Posted by tyrone on August 26, 1997 at 13:05:09:
In reply to Re: Willoughby and Marianne?--He Ultimately Hurt Himself posted by Cassia on August 25, 1997 at 18:48:27
] I think Willoughby is a closer relative to Henry Crawford than t Wickham. Like Henry he originally planned to "have a little fun" at the expense of Marianne's heart... Also like Henry Crawford he learns too late that he does indeed love our heroine but his actions have put her out of his reach, if Wickham ever loved anyone it was himself.
Cassia, excellent points on their similarities. In my mind, the key difference between Crawford and Wickham is the same thing that makes Wickham perhaps more of a "tragic" figure (to the extent that these things can be quantified) as compared to Crawford: simply, that Marianne indeed returned Wickham's love, whereas Fanny Price consistently shunned Henry's advances. I never got the sense (perhaps from misreading something) that Fanny was ever in danger of falling prey to Crawford's attentions. Despite JA's fine description of him, I felt that Henry's situation vis-a-vis Fanny Price resembled that of Mr. Collins and Eliza Bennet. Both Fanny and Lizzie rejected suitors who, although it would have settled them in life, they could never resolve to love.
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