Female Characters in Sense and Sensibility

【Abstract】：Females usually hold different marriage concepts. Some of them consider that material life is the most important thing in a marriage while others think highly of true love. Sense and Sensibility， the representative work of Jane Austen， telling the life and love experiences of the Dashwood sisters and people around them.

In this novel， different female characters are vividly unfolded and it’s their different marriage concepts that lead to their different fates. This paper mainly focuses on the analysis of the main female characters.

【Key words】： sense， sensibility， material， true love

Introduction：

In that era， the social state of females connects tightly to their fathers and husbands， thus a majority of females are eager to marry a wealthy bachelor. This novel happens in such a social background.

The three characters I’d like to mention represent most of the females of that era. Elinor wants to find a suitable husband， considering about both of materialistic and spiritual situation while Marianne focuses on looking for true love. Different from them， Lucy only pays attention to the fortune of her future husband， totally ignoring spiritual pleasure.

Their different marriage concepts are the reflection of their characteristics. Marianne is emotional. Lucy is quite rational while Elinor is keeping a balance between sense and sensibility.

Understanding of the characters

1.Elinor

Elinor is kind of intelligent and rational， knowing clearly which is better when she has to make a choice. No matter how suffering she has， she thinks highly of the responsibility she is ought to take. She falls in love with Edward soon as he seems to be suitable for her in every aspect. However， when she notices the relationship between Edward and another lady， she gives up instantly， though being sorrowful. She is actually a strong-minded and responsible lady， considering more for her family then herself.

Compared with other females of that era， she still keeps her own spirit and has a more admiring consideration.

2.Marianne

As for Marianne， unlike her elder sister， she is a girl full of energy and has the courage to challenge the mainstream of the society .She has her own understanding of love.

She disagrees with Elinor’s marriage concept when noticing that Elinor is going to marry Edward and illustrates her own opinions of a true love， which is vividly shown in her relationship with Willoughby. Entirely attracted by his charm， she devotes all herself in the relationship. Willoughby’s sudden leaving drives her into crazy， and she impulsively writes a series of letters to him as soon as she arrived. Readers could easily feel the eagerness of the young lady between the lines.

But in the end， when she is abandoned by Willoughby， all of the happiness before turns into sufferings， she totally frustrates and even becomes seriously ill. Until being hurt seriously， Marianne comes to realize that she could never have been happy with Willoughby's immoral and expansive nature. She comes to appreciate Elinor's behaviors in a similar situation and admits her inappropriate behaviors before， determining to model after Elinor's courage and good sense. Later， she gives up her immature marriage concept， choosing to marry Brandon， who cares about her all along. She has adjusted herself into a qualified lover and wife though she may not have a deep love towards Brandon.

Marianne is not a perfect one， having shortcomings like a common young girl， not cautious enough， not responsible enough. But her emotional specificity really attracts me. I admire her because of her love without reservation. When she is in love with Willoughby， she devotes all herself in the relationship. When she is determined to marry Brandon， she completely let her prejudice to Brandon away and is involved in this relationship， taking her own responsibility. In the end， she learns to take command of sense to make up for her sensibility and to achieve a balance between sense and sensibility.

Females tend to be emotional， but sense is also an integral part in one’s life. Marianne’s experience affords lessons to those who are devoted in love.

3.Lucy

As for Lucy， she is the representative of the ladies of that era， making all her effort in order to marry a man who has a high financial and social status to improve her social state. At first， she is supposed to marry Edward， leading to Elinor’s sorrow. But after acknowledged that Edward would not inherit the property from his mother， she regrets and turns to marry another man soon.

She just takes her marriage as a method to improve her conditions and her status， in her mind， nothing is more important than material richness. In the end， she has successfully marry a wealthy man， but who knows whether she would enjoy the life with a man she doesn’t love.

Conclusion：

Different choices lead to different fates. In that era， the social state of females is so low that the only way for them to improve their life is to marry a wealthy man. Under such a social background， a great number of them have a flexible marriage concept and think too highly of material things and ignore the pleasure of true love. It’s hard for people to keep a balance between sense and sensibility.

The lesson I have learned from the book is that females should be aware of what she actually need instead of lose herself in the confusion of what to do. In addition， in order to live better， females are required to have their own value in order to be equal to males. [2]

Work cited

[1] Austen. Jane. Sense and Sensibility[M]. 上海：上海世界圖書出版公司，2001.

[2]于露.理性對待婚姻——再讀《理智與情感》[J].湖北廣播電視大學學報，2010