Who is the biggest cad?

Who do you think is the most blameworthy character in Jane Austen's works?

That fool with whom Lydia Bennet elopes....I cannot believe I've forgotten his name.

Wickham!

>3 jnwelch:, Yes!! Thank you! He's a heel!

Wickham's a heel but he & Lydia deserve each other. My nominee: Willoughby, who breaks Marianne's foolish but sincere heart

After seeing Lost in Austen, I feel that Wickham may have been misunderstood ;-) . But all kidding aside, I vote for Willoughby.

Or Elton, who creeps Emma out in the carriage & makes her feel what reads like the shame & self-hate rape victims experience.

Hey, Nickelini :)

I'd have to vote for both Wickham and Willoughby. They're both just yucky. What about Lady Russell in Persuasion? I didn't like her either.

>8 homeschoolmom:
I think to be a "cad" one must belong to the male species. Were that not the case, I'd certainly nominate Maria Bertram who is so unlikable that she totally deserves the gilt-edged cad, Henry Crawford, who jilts her in the end.

Actually, you know what? Upon reflection, I change my vote to Willoughby. After mentally cataloging each character's bad acts, I think he is worse than Wickham. Georgiana Darcy is left (mostly) unscarred, while the same cannot be said for poor Eliza Williams.

#9-You're right! It was late here and apparently my brain wasn't functioning!! My apologies everyone! drrrr

#10-I agree with you. Wickham, after further evaluation, is certainly a cad.

Austen, in a stroke of genius, makes Willoughby so very charming that it's hard for me to pick him as the worst of the lot, even though his acts are certainly the most heinous, I think. (Of course, he is also capable of real feeling, unlike some of the others. Henry Crawford is also somewhat in the same category.) I have to say, I always get incredibly annoyed with Frank Churchill in Emma over his treatment of poor Jane Fairfax. I may dislike him more than some of the others because most of them pay their dues in some way or another—Willoughby gets his heart broken, for example, and is saddled with a witch of a wife—while Churchill goes scot-free, and gets to marry the woman of his dreams, whom he doesn't deserve.

I think I'd have to go for Henry Crawford. Willoughby is just plain thoughtless - there's no evil intent in his actions. But Henry Crawford deliberately sets out to break Fanny Price's heart, knowing it to be wrong.

But it seems like Henry Crawford gets caught in his own net -- ends up falling for Fanny. I have to agree that Frank Churchill is the one who most undeservedly escapes punishment (even if my vote is still for Mr. Elton).

One who i dont think gets mentioned enough is Mr Elliot the cousin of Anne Elliot in Persuasion. You get a real look at his character from Mrs Smith when Anne goes to Bath - what he says about the family behind their backs, how he married for money & then runs off with Mrs. Clay.
I also think Crawford is sort of a cad - he decides he wants Fanny to fall in love with him just to suit his vanity - not for money or gain - then he starts to fall in love with her but isnt able to resist that disatrous flirtation with Maria.
General Tilney and Frederick Tilney are not the best characters in the world. You wonder how Henry Tilney turned out so honorable.

OK I may get jumped on here, and this is a little off the "cad" topic, but I can't STAND Mary Crawford. To me she is just two-faced and completely out for her own self-interest. She is the type of "friend" who uses weaker individuals to promote herself and get her way, all the while acting like she's doing the other person the big favor. I guess I should cite examples from the book, but it's been a while since I've read MP. She & her brother are two of a kind in my book.

As to cads, I have to vote for Henry Crawford (it's hard for me to believe he had any true feelings for Fanny) or Mr Elton, since they don't have any real feelings for their supposed "love" interest. Wickham was certainly a cad in his treatment of Georgiana, and Willoughby in his treatment of Col. Brandon's daughter, but they eventually admit to have true "feelings" for Lydia & Marianne. So they sort of "come around", reluctantly, of course. Mr Elliot is certainly of low character, but he never fools Anne for very long. Yes, he mistreats his friend, but that's dishonesty in friendship, as opposed to a "cad" with women.

Does Wickham ever admit to having true feelings for Lydia? I thought he hints at the end that he really was interested in Elizabeth all along.

Yeah, I would disagree, kac—I don't think there's anything in the text that suggests Wickham has "true feelings" for anybody, and if he did, it was for Lizzie rather than Lydia. On the other hand, Austen is pretty clear that Crawford develops greater affection for Fanny than he thought himself capable of. You can disbelieve him—and the author—but I definitely think there's more internal evidence for Crawford's affections than for Wickham's.

You are probably right about Wickham. He was persuaded to marry Lydia, and it seems at the end of the book, they at least tolerated one another, but perhaps there wasn't true affection.

I haven't read P&P in about 10 years so I could be sketchy on those details...

My vote is for Wickham - handsome, yet an empty character.

My vote is Crawford, but Tilneys brother is terrible ad well! Thoughtless!

Oh, I would have to say that Wickham had at least one "true feeling" - a great affection for his own best interest!

I vote for Wickham. Had he not been paid to marry Lydia, he probably would have dumped her when she started to bore him.

The vote seems to be running against poor Wickham, but I have one last thing to add to my reasons for putting Henry Crawford at the top of the, er, heap: Wickham is not, by any stretch of the imagination, what you would call "exceptional." He is just a shallow opportunist whereas Henry has ability and is capable of strong (though inconstant) feelings. For a character to be really bad, he must have the potential of being really good--which potential he doesn't fulfill due to rampant egotism.

And that comment re: Crawford could apply to Willoughby, too.

Wickham is indeed one of the biggest cads in the Jane Austen literary world and he deserves his fate in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (one of the many highlights in the book).

Willoughby, followed closely Wickham.

I've always believed that Austen's worst villain is Willoughby. He impregnates a young, innocent, orphaned girl and disappears, leaving Brandon to pick up the pieces. He is the ultimate narcissist and preys on fatherless girls. He is beneath contempt.