Plot Summary
Chapter 39 of Pride and Prejudice marks the return of Elizabeth and Jane from their respective visits -- Elizabeth from Hunsford and Jane from London -- to their family home at Longbourn. The chapter opens with the three elder Bennet sisters traveling together from Gracechurch Street to an inn in Hertfordshire, where Kitty and Lydia meet them. Lydia's exuberant, self-centered chatter immediately dominates the scene, offering a sharp contrast to the moral seriousness Elizabeth has been processing since Darcy's letter.
Lydia's Character on Full Display
Lydia's behavior throughout the chapter illustrates exactly the "want of propriety" Darcy criticized in his letter. She buys a bonnet she admits is ugly, demands her sisters lend her money after spending her own, and chatters relentlessly about officers, flirting, and her ambition to be the first sister married. Her announcement that Wickham is "safe" from marrying Mary King -- because Mary has left for Liverpool -- gives Elizabeth a painful moment of self-recognition, as she realizes Lydia's coarse dismissal of Mary King as a "nasty little freckled thing" differs from her own earlier sentiments only in expression, not in substance.
The Brighton Scheme and the Regiment's Departure
Lydia reveals that the militia regiment will leave Meryton in a fortnight for a summer encampment near Brighton, and she desperately wants the family to follow them there. Elizabeth privately views this prospect with horror, imagining "a whole campful of soldiers" after the damage one regiment has already done. The news of the regiment's departure, however, is an enormous relief to Elizabeth, who dreads seeing Wickham again and hopes his removal will end her troubles on his account. The chapter closes with Elizabeth discovering that Lydia's "Brighton scheme" is already under active discussion between her parents, with Mrs. Bennet pushing hopefully and Mr. Bennet offering vague, noncommittal responses.
Homecoming and Contrast
The family's reception is warm -- Mr. Bennet tells Elizabeth he is glad she is back -- and the Lucases arrive to hear Maria's news. The dinner scene showcases the entire Bennet household in miniature: Mrs. Bennet collecting fashion intelligence from Jane, Lady Lucas inquiring about Charlotte's poultry, Lydia loudly recounting her morning's adventures, and Mary delivering a priggish rejection of frivolous pleasures that Lydia does not even hear. Elizabeth's quiet opposition to walking to Meryton that afternoon signals her changed perspective: she now sees the family's pursuit of officers through Darcy's critical eyes.