Sense and Sensibility
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Gemma Jones, Harriet Walter, Hugh Grant, Myriam Emilie Francois, Tom Wilkinson, James Fleet, Greg Wise
When Mr. Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) dies, he must leave the bulk of his estate to his firstborn son, which leaves his second wife, and their three daughters Elinor (Dame Emma Thompson), Marianne (Kate Winslet), and Margaret (Emilie François), in straitened circumstances. The women are taken in by a kindly cousin, but their lack of fortune tarnishes the likelihood of finding a suitable marriage prospect for the beautiful Dashwood daughters – ever-practical Elinor and romantic Marianne. After the Dashwood ladies move to a cottage in Devonshire, Elinor's sister Marianne (Kate Winslet) is torn between the handsome John Willoughby (Greg Wise) and worthy and rich Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman). Meanwhile, Elinor's romantic hopes with Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) are hindered, due to his prior engagement to another. Both Elinor and Marianne strive for love while the circumstances in their lives demand they find sensible marriage prospects to secure their futures.
Grief is a powerful theme in this film, and it expresses itself quite differently with each of the four ladies living in the Dashwood home.
For their mother, her heart is grief-stricken, not only at the loss of her benefactor, her income, and all but two of their servants, but at the thought that she and her three daughters: wise and steady Elinor, with her mind laid out in neat, practical rows, like a summer garden, beautiful Marianne, with all her romantic fancies all tangled up inside her head, like a skein of worsted, and Margaret, who is the darling of the family, as the youngest daughter, and only loves her mother and sisters, but still makes her voice heard. Her girls will now be penniless and without a home, not to mention having very diminished prospects as far as suitable men to marry her daughters and sustain her family. So, she is reduced to weeping to convey her grief and leaves the more practical running of the household to her eldest daughter, Elinor. It is brave Elinor who comforts her mother and sisters in their time of family grief. As the rock of the family, she chooses to express her grief by taking care of her family. She offers comfort to her little sister, Margaret, when she is hiding in her tree house, dreading the arrival of the new family. She bids their servants farewell and tries to secure a new, more modest home for her family, and she tries to encourage her sister, Marianne, to play something more cheerful on the pianoforte, because her mournful songs were making their mother even more melancholy. She makes gifts for the servants to thank them for their devoted service to her family. And when everyone is weeping over Willoughby’s abrupt departure, Elinor’s tonic is a comforting cup of tea, which she drinks herself, when everyone else withdraws to their beds to weep.
When John and Fanny Dashwood descend on the family, the ladies, again, have different methods of coping with this hardship. Mrs. Dashwood accepts her fate with quiet dignity, when addressing John, but maintains her position as lady of the house when it comes to Fanny, making her own voice heard when the family was greeting Edward Ferrars. Mrs. Dashwood finds a small ember of hope when she sees that Edward and Elinore have taken a shine to each other, and she hopes that delaying the truth that they have found other accommodation will lead to a proposal of marriage from Edward, for her daughter, thus securing her future, and that of her family, because Edward is very kind and handsome and a good man. Her plans are thwarted by Edward’s conniving sister, who tells Mrs. Dashwood that should Elinor pursue a marriage with Edward, their esteemed mother would strip him of his wealth and disinherit him, should he deem to marry someone so inferior… a threat that this wise mother understands perfectly… even when Fanny wants to send Edward to their mother when Mrs. Dashwood announces their departure to the cottage. But she does fire one parting shot at the prissy Miss Fanny, when she assures Edward that he may visit them at their new country home whenever he wishes, and he will always be welcome, sending a meaningful look at Elinor. Unlike Elinor, their mother refuses to see Willoughby in a negative light, despite her daughter’s anguished tears, but I think this stems more from her hope that he will still make a good match for her daughter than anything. It is a mother’s dearest hope that her daughters will be both happy and loved in life, and in the end, this good mother got that love for both of her daughters. Marianne has banished the intruders with scornful silence, and she disapproves of this match for her sister because while Edward may be handsome and a fine and very sensible match for her sister, he is rather lacking when it comes to the sensibility side of things… the romance, the passion, the reckless abandon. Margaret resents them for taking her precious atlas, and avoids the invaders entirely, and she is only coaxed out when Edward and Elinore play a game with her about the atlas and the whereabouts of things therein, and Marianne, ever the strong one, tries her best to bear it bravely and find them a new home at once, but she finds herself very much enjoying Edward’s gentle company and her heart is falling in love with him, though she is more practical in her description of her affection than Marianne is, who fondly tells her so, when she comes to give Elinor her blessing to marry Edward… on the condition that they don’t live too far away, so she doesn’t lose her beloved sister.
