Plot Summary
Chapter 47 of Pride and Prejudice opens with Elizabeth, Mr. Gardiner, and Mrs. Gardiner traveling home from their tour of Derbyshire, having cut short their trip after the devastating news of Lydia's elopement with Wickham. During the journey, Mr. Gardiner attempts to reassure Elizabeth that Wickham likely intends marriage, arguing that no young man would form such a reckless design against a girl staying with his colonel's family. Mrs. Gardiner agrees, unable to think so ill of Wickham as to believe him capable of deliberately ruining a young woman.
Elizabeth's Assessment of the Situation
Elizabeth is far less optimistic. She lays out a devastating case against both Wickham and Lydia. Wickham will never marry a woman without money, and Lydia has no fortune, no brothers to defend her honor, and a father whose indolence would lead him to do as little as possible. Elizabeth also blames herself and Jane for keeping silent about Wickham's true character after learning the truth from Mr. Darcy in Kent. She confesses that Wickham "has neither integrity nor honour" and that "his lies about the whole Pemberley family are endless," revealing the depth of her changed understanding. The journey is consumed by anguish and self-reproach as Elizabeth realizes their secrecy may have contributed to Lydia's ruin.
Arrival at Longbourn
The travelers arrive at Longbourn the following day to find the household in crisis. Jane greets Elizabeth with tears and reports that their father has gone to London to search for Lydia, though he has written only twice with no news. Mrs. Bennet is confined to her dressing room in hysterics, blaming everyone but herself and the parental indulgence that enabled Lydia's behavior. She demands that Mr. Gardiner find the couple, force them to marry, and keep Mr. Bennet from fighting Wickham, all while worrying about Lydia's wedding clothes.
Mr. Gardiner Takes Charge
Mr. Gardiner promises to go to London the next day to assist Mr. Bennet, counseling the family not to give way to despair until they know the couple is not married. Mary offers platitudes about the loss of female virtue, while Kitty is fretful. In a private conversation, Jane shares the details of the crisis with Elizabeth: Colonel Forster's account of Lydia's departure, Denny's opinion that Wickham never intended marriage, and Lydia's thoughtless farewell note to Mrs. Forster, in which she gaily announces her elopement to Gretna Green and signs herself "Lydia Wickham." Elizabeth is struck by Lydia's frivolity and her father's distress, and the chapter closes with Jane describing Mr. Bennet's desperate plan to trace the hackney coach that carried the couple from Clapham into London.