Jane Austen : Sense and sensibility - book review

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love — and its threatened loss — the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

Practically every reader I know hated Marianne in this book. Oh, come on, poor Marianne ! She's only 17 ! What contemporary teenager hasn't considered the world in black and white ? What teenager in all periods of time haven't considered the world in black and white ? I have one home ! Well, she'll be 17 in 4 months, but still. I liked Marianne less by the end of the book - no, not true, I pitied her, she looked broken. Isn't it pitiful to be broken at her age ? Yes, Marianne was "too much", but she would have grown out of it if anyway she had been left some time.

Willoughby ? Elinor pitied him ?... She really liked him anyway, scolded him, but I think he got away scot-free. Maybe he had charm, but he was selfish and didn't care about others. Even at the end, when he confides to Elinor, he's full of self-pity : he's so unhappy, his wife is not right. You chose a life to fit your interests, deal with it, man !

And Edward ? He wasn't much better, but he got away Scot-free too, in my opinion. Yes, he fell in love while he was otherwise engaged, ok, he couldn't help it, ok, he couldn't talk about the engagement but hey, he made a whole family believe he was going to marry Elinor while he couldn't, so I find Elinor very lenient. I could have kicked him.

Colonel Brandon ? Poor guy. Straight in his boots, at least, he's the one character that was consistent from one end of the book to the other. Even if nowadays, he would have been considered marrying a young trophy wife, lol !

And Elinor ? Ah, Elinor, the sense, reason, conventional part of this story. When that thing happened at the end of the book when she broke - a little - out of character and burst out of a room running, I almost shouted "Finally !" I was in the train, people looked at me, but I explained "It's the book !". Finally, some blood in her veins, less consideration of what people might think ! Pfffiouuuuu, that was worth waiting. But I'm still not completely satisfied that she married who she did. But I guess she is, so I'm happy for her. Yet I have a feeling they'll make a dull couple.

I wouldn't have liked to be on the receiving end of Jane Austen's wit : the way she describes the toothpick-case loving gentleman is... awesome !

And when a man develops his opinion much to Elinor's annoyance, she "agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition." I laughed !

So, yes. Sense and sensibility is not my favourite book by Jane Austen but as you can see above, those characters, unperfect as they were (hence more human), made me react strongly and I loved reading about them, so yes, 4 well-deserved stars ! The next Jane Austen book on my re-read list will be Pride and prejudice.