In many of our discussions about JA's other works I've felt that the characters divide up into at least two groups, and probably more. The two groups that I'm thinking of are 1. Reasonably Sensible People and 2. Narcistic Boobs.

She never makes the characters just one or the other. Each Reasonably Sensible Person makes some mistakes. Each Narcistic Boob does a good deed, or has a sensible moment.

In L&F, this difference between the characters is more pronounced; I was even thinking that it was absolute. But I can see your point that all the characters, despite their overly dramatic characters, still have something quite human about them. You can hear their voices.