referred to as "till lately a favourite of d'Urbervilles's" (Hardy, 69), which boosts the unchangeable nature of his villain hero, Alec.
             It is also noteworthy that, although Austen and Hardy achieve in showing consistent behaviours in their characters, Wickham and Alec can still be seen as a caricature of a Victorian womaniser. Both are handsome and roguish. This defect leads to more in-depth characterisation in terms of their individual upbringing.
             The family background and education are further added to their characters, since "many individual Victorians saw the family as an agent of oppression and as the chief vehicle of encompassing conformity" (Sanders, 400). George Wickham is:
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