 Dominic Cooper as John Willoughby in the 2008 BBC television serial, Sense and Sensibility This scene occurs at a ballroom in London after he abruptly encounters Marianne |
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| Gender: | Male |
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| Age: | 25 |
| Income: | £700 pounds per annum |
| Education: | Unknown |
| Primary Residence: | Combe Magna in Sormersetshire, and occasionally Allenham in Devonshire |
| Family | |
| Romantic Interest(s): | Eliza, Marianne Dashwood, Miss Grey |
| Parents: | Mrs. Smith (actually she is his aunt) |
| Children: | One through Eliza, a bastard |
| Film Adaptations | |
John Willoughby is the villain in Jane Austen's 1811 novel, Sense and Sensibility.
Contents |
First Appearance
John Willoughby first appears in Sense and Sensibility when he rescues Marianne Dashwood after she fell down a hill and twisted her ankle due to inclement weather. Because of this action, he is known as "Marianne's Preserver" by her younger sister, Margaret. This action also causes Marianne Dashwood to be completely enamored by him.
His relationship with Marianne
Willoughby's relationship with Marianne was speedily developed, with scarcely any knowledge of each other and without much information of his background. In fact, all Marianne was apprised of the background of Willoughby was that he was a nephew of an affluent and illustrious woman named Mrs. Smith, who was the proprietor of an estate of which he was the heir. Elinor Dashwood, Marianne's elder sister, is afforded much solicitude because of this over-speedily developed relationship with Willoughby, and her senses think it precipitate. Marianne herself said in the novel that her acquaintance with Willoughby had been only seven days, and yet she felt she knew him better than any person in the world. Mrs. Jennings, the landlady of the cottage of which Marianne, her mother, and her two sisters reside seems to share the same sentiments as Elinor, except instead of taking it as a cause to worry, she takes it as a cause of playful raillery and harmless gossip.
Willoughby's Sudden Journey to London
Willoughby and Marianne obviously had sentiments of warmth and romantic affection towards one another. In fact, they were so affectionate towards one another that everybody believed them to be clandestinely engaged. However, neither Marianne nor Willoughby would hint such an engagement to anybody. One day, Willoughby wished to speak to Marianne in private. By the time he had finished, Marianne was in tears, and it seemed that he was gravely disappointed. The reason given by Willoughby to explain all this melancholy was that his aunt had sent him on a business trip to London, to which he had to comply instantaneously, and he might not return to Devonshire for at least a twelfthmonth. Marianne's mother interprets this abrupt journey as the intention of his aunt to dissolve any attachment between her nephew and Marianne, for Marianne was an impecunious young lady.
Willoughby and Marianne (Last Reunion)
Mrs. Jennings invites both Elinor and Marianne to London with her during the winter, and Marianne, in hopes of reuniting with her beloved Willoughby, instantaneously and happily accepts. Elinor, after much entreaty and persuasion from her mother and Marianne reluctantly. In London, Marianne writes several missives to Willoughby, apprising him that she had arrived in London and requesting him to come and visit her at the residence of Mrs. Jennings. Willoughby, however, does not respond to any of her attentions, throwing Mariannne in despair. Then Marianne adventitiously encounters him at a cotillion and confronts him for not replying any of her letters. Willoughby only ignores her only depressing Marianne further. The next day, Marianne receives a letter from Willoughby. Nevertheless, the missive did not carry pleasant tidings, for when Marianne had finished reading it, she was in tears. Willoughby informed her that his affection had been too precipitate, and his affections had long been engaged elsewhere. He also returned all her love letters and the lock of hair, which she had "so obligingly bestowed upon him." Marianne is thrown into utter despair that she even implicates to Elinor that she was never engaged to Willoughby and that she now wants to slaughter herself. Elinor attempts in vain to afford Marianne some consolation, and she tells her beloved sister to think of her family and to exert herself through this difficult interval of sorrow.
John Willoughby and Miss Grey
At the ball it is revealed that Mr. Willoughby's affections are now engaged with a fashionable young woman named Miss Grey with fifty thousand pounds. It becomes obvious to Elinor and everybody else involved that Mr. Willoughby jilted Marianne for the prospect of great opulence. While it is likely that Mr. Willoughby did feel affection for Marianne while their relationship lasted, he quickly drops it when other, better prospects arise. When Marianne is apprised that Willoughby has abandoned her, she quickly falls into a state of inconsolable sorrow
Willoughby's Scandal
Colonel Brandon, a friend of Elinor and Marianne, attempts to explain Willoughby's actions to Elinor to clarify all the confusion. He apprises her that Willoughby had an odious affair with the Colonel's fifteen year old ward, Eliza. Willoughby then abandoned her and left her with his child. When his aunt was informed of this scandal, she, a lady of rectitude, demanded that he make reparations to the unfortunate girl whom he had seduced. When he refused, she expelled him from her estate of Allenham and also disinherited him. Elinor relates the veracity of the circumstance to Marianne, who is without reaction.
Marianne Catches Cold
Marianne was so distressed by the cessation of her relationship with Willoughby that she becomes remiss in attending to her health. She catches cold, which becomes putrid fever. Although she was not expected to survive, she somehow was able to. After this life threatening circumstance, Marianne learned to forget about Willoughby and all that he had done. At the end, she marries the honorable Colonel Brandon, who had always loved her sincerely, although she is only nineteen and he is thirty-seven.
Willoughby's Punishment
At the end, Willoughby had compunction of what he did. He had married Miss Grey merely for convenience without love, and she would distress him the rest of his life. His aunt, however, realizes that his intentions towards Eliza were not completely ignominious and forgives him, allowing him to return to Allenham. Nonetheless he will forever be haunted by the idea that he could have procured himself much felicity by merely being truthful to Marianne.
Literary Significance
Jane Austen created Willoughby as a protagonist completely driven by the prospect of wealth and illustriousness, willing to give up his true love for more worldly objects. This characterization is similar to the one of George Wickham in Jane Austen's subsequent novel, Pride and Prejudice. They both have the charm to ingratiate 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. However, it appears that John Willoughby was slightly more benignant than George Wickham, for at the end, he did express some remorse and guilt concerning his actions toward Marianne, while George Wickham never demonstrated any regret whatsoever to the heinousness of his deeds to Mr. Darcy's sister; instead he again eloped with Elizabeth Bennet's youngest sister Lydia, for a prospect of approximately 100 pounds per annum from her family.
Notable Portrayals
Sense and Sensibility is an excellent novel and has been portrayed three times.
- Peter Woodward in the 1981 British television serial.
- Greg Wise in the 1995 popular film Sense and Sensibility, with a golden globe winning screenplay written by Emma Thompson, and directed by Ang Lee.
- Dominic Cooper in the 2008 BBC television serial aired by PBS, directed by John Alexander.
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