1. John Willoughby is a fictional character in Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility.
15 Facts About John Willoughby
1. 2.
John Willoughby is described as being a handsome young man with a small estate, but has expectations of inheriting his aunt's large estate.
3.
John Willoughby is in love with Marianne Dashwood, who is a character in the novel.
4.
John Willoughby first appears in Sense and Sensibility when he rescues Marianne Dashwood after she falls down a hill and twists her ankle during a rainstorm.
5.
One day, John Willoughby asks to speak to Marianne in private.
6.
The reason given by John Willoughby to explain this is that his aunt has sent him on a business trip to London, and he must obey instantly, and he might not ever return to Devonshire.
7.
Mrs Jennings invites both Elinor and Marianne to stay in London with her during the winter, and Marianne, in hopes of reuniting with her beloved John Willoughby, happily accepts; Elinor is only reluctantly persuaded after much entreaty and persuasion from her mother and Marianne.
8.
In London, Marianne improperly writes several letters to John Willoughby, telling him that she had arrived in London and requesting him to come and visit her at the residence of Mrs Jennings.
9.
Elinor thinks that John Willoughby has broken an engagement with Marianne, but she explains that they were never engaged.
10.
Brandon finds her, but by doing so John Willoughby's actions are revealed to the world.
11.
John Willoughby is not expected to survive, but does pull through.
12.
John Willoughby speaks to Elinor and confesses he had been genuinely in love with Marianne and intended to ask her to marry him.
13.
John Willoughby admits she could not have been happy with Willoughby's scandalous behaviour, even if he had stood by her.
14.
John Willoughby learns to overcome her love for him and starts to appreciate the constant devotion of the honourable Colonel Brandon.
15.
However, it appears that John 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.