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Lydia Bennet does not conform to the traditional expectations for a woman of her age and marital status within the setting of Pride and Prejudice, but that is not because she is a feminist ‘ahead of her time,’ instead, the patriarchy’s expectations and structure are what dictate her actions in the novel. In her book, Using Critical Theory, author Lois Tyson tells us to start to apply feminist theory by asking “… are the female characters depicted according to patriarchal stereotypes of women?” (Tyson 147) Jumping off from this starting point, we can observe how Lydia fits into a stereotype of a woman as a naive and shallow young girl dependent on an older man and is inspired by patriarchal values and expectations to make the choices she does. 

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Lydia is the youngest of the Bennet sisters. She is spirited and opinionated, and longs to be the center of attentions she sees her older sisters obtain. Lydia causes scandal for her entire family when she elopes with an older man, the previous love interest of her older sister at that. Her rejection of the socially acceptable process of dating in her era in order to follow her romantic whims has caused her to be hailed as an early feminist, but is that an accurate portrayal? Let’s examine her character throughout the text.

Pride and Prejudice is set in 1811, preceding the era Tyson refers to as the ‘first wave’ of feminism. (Tyson 152) None of the Bennet sisters would have been permitted to vote or pursue higher education. They also would have few to no job prospects, instead being completely reliant on their husbands. Mrs. Bennet, Lydia’s mother, is well aware of this. Mrs. Bennet is portrayed as an incredibly pushy woman who would do anything to get her daughters married. When Mrs. Bennet gets word that an unmarried (and rich) man called Bingley is to move in nearby, she immediately informs her husband and daughters excitedly. Immediately after hearing the news, Lydia expresses that although she is the youngest, she’s not worried about the possibility that Mr. Bingley would not want to dance with her. Mrs. Bennet also states how “if [she could] only see one of [her] daughters happily settled at Netherfield… [she could] have nothing to wish for.” (Austen 4) Clearly, Lydia’s young age of fifteen is not an issue for Mrs. Bennet or presumably an adult man that would stand in the way of marriage. 

If Mrs. Bennet’s primary purpose in her daughters’ lives is to encourage marriage, it can be fairly assumed that this goal has been ingrained in the youngest’s mind for as long as she can remember. This is illustrated in Lydia’s rant to her sisters in chapter 39. “Jane will be quite an old maid soon, I declare. She is almost three and twenty! Lord, how ashamed I should be of not being married before three and twenty!” (Austen 165) Lydia has been taught since birth that her ultimate goal is to be married. Not only that but it has been presented to her in such a way that it is a positive daydream of sorts, not just a neutral requirement. Lydia also notes in the same passage, “Lord! How I should like to be married before any of you…” (Austen 165) 

Laura Dabundo categorizes Lydia as a “countercultural character” (Dabundo 45) in her article The Feminist Critique and Five Styles of Women’s Roles in Pride and Prejudice. Unlike the other Bennet sister Dabundo groups this way, Elizabeth, Lydia lacks the discernment to properly reject culture because her motivations are represented in her aforementioned statements. She holds marriage as the ultimate goal, the one daydream that will fulfill her. Unlike other women in the novel, including Elizabeth and even Charlotte Lucas however, Lydia never mentions anything she is looking for in a marriage outside of simply being married. Elizabeth herself expresses concern for Lydia. “If you, my dear father, will not take the trouble of checking her exuberant spirits, and of teaching her that her present pursuits are not to be the business of her life, she will soon be beyond the reach of amendment.” (Austen 173) Lydia’s mindset, however, may have already been set because, regardless of Mr. Bennet’s actions, Austen tells us that “The business of her [Mrs. Bennet’s] life was to get her daughters married…” (Austen 3) Mrs. Bennet’s business has become her daughter’s. 

Ultimately, Lydia endangers not only her own reputation but the reputation of her entire family by absconding with the shady Wickham. Does pushing against the societal ideas of what would make her a respectable woman, or a ‘good girl’ who does not “violate traditional gender roles… especially if they violate the rules of sexual conduct for patriarchal women…” (Tyson 150) according to Tyson make her a feminist? Dabundo, supported by Austen’s text, would argue no. “Lydia’s high spirits and self-confidence do not translate into license; rather, obviously, she is the victim of the double standard against which women are measured and held to account in these times.” (Dabundo 46) Lydia’s actions may not align with the traditional values of her society, but her subsequent punishment and the ultimate resolution to the scandal do align. Lydia, at best, only ineffectively rejects the expectations of herself as a woman. A more accurate view of the text reveals that she never intended to challenge society.

In every way, Lydia is dependent on the men in her life. Even from the very beginning where the reader is first being acquainted with Mrs. Bennet and her obsession with her daughters’ marriage prospects, it is also abundantly obvious how much of the entire system relies on men. Mrs. Bennet has to ask her husband to initiate the first contact between her family and Bingely’s. “…it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he does… consider your daughters.” (Austen 2) 

When Lydia and Wickham run away together, Jane writes in her letter to Elizabeth how it is likely that Wickham “never intended… to marry Lydia at all.” (Austen 203) In modern culture, what Wickham did would be labeled as grooming, but in this time period the fault is Lydia’s, and the responsibility to both prevent and then later fix the situation fall on men. While warning her father against allowing Lydia to go away in the first place, Elizabeth mentioned how incredibly naive Lydia seemed to be. “A flirt, too, in the worst and meanest degree of flirtation… and from the ignorance and emptiness of her mind, wholly unable to ward off any portion of that universal contempt which her rage for admiration will excite.” (Austen 173) Lydia is a female stereotype in this way, aligning with the traditional gender roles as outlined by Lois Tyson. “Traditional gender roles define women as naturally emotional (which, in patriarchy, usually means irrational),… and submissive.” (Tyson 149) Lydia is a girl following her whims, just as Elizabeth and the stereotype of a ‘naturally emotional’ woman predict. It is also notable that Elizabeth tells her father not to allow Lydia to go and warns that the family’s reputation is at risk, because the father is seen as responsible for his daughters’ actions before they are married, and therefore what Lydia does will reflect on him and the rest of his family as he is the figurative ‘head’ of the family. 

Lydia has certainly defied society and acted as a “countercultural character,” (Dabundo 45) but this is not because she has the mindset of a feminist. Instead, Lydia is acting in a way motivated by the patriarchal society’s expectation of marriage as the ultimate goal of a woman, and in a way predicted by traditional gender stereotypes. Additionally, Lydia depends on men to make her decisions and then to bail her out of the consequences. Lydia’s character is not feminist because she does not stand up to stereotypes but is instead portrayed as a stereotype in the text and every action taken by her and for her in the book depends on the men in her life, which may or may not mirror Austen’s intentions but does show how patriarchy influences almost all actions a woman takes in the fictional and real world.

Because I used more sources than just the primary book about which I wrote this article, here are my works cited:

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Penguin Classics, 1813.

Dabundo, Laura and Laurence W. Mazzeno. “The Feminist Critique and Five Styles of Woman’s Roles in Pride and Prejudice.” Pride and Prejudice. Salem Press, 2012. EBSCOhost

Tyson, Lois. Using Critical Theory: How to Read and Write About Literature. 3rd ed., Routledge, 2021.