Posted by A-M on June 12, 1997 at 04:17:04:
In reply to Re: Now that we're discussing all the books...my opinion of S&S posted by Ann on June 11, 1997 at 23:19:49
] For me I dont think S&S has the emotional depths of the other novels I've read (P&P, Emma, P, and MP), at least it didn't resonate with me in the same way as the others. I would rank it 5th of the 5 I've read.
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I reckon S&S does have the emotional depths of other novels... unless you don't regard Marianne's and Mrs Dashwood's sensibility as emotional. Perhaps there are some semantic discussions to be had here....
I also consider that Elinor's controlled response to the Edmund-engagement-disaster to be emotional, but (as I said earlier) controlled. Elinor Dashwood is similar in her intense, but controlled, emotions to Anne Elliot; without the added agony of so many years waiting.
I agree that S&S evokes less emotion in the reader than Persuasion but I consider the characters to experience similar levels of emotion. Somehow, when I read the book, I enter into Anne's experience more than I do into Elinor's. Neither story relates to my own life experience, so I can't attribute my reading-experience to empathy. It may have been Austen's more mature writing skills. I wonder if those people with more expertise in analysing language can compare the writing styles of S&S and P?
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