is happy for her daughters to marry. Whickham is scum, Collins is a pompous imbecile, Bingley is spineless and she hates Darcy until she thinks his money is within her grasp. She shows no interest in her daughters happiness.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Don't you think that in reality someone like Lydia Bennet would end up a victim of a modern Jack the Ripper. There is a limit to how long people will have a person like that. Hard love.

[@pollyparrot9447]

I think it's more that Mrs Bennet is trying to help herself by marrying at least one daughter to a rich man who will be able to provide for her - Mrs Bennet - after Mr B dies.

[@cathyhaynes2700]

Silly girl!

[@friendlyvoice3912]

Even though the 1995 version has always been my favorite version, there is indeed one glaring example of mis-casting … George Wickham is described as over-the-top handsome … and Adrian Lukis is on the homely/plain side. I know it’s largely a matter of opinion, but I don’t know anyone who thinks Adrian Lukis is a good-looking man. Maybe they just couldn’t find a gorgeous young Brit to play Wickham.

[@TudorSmith]

Wasn’t it something to do with Sue Birtwistle who had previously worked with both Colin Firth and Adrian Lukis? Someone in a previous comment suggested Suazannah Harker wasn’t beautiful and yet Jane was supposed to be the beauty of the Bennet sisters.

[@sailor_gaia]

I first watched Pride & Prejudice when it aired on A&E (I was 12) and I remember at the time being a bit disappointed in Colin Firth as the romantic lead. That went away after I'd seen the entire film but I distinctly remember that reaction in my misguided youth. Perhaps it was the hair or the fact that I was 12; I initially didn't think him "handsome enough" (which I laugh about now). I agree that Adrian Lukis isn't devastatingly handsome (Denny was a little more my speed there) however I think he is *handsome and charming*, which fits the character perfectly. I think it works thematically as part of his appeal; in my experience, there are definitely people who become more attractive the as they interact with you (and less so if they aren't actually like that underneath the façade, which is exactly what Elizabeth experiences with him). I definitely think he's well cast.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Men are not meant to be handsome. They are meant to be strong, reliable, hard working and brave. I think Lukis was chosen because of his slender tall figure, and he looked good in regimentals. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[@judithstrachan9399]

I thought he was really good-looking. As ponto says, it’s in the eye of the beholder. BTW, I was also disappointed with Colin at first (thought Wickham was more good-looking). I thought he didn’t look aristocratic enough to be the grandson of an earl. He grew on me.

[@path1400]

Thank you. But we have many Lydia's today. Young girl who have not learned that, "All that glitters is not gold." I am sorry to say that is why every house was left to the male line of the family.

[@charis6311]

Because 15-year old boys are such examples of reason and self-restraint? You must be kidding.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Yes and men have to learn about mutton dressed as lamb.

[@judithstrachan9399]

@@charis6311, we all know men don’t mature until they’re about 26. That’s one reason why girls should be careful.