Ranking Jane Austen's Bad Boys from Worst to Best

My ranking of Jane Austen's bad boys (or 'dashing rakes', as she no doubt would have called them) from worst to best.

(contains spoilers for Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey)

#JaneAustenJuly

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[michaelodonnell]

I can't believe that you didn't include Mr Elliott from Persuasion.
He impoverished his friend; succeeded in marrying a Rich woman he didn't love; only went after Anne to keep an eye on her father AND seduced Mrs Grey to keep her away from Sir Walter.
Maybe not a "Bad Boy" but definitely a Villain!

[kukkizkrafts]

You might have forgotten that Mr. Crawford runs off with Mrs. Rushworth (Maria). So it was not just he likes the attention of young ladies.

[genresandjournals]

This was amazing. My new favorite quote, “Remember ladies: for every Mr. Darcy, there is a Mr. Arsey”.
Jane Fairfax does deserve better. Gah.
We do all know a John Thorpe. Too true.

[elliebrooke]

“For every Mr Darcy there’s a Mr Arsey” 😂😂 GOLD

[rooo]

Concerning Wickham: "He's a shameless liar and stirrer of shit." I snorted so loudly at this! I think that should be the globally acknowledged description of him in all academic circles!

[einahsirro]

Thorpe is so realistic that I can barely endure the scenes he's in, because I was a Catherine when I was young: wide-eyed and pretty dumb, and got imposed upon by this sort on a regular basis until I learned how to escape them. He has no charm at all. In fact, I think all Jane Austen's main male characters can pretty much be sorted by Charmers and Bores, Victims and Heroes.

Bores: John Thorpe, Mr. Elton, Mr. Collins, Tom Bertram, Mr Rushworth, Capt Benwick (the only Bore who isn't Bad)
Charmers: Willoughby, Wickham, Henry Crawford, Mr. Elliot, Frank Churchill, Henry Tilney (the only Charmer who isn't Bad)
Victims: Edward Ferrars, Edmund Bertram, Col Brandon, Mr Bingley
Heroes: Mr Darcy, Mr Knightly, Capt Wentworth

[MsJubjubbird]

Henry Crawford made a bet he could get Fanny to marry him. Then he convinced Mariah to leave Mr Rushworth after they are married and run away with him- while the partakes in this, it ruins her and poses a threat to the reputation of her family. So he should be high up.

Wickham also went for Mary King and her money to add to his list of sins.

Captain Tinley and Mr Elliot should also have a mention. While Mr Thorpe basically tried to sabotage Catherine's relationship by lying- while also teaming up with his sister to get their hands on the Morland fortune.

Mr Elton wasn't batting out of his league with Augusta though. She had money but no breeding. He was a well respected gentleman. They gave each other what they wanted.

[katiejlumsden]

I LOVE THIS. Though interestingly, Willoughby and Crawford are my two favourite rakes - they're both so interesting! John Thorpe is pretty hilarious though.

[vesnak.]

"We all know John Thorpe" TRUE 😀
Great video, Claudia!

[myrnaanderson]

A very well-thought-out list, and an intriguing video. I would rank Henry Crawford, for whom "the temptation of immediate pleasure was too strong for a mind unused to make any sacrifice to right, " much higher. He deliberately connives to seduce Fanny (at least emotionally), and he actually does seduce the married Maria "entangled by his own vanity, with as little excuse of love as possible, and without the smallest inconstancy of mind towards her cousin." Henry Crawford has "feeling, genuine feeling, " (as he once describes Fanny), but no conscience. He has never learned to heed that "better guide" in himself, and he doesn't seem to understand, until it is too late, that his willful, manipulative actions hurt other people. And I would rank John Willoughby even higher than Henry Crawford. He seduces, impregnates and abandons one young woman and callously breaks another's heart. Frank Churchill, by contrast, is immature and imprudent, but he's not mean spirited or immoral. Anyway, I'm sure there are a million opinions on this. Jane Austen is always good fun.

[RaineyDayReads]

I love this! I’m reading Sense and Sensibility right now and I can ALMOST feel bad for Willoughby sometimes. You can tell he really likes Marianne and they probably are well-suited for each other... but that whole getting someone else pregnant thing and leaving her... kinda ruins any sympathy one may have for him.

[davidbrasher]

I feel sorry for Frank Churchill. He was not allowed to marry the one he loved, and had to keep the relationship secret. He was dominated and henpecked by his mother. He did get too much into the roleplaying of pretending not to be in love with Jane, but unlike some of the villains on this list, he did not try to seduce any woman or marry them just for money.

[thefolkofthetwill]

What about Captain Tilney? I thought he'd be somewhere at the top.

[AngelikaRenee]

This is a video I never knew I needed!! So great!

[katieflaxbeard]

🤣👏👏👏👏👏 loved this! love you!! I know you didn’t do Persuasion or else Mr. Elliot would have to have his spot on this list.

[WildeBookGarden]

YES I have been arguing for ages that Willoughby is the biggest asshole in Austen!!
Henry Crawford is the definition of a problematic fave for me because he's the only Austen bad boy I find believably charming so I appreciate him as a character much more than the other scumbags! haha
also your PSA at the end was PERFECTION

[meghanthestorygirl]

This video was AMAZING! I wish I'd thought of it myself! I absolutely love what you said about John Thorpe. I'd also add Mr Elliot to this list. Such a bad boy. And yes, women do deserve better. Preach!

[misscarolinasousa]

"for every Mr Darcy there's a Mr Arsy" is my new fav sentence

[Ailorn]

I hate Willoughby and think he got off too easy. He completely ruined one poor girl's life and it's glossed over because he "learned his lesson" but he didn't. He didn't really repent, he just got to confess for his own satisfaction to Elinor, and got to live a comfortable life with a little sentimental regret with an awful wife. Wickham gets to mooch off the Darcy's via Lydia even at the epilogue. The dude-bro in Northanger Abby was bad but not as detrimental as the other two. I think Frank Churchill was bad and Jane deserved better, but he did do right eventually and followed through for her..

[tillysshelf]

I love it, most amusing! But I think I would pretty much reverse this list. Thorpe is very recognisable, true, but he is pretty much a rude, insensitive liar. Willoughby is a clever man who does know what he is doing and preys on vulnerable young women - he is also the only one of these guys to get into a duel which should get him some bad boy points. And Henry Crawford gets involved in adultery which is pretty bad for the time. I would have included Captain Tilney and definitely Mr Elliot as well.