CH 16

In Chapter Sixteen, Wickham tells Elizabeth that he is the son of one of the servants at Pemberly, the Darcy family's estate. Wickham's father was a loyal servant for many years, so Mr. Darcy's father bequeathed young Wickham an ample living in his will. However, Darcy circumvented his father's promise after the elder man died and gave Wickham's intended inheritance to someone else. Wickham believes that Darcy's jealousy grew out of observing the elder Darcy's affection for young Wickham. In order to punish his rival, Darcy cruelly subjected Wickham to live a life of poverty (against his late father's wishes).