Posted by Hil on August 22, 1997 at 00:41:16:
In reply to Loveley! posted by Sarah on August 18, 1997 at 01:27:33
] This is a great idea - I think S&S is excellent, yet it seems to be overlooked quite a bit!
] To start the ball rolling...do you think Jane Austen liked Elinor or Marianne better? Elinor seems to be the more rational creature, but I think Marianne has more fun.
So far responses have been about whether we like Marianne or Elinor better, and of course its hard to think about that without thinking about ourselves on that continuum. But as for JA, I think she believed Elinor was the wiser of the sisters, and would have us believe the same. I also think that attitudes to just how far you let your emotions rule you, and how freely you express them, is very much a product of your upbringing and the times and society you live in. These days it seems much more acceptable and healthy to not repress emotion, in my father's time and circumstances it was expected that you did. Maybe Ja, as ever, was intent on exploring the virtues and drawbacks of each, and suggesting a balance between the two?
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