Love is, indeed, a very strong theme in this film, and nowhere is the complicated tapestry of love woven more perfectly, than in the characters of Elinor and Marianne and how both sense and sensibility are present in the respective relationships these sisters have with Colonel Brandon and Sir Edward.
For Marianne, the love she feels for the cruel and manipulative John Willoughby is born purely from sensibility. John is literally Marianne’s knight in shining armor, when he rescues her from a storm after she is injured and brings her home on his noble white steed. John’s love for the beautiful Marianne is also reflected when he brings Marianne wildflowers and shares her love of Shakespearean sonnets, even going so far as to gift her his own pocket sonnets to protect her from further injury. But while he does recite her favorite sonnet, Willoughby stumbles over the words. He also exchanges letters with Marianne, and she gives him a lock of her own hair, as a token of her love. Willoughby's love for Marianne may have been sincere, but it was also both fragile and fleeting. The moment trouble came to him, he abandoned Marianne to pursue a wealthier prospect in Ms. Grey to save himself from disgrace and ruin. He abandoned a woman who was carrying his child, he abandoned Marianne and broke her tender, romantic heart, and when Ms. Grey's fortune is spent, he will, no doubt, abandon her, as well. When Brandon learns of Willoughby's vile actions, he told Elinor this truth to soften the blow dealt to Maryanne's heart and tried to ease her suffering more by saying that Willoughby would have married Marianne, had he not betrayed her by impregnating another woman, but he was not worthy of her heart.
Colonel Brandon represents the more sensible choice for Marianne, but his love for her is far stronger than Willoughby’s… even if Colonel Brandon does not believe himself worthy of the beautiful Marianne after he is drawn to her beautiful siren song. Even wise sister Elinor notices his attraction to her sister. Brandon proves that he is worthy of Marianne’s heart when he comes to her aid again. He rescues her from the storm and brings her home when she wanders over to Willoughby’s estate, lamenting her loss of him, and when Marianne is gravely ill, it is Brandon who goes for her mother and brings her to her daughter's bedside to comfort her. When Marianne is grieving over the loss of Willoughby, it is Colonel Brandon who offers to escort the sisters’ home to their mother, to spare Marianne more suffering. He also confides in Miss Elinore, the truth about Willoughby’s vile character, and while he did concede that the man loved Marianne, he was not worthy of her love. When he is reading to Marianne after her illness, Colonel Brandon’s voice is like warm honey spilling the words from the page into her ears. He also brings Marianne a surprise… a new pianoforte, so she can resume her musical endeavors. So, it is truly satisfying when Marianne and Brandon are married, because she has found a man worthy of her heart, and their love is balanced in both sense and sensibility. Now that she's lost her romantic fantasies about love, Marianne finally realizes what those love stories she loves so much were actually talking about. Willoughby was a wildfire, but Brandon is like a warm hearth. One gave her passion, but burned her badly, while the other gives her comfort and warmth as she heals and rests. Passion is nice to have in a relationship, but passion unrestrained is quickly extinguished, and without gentle care to back it up, a marriage is doomed.
Dear Edward proves the worthiness of his devotion to Elinor, when he chooses to take the guest chamber when visiting her home, rather than drive her sister, Margaret, from her bedroom, just for the sake of having a better view. He also understands Margaret’s shyness towards strangers, even saying that he, himself, is very shy and he doesn’t have her good reason to be so. This kindness to her sister wins him Miss Elinor’s approval, if not his sister’s. He protects the girls by reminding his cruel sister that they’ve just lost their father, and are grieving, when his sister harshly criticizes their behavior, and he endears himself to young Margaret, by spending time with her, to cheer her up, after her father dies. He offers Miss Elinor his handkerchief and his company, when he finds her weeping over sister Marianne’s playing of her father’s favorite song on the piano, and we hear Elinore thank Edward for cheering her sister up. The pair enjoy a walk and a cheerful conversation outside, but dear sister Fanny is lurking in the shadows, like a spider, and she does not approve of her brother’s growing affection for Miss Elinore, believing this family to be inferior to them, and thus, unworthy of her brother. While Elinor’s love for Edward is more subdued in nature, we see her feelings for him reflected when she keeps the handkerchief, he kindly offered to her when she was weeