Reaction Paper 2 Sense and Sensibility

Impulsively Sweet In the movie Sense and Sensibility, Romanticism is best embodied by the character of Marianne. Her impulsive nature, her lack of regard towards social decorum, her emphasis on feeling, passion, and not being afraid to express ones love, and her love for poetry and nature, are all elements representative of the romantic period. The contrast with her sisters personality, indifferent, sensible, and reserved, makes these qualities all the more evident. Marianne is, as described in the movie by Colonel Brandon, Impulsively sweet. She acts with no regard to how her actions will seem to everyone else. She abandons the conformity and importance given to whats socially acceptable. She does the opposite of whats typically characteristic of neoclassicism. In one scene, she impulsively yells out Willoughbys name from across the room, not caring if it was the proper thing to do or not, or if anyone would mind the disruption. In the scene where she enjoys her time in the carriage she feels no need to hide her excitement. Though her sister told her that the proper thing she could have done was to restrain herself so the town wont think lowly of her, she didnt care. This affinity for the spontaneous goes hand in hand with valuing emotion over rationality another romantic notion. There is a part where she mocks her sister for expressing her feelings with neutrality and a lack of passion. I greatly esteem him, so she says. Elinor insists on playing it safe rather than following her heart. Mariannes take on love, on the other hand, differs. She says Can he love her? Can the soul be really be satisfied with such polite affections? To love is to burn - to be on fire. The Romantics speak through her in these lines. The sensible thing for her would be to lose oneself completely in love, forget about the rules and go on this whirlwind of an adventure with complete abandon. She herself puts feeling above reason. Even though Willoughby never did blatantly express his love for her, she knew it was implied. When Marianne asked Sir John Middleton what Willoughby was like, and he replied with his financial status, she further clarified that she wanted to know his tastes, passions, and pursuits. The rational thing to do for a girl of marrying age would be to figure out his monetary status. She

did not even consider that thought. Love was the only acceptable reason for her to go into a marriage. This differs from everyone elses perspective on marriage for the women in the movie preferred to marry someone of high rank. The women even conditioned themselves to believe that, as Elinor resigned to letting Edward go in favour of a different match. Upon finding out Willoughby enjoyed reading poetry as well, Marianne fell head over heels. In the romantic period, poetry was seen as a high form of speech. Mariannes affinity for it is another characteristic of the period shown through her character. Having it read blandly even peeved her. In the scene where she listened to Edward read, she criticized his lack of emotion, saying that he should feel what was going on in the text rather than just reading aloud. The last bit of romanticism embodied through her was her enjoyment of long walks outside. Several scenes show her taking strolls outside, in spite of the rainy weather. Here, she takes in nature, her surroundings. The camera would pan out and feature some of the finest cinematography in the film, allowing the audience of the movie to join her in her enjoyment of nature. The romantics highlighted their concern for nature in their works, and this aspect of the movie embodies this spirit. The movie Sense and Sensibility featured a romantic character in Marianne; and her tastes, passions, and pursuits were consistent with the periods conventions and themes. Although there was this prevailing neoclassic attitude in the movies minor characters - the people and their observance of social decorum Elinors eventual surrender to her emotions shows how romantic the film really was. Her emotional outburst is proof that expressing ones feelings should never be frowned upon, instead, encouraged. Mariannes character is an example to be followed for she was a romantic in every sense of the word.

Sense & Sensibility (Special Edition). Dir. Ang Lee. Perf. Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, James Fleet. Sony Pictures, 1995. Film.