Which character in 'Pride and Prejudice' elopes with Mr. Wickham?

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In 'Pride and Prejudice,' Lydia Bennet elopes with Mr. Wickham. Lydia is the youngest of the five Bennet sisters and is notably impulsive, flirtatious, and eager for attention. She meets George Wickham through the militia stationed near Meryton and becomes infatuated with him despite warnings about his character and debts.

Lydia runs away with Wickham to London, believing they will marry, but Wickham initially has no intention of making the relationship respectable. Because an unmarried elopement would seriously damage Lydia's reputation and threaten the marriage prospects of her sisters, the situation becomes a family crisis. Mr. Darcy secretly finds the couple and arranges financial terms that persuade Wickham to marry Lydia.

A common mix-up is with Georgiana Darcy: she nearly eloped with Wickham in the past, but Darcy stopped her. Lydia is the character who actually runs away with him in the novel. Their marriage is legal, but Austen makes clear that it is not a happy or admirable match.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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