I have to admit, I was relieved that when upon telling my friend Kelse that I was reading this book, she told me that this was the hardest of the books to get through. The first few chapters at least, seemed to be some of the longest chapters of my life, second only to Christopher Paolini's endless descriptions of city, countryside and desert in "Eragon". I lack an appreciation for in-depth description, I think because when I read about something, I immediately form a picture of it in my head, never to be swayed by the author's own thoughts on the matter. But, I digress. I merely meant to say that Jane's way of writing the first few chapters of Sense and Sensibility seems like she is only describing what the characters say instead of actually letting them speak. Only one substantial conversation actually takes place in the first few chapters, which is between Mr. and Mrs. John Dashwood about the money situation pertaining to his step-mother and half sisters. She doesn't go into depth about any relationship existing between Edward Ferrars and Elinor Dashwood, which would probably not even be suspected, except for Jane Austen's narrative saying that some emotional atatchment did exist. I was pleasently surprised that after getting through the beginning of the book, the dialogue and feeling began to more fully appear. After watching the movie "Sense and Sensibility", with Emma Thompson, I was confused that Sir Thomas did have a wife, who was still alive, and children. I don't understand why something so simple would be taken out of the movie, which made a point of letting the audience know that the wife had died. I guess it must have had something to do with time and budgeting. Hmmm.
Without further ado, here are my initial thoughts on the main characters of "Sense and Sensibility".
Elinor: Well rounded, intelligent, and practical. Her family comes first and, though she won't be walked on, lets a lot of things go, just to keep peace.
Marianne: Very... imaginative. Knows exactly what she wants, and will not rest until she gets it. There are only a few things on earth that she thinks are good enough for her. Though she loves her family, she thinks they should act like her.
Mrs. Dashwood: She is almost exactly like an older Marianne. She also knows what she wants. However, she is a little more selfless toward her daughters, who she lives to marry off.
Edward Ferrars: I honestly don't know much about him yet because he hasn't spoken "two words together".
Willoughby: SHMOOZER.
That's all for now. I'll have more thoughts on the matter later.
