Pride And Prejudice Dualism Essay

Compatibility: Marianne's Journey of First Love

When I read Sense and Sensibility, the obvious sense of dualism is presented to me as the reader. It is clear how Elinor and Marianne are set against one another, one sense and the other sensibility. Austen even goes so far as to make their lovers appear to be foils for each other. Willoughby is this passionate man who is frank and open in his affection for Marianne; and then there is Edward. He is shy, timid even, and lacks the taste Marianne expects of any creature that is near her. It's so obvious that you feel like you're getting hit over the head with it over and over again.

The Surface Reading

In a general book report-ish sense, this is the theme of the novel; a general exploration of

She is at least aware that she expects too much of a lover because in her next breath she voices her fears of dying an old maid. I believe she is unaware of it might be favorable to have differing opinions. Being similar is great, to a point. (FYI: I believe this is the case in Pride and Prejudice with Bingley and Jane) The true "successful marriage" of two people lies in a compatibility their strengths and weaknesses.

I believe that a theme Austen explores constantly in her books is the compatibility of human beings, not only in marriages but family and friends. The social groups that people find themselves in, create small storms of clashing characters, reveal different meshes of personalities. These "meshes" of people amount to varying degrees of compatibility that happen by either fate or random happenstance (that I believe is a topic for another time).

A Perspective of Her Conduct

In the case of Marianne and Willoughby, Austen makes you question what a relationship needs to succeed. Again, the reader is comparing the two sisters constantly. We see Elinor's view quite often, but I personally found difficulty in seeing if Marianne was really acting incorrectly at first (Perhaps Jane is the inverse of Marianne