Catherine (Kitty) Bennet

Kitty is the fourth Bennet sister at 17 years old. Although two years older than her youngest sister, she is very much under the thumb of the rambunctious Lydia, and is influenced by her superficiality and obsession with the visiting soldiers. They are often described as very similar, as “ignorant, idle, and vain” and both are looked down on by their father. However, Lydia treats Kitty carelessly, such as gloating when she is invited to stay in Brighton and Kitty is not. Kitty’s most significant contribution to the plot is keeping the secret of Lydia and Wickham’s relationship, which allows them to elope. However, after Lydia leaves Kitty is described as spending “the chief of her time with her two elder sisters. In society so superior to what she had generally known, her improvement was great.”