The Contrast Between Elinor And Marianne In Sense And Sensibility
In The novel Sense And Sensibility Jane Austen highlights the difference between the two main characters by displaying how each of them respond differently to the loss of their attachment in her novel. Elinor Dashwood is the elder Dashwood sister at 19 years old, followed by Marianne,16 years old, and Margaret, 13 years old. Elinor is characterized to be more practical when portraying emotion; however, Marianne tends to pour out her feelings due to her profound passion, disregarding all practicality. Austen displays contrasts between Elinor and Marianne in her novel as they both experience the pain of heartbreak as a way of showing the differences between the sisters.
Elinor met her attachment while staying at the house of Mr. John Dashwood, her brother, in Norland. Edward Ferrars, the man Elinor falls for, happens to be the brother of Mrs. John Dashwood, John’s wife. Yet, she later finds herself heartbroken after she was introduced to the Steele sisters (friends of their landlord at Barton Park and Mrs. Dashwood’s cousin, Sir John Middleton) and they find out more about each other than expected. Miss Lucy Steele, known to be cold and manipulative, decides to open up to Elinor about her secret engagement to Edward that has been going on for four years. Elinor had her doubts and hoped she was lying to avoid the pain of heartbreak, but Lucy had ways to prove it, such as Edward having her lock of hair. Elinor grows angry with Edward because she felt as if they were meant for each other.
During this time, Marianne was captivated by John Willoughby since the day he carried her home one rainy night when she sprained her ankle. After a couple of dinners and dates, he disappeared on her and ceased to send letters or phone calls. She would send him notes to confess her love, then soon to confess her disappointment and pain. He appeared to be engaged to a new woman, Miss Grey, who comes from a very wealthy family, and when Marianne saw this with her own eyes at a party she became distraught. It was a difficult time for Marianne to cope with because her 16 year-old heart had been crushed after thinking Willoughby had felt the same love for her as she did for him. She dealt with this as a teenage girl did; her self- esteem began to run low, she lost her pride, she would push her loved ones away, and was physically “choked by grief”, which left Elinor having to worry about Marianne more than her own feelings. This is where Austen brought in contrasts between their coping mechanisms.
Elinor appeared to be more reserved. She tended to hurt in silence and went about her heartbreak in a more mature way. She kept Lucy’s promise of not telling anyone about her engagement to Edward; therefore, she could not open up to anyone if she wanted to. She watched Marianne make herself sick, destroying herself physically and mentally, and gave her all of her attention. Marianne did not realize what Elinor had been going through because she was taking care of her so much. Elinor let everyone lay it on her because she felt it was her duty to hold the family together and did not want to burden others with her problems. Elinor confessed that she had been upset for Edward because he was engaged to such an unmindful person. In a way, Austen uses satire to display the exaggeration of Marianne’s heartbreak in comparison to the way Elinor is dealing with hers.
Elinor represents the “sense” in the title while Marianne represents the “sensibility”. Elinor is mature and mellow in her actions and acts like glue for the family; consequently, she holds back her sensibility and does not open to anyone about her pain. On the other hand, Marianne’s response to heartbreak stems from her sensibility, or moreso her passion and ability to love easily and with her whole heart. The sisters were simultaneously going through heartbreak and Austen portrayed each of their responses differently to match their role of being the sense or the sensible.
