~Marianne Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility 1995)
Marianne Dashwood. Her very name inspires a vivid picture of her personality. She is one of the most real of Jane Austen's characters (not that any of JA's girls are un-real!) and she's a delight to read about. Romantic and high-spirited, passionate and full of feeling, Marianne leaps off the page. Of Jane Austen's heroines, she is the one who grows and matures the most throughout her book. The ambiguous title (is it Sense along with Sensibility or Sense versus Sensibility?) captures Marianne very well. Sensibility, or emotion, defines her. She's never flat or indifferent. As Austen herself said, "She was sensible and clever, but eager in everything. Her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation. She was generous, amiable, interesting: she was every thing but prudent." Marianne doesn't sit back and let the world go by; instead, she dances out in the midst of it.
Charity Wakefield as Marianne (2008)
Greg Wise and Kate Winslet as Willoughby and Marianne (1995)
I think S&S has a running theme of "appearances can be deceiving". Obviously Willoughby is not what he seems. Nor is Colonel Brandon--he's ultimately the hero. Edward Ferrars really isn't the shy, stuttering person that Marianne condemns for a lack of feeling. Lucy Steele is most certainly not sweet and charming. (I have to say, though, that I liked her at first. Well, I did. How was I to know how awful she really was? I honestly thought she was just confiding in Elinor, not gloating.)
Charity Wakefield and Hattie Morahan as Marianne and Elinor (2008)
It's Marianne, though, that I'm talking about here. Marianne is impulsive and idealistic, naive and exuberant, governed by her emotions, seemingly a little shallow. But by the end of the book, the reader realizes that Marianne isn't quite what she seems. She's not shallow or flighty; she has a depth of perception that developed over the course of the novel. At first she didn't think twice about Colonel Brandon, but by the time the story ends, she appreciates him for who and what he is. Maybe the Colonel's not the dashing prince she dreamed of, but in the end he is the hero (and Willoughby's the bad guy). Character wins out over charisma.
I love this (unfortunately very short) scene of Marianne and Colonel Brandon--I only wish the movie showed more of their developing relationship. Marianne is finally beginning to realize that her true hero was there all along... and the Shakespeare sonnets make it 10x more romantic, of course. :)
Marianne is eager in everything, as Jane Austen says, and that includes eagerness to learn. And that's what she does: she learns from Colonel Brandon, from Elinor, from Edward, and even from Willoughby himself. She grows and matures throughout Sense and Sensibility--and in the end, the title fits her perfectly. She's acquired some sense, but she hasn't lost her sensibilities. She's toned down a little, but she's still Marianne.
6 comments:
Marianne's 'the more I know of the world' quote is one of my top favorites!!! It explains my own feelings perfectly (especially with the 'I require so much!' at the end, like in the book.)
Except, I've looked for it in the 1995 version and never found it. Although it was in the trailer, with voice over. (Odd, that.)
I like Marianne. And in many ways, I am like Marianne. =)
Great post! My favorite Marianne has to be Kate Winslet's. She can be a little over-dramatic, but that is what Marianne is at times.
Marianne's development is one of the things I like about her character. Sure, she makes some mistakes, but she learns from them.
On another note, I know how you feel about Romeo and Juliet. I hated reading that play!
Melody,
Haha... that Marianne quote is one of my favorites, and I could hear Kate Winslet's voice in my head saying it, so I just assumed it came from the '95 movie (in the "To Die For Love" scene) and so I just cited it as from the movie. I may have to go back and add "trailer". :)
Miss Bennet,
Exactly! Kate Winslet makes a Mary Poppins-ish Marianne (practically perfect in every way). Though Charity Wakefield comes closer to my mental image of Marianne (when I was reading the book for the first time).
I haven't actually read the full play of Romeo and Juliet, but from what I have read and already know, it's horrid.
Well, you could just say it's from the book. haha
Marianne is my favorite Austen heroine...because I'm just like her. To a "T". :-) I don't think there's another heroine I identify with more than her...unless perhaps it's Anne Shirley. But anyway...
I (hope I have!!!) a bit more sense than her, but that dramatic, passionate part of her is totally me. And that "the more I see of the world" quote is TOTALLY me. :-)
The whole "to love is to burn" speil sounds like something I would say, too. :-P
Anyway. And Kate Winslet played her to perfection. Plus she's gorgeous, of course. Just perfect for the role. :-)
I love how Kate Winslet played Marianne.
I am sometimes emotional like Marianne,but I'm not as romatic as she is.
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