which he talks of Miss Williams and his own wife. His aunt, however, eventually forgives him, allowing him to return to Allenham, because of his marriage to Miss Grey. Nonetheless, he will forever be haunted by the loss of Marianne. After her life-threatening illness, Marianne learns the errors of her previous belief that it is romantic to die of grief. She admits she could not have been happy with Willoughby's scandalous behaviour, even if he had stood by her. She learns to overcome her love for him and starts to appreciate the constant devotion of the honourable Colonel Brandon. Eventually they marry, despite their age difference (she is 17 and he is 35 when they first meet). 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 characterisation 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 fabricating 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 Williams in Willoughby's case, and Lydia Bennet and Georgiana Darcy in Wickham's case. However, it appears that Willoughby is not completely without a conscience because he did express remorse and guilt concerning his actions toward Marianne, and showed himself to be capable of falling in love. In contrast, Wickham was very calculating in his behaviour and never demonstrated any regret regarding his treatment of Georgiana or Lydia, or embarrassment about his lies to Elizabeth. Notable portrayals Clive Francis in the 1971 BBC television serial scripted by Denis Constanduros and directed by David Giles Peter Woodward in the 1981 British television serial Greg Wise in the 1995 popular film, with Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award winning screenplay written by Emma Thompson, and directed by Ang Lee Abbas in the 2000 Tamil adaptation Kandukondain Kandukondain Dominic Cooper in the 2008 BBC television serial aired by