Literary Significance
Jane Austen created Willoughby as a protagonist driven by the need for his own pleasure, whether that be through amusing himself with whatever woman crossed his path, or via marrying in order to obtain wealth to fuel his profligate ways. He does not value emotional connection and is willing to give up his true love for more worldly objects. This characterization is similar to that of George Wickham in Jane Austen's subsequent novel, Pride and Prejudice. They both have the charm to ingratiate themselves with people and to deceive them, as John Willoughby did to Marianne when apprising her of his journey to London, and George Wickham to Elizabeth by creating a story to demonstrate how much anguish he had experienced in his life. And they both show themselves willing to seduce and ruin women—Eliza in Willoughby's case and Lydia Bennet and Georgiana Darcy in Wickham's case. However, it appears that John Willoughby is not completely without a conscience, unlike George Wickham, because Willoughby did express remorse and guilt concerning his actions toward Marianne, and is capable of falling in love, while George Wickham was very calculating in his behavior and never demonstrated any regret regarding his treatment of Georgiana or Lydia, or embarrassment about his lies to Elizabeth.
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