Lydia Bennet as Seen Through 'Pride and Prejudice' and Its Adaptions Anonymous 12th Grade

Lydia Bennet is a childish, oblivious, uncontrolled, impulsive, naïve character, but there is more to her than meets the eye. Rather, her specific character traits can be accounted for by the ways in which she has been brought up. But how this is shown and interpreted in the BBC mini series of Pride and Prejudice is another matter altogether. On the surface, Lydia can be seen in the film as not caring for her reputation as a woman in her time period, but her actions are due to the negligence of her parents in her upbringing. In the novel, Lydia is shown as an unselfconscious young woman, adapted to be seen as simply childish and misinformed, but her true character is masked with the ideal of being a grown woman during the time period where being wild can lead to the destruction of one’s reputation.

The actions of a character are helpful clues when it comes to analyzing deeper character foibles. Lydia is no exception; much of her dialogue and actions can portray her as unaware, but her shortcomings stem from her life at home. A very popular example of her impulsivity is the scene where she buys a bonnet from the window of a store, “but you must lend us the money, for we have just spent hours at the shop out there. Look here, I...