After presenting on Monday to our class, I wanted to reflect on how I feel it went, what I learned, what I would add or change.

I believe my leading the class started off rough! I get very nervous presenting in front of my peers and especially my Professors who are much more advanced in the study of Literature than I! I stammered through the passages I had wanted to focus on and tried to incorporate some of the paper I had written on with it.

However, once the questions started I think it went much better. I had written seven questions and everyone seemed more engaged and seemed to be enjoying the discussion.
I found the topic of Numbers in Pride and Prejudice very interesting. After reading our Research Methodology book I noticed how Jane Austen mainly used numbers in Pride and Prejudice to discuss money amounts or ages.

Then after reading our article on “Bingley’s Four or Five Thousand”, I became very interested in exactly how much money Jane Austen was talking about – so I did some research and started converting the numbers in her text from pounds to dollars.
After realizing the money amounts ranged from $320 to $1,156,000.00 I wanted to know exactly how much the character, George Wickham, either inherited or was given either directly to him or to cover his debts.

I find it interesting that George Wickham being a manipulator, cad and all around devious character was able to move in the upper circles of society and even though he used women, as far as I have gotten in the novel, he has never called out on his behavior.

Wickham inherits 1,000 pounds, or 80,000 dollars from Darcy’s father. He dissolves his claim to the clergyman position and receives 3,000 more pounds or 240,000 dollars from Mr. Darcy. Within three years, he was again asking Darcy for money, Darcy refuses. Wickham then attempts to elope with Miss Darcy, whose inheritance totals 30,000 pounds (2.4 million dollars). Although he didn’t elope with Miss Darcy his intent was to marry and rule her money.

Wickham then runs off with Lydia, whose portion is 40 pounds a year or $320 dollars, which is not a lot of money to live off of. Wickham tells Darcy that he has no intention of marrying Lydia and still plans to marry an heiress. To persuade Wickham to marry Lydia, Darcy must then pay Wickham’s debts, totaling 1,000 pounds, or 80,000 dollars in addition to buying his commission at about 450 pounds or 36,000 dollars.

Mr. Bennet states that “Wickham’s a fool if he takes her “Lydia” for less than ten thousand pounds,” meaning that Darcy probably also paid Wickham an additional 800,000 dollars.
I wonder what Wickham does with his money because he seems to blow quickly through any money he is given.

One thing I learned from leading the class and would do differently is that I needed to rehearse (more) reading the passages that I chose to discuss and I needed to focus more on a way to bring my classmates into that part of my presentation. I think I should have asked particular classmates, if they wanted to participate, to read the sections aloud and then take cues from the paper I had written to go more in depth.

I also think I needed to slow down and breathe but I get so nervous that I ramble and it becomes incoherent and discombobulated. I am glad I presented first so I can now sit back and enjoy participating with my classmates and not worry!