Sense and Sensibility

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Title “I have not wanted syllables where actions have spoken so plainly.” (Austen 68) As Elinor declares in Jane Austin’s novel Sense and Sensibility, it is true; actions do speak louder than words. What someone does means a lot more than what someone says. Someone can tell you that they love you, but if they never show you than how will you know if they truly mean it. Love is meant for people like Elinor and Edward who showed each other their love and respected social conventions. However, people like Marianne and Willoughby are not very deserving, due to their lust-based relationship and choices to ignore the common rules of society. Love is achieved through obstacles and not pure lust, and is only meant for people who truly deserve each other. “Passionate, romantic Marianne and Willoughby, after an intense attraction that causes them to ignore the barriers between them, suffer and end up bitterly regretting their behavior.” (MP) Marianne and Willoughby put all of their trust into only each other and no one else, leaving them alone with no friends once their attraction disbanded. After the breakup, Marianne makes sure that the entire town knows that she is depressed and lonely without her love Willoughby. As you see her “alternately singing and crying; her voice often totally suspended by her tears,” (Austen 72) she is unable to cope with the fact that she is no longer apart of Willoughby’s life. “Meanwhile, the reasonable Elinor as been equally unlucky in love, though she bears her disappointment quite differently.” (CSLF) While Marianne is sobbing and weeping, putting her life on hold, Elinor tries to mitigate Marianne’s inimical attitude towards everyone. Elinor is continuing with her life, as the memories of Edward are evanescent. Elinor’s “feelings are not often shared,” (Austen 76) her business is her business and not the whole towns. Elinor does not feel that she must let everyone know her business, she only wants people to see her good side, not her gloomy side. She always puts her best foot forth to make herself look good in front of other people, which shows that she cares about the fact that other people may look down upon someone who is emotionally unstable, like her younger sister Marianne, and view that as a major weakness. Edward Ferrars comes from a... ... middle of paper ... ...nne suffered more emotionally due to her over trusting personality and her naïve nature. Happiness always wins out, however true love is only won by long hard struggles. If two people are meant to be together, then love will eventually find a way through all of the obstacles, but if two people do not deserve each other’s love then they will be broken apart. Ignoring people and common rules of society will get you nowhere except lonely and unhappy. The ignorant naïve people like Marianne and Willoughby are the ones, who end p suffering, ignorance is a lonely way to go through life. Greed and jealousy of ones family is a difficult obstacle to overcome, however with that obstacle accomplished, it only proves a more pure true love, and shows a great deal of loyalty and strength in the two people who were able to win the battle. Obstacles to a marriage are what prove the love between two people, and without these obstacles two people can never know how strong their love is for one another. In order to know how much someone means to somebody else, their love must be tested by enduring painful obstacles, otherwise how do you know if you can trust your love?

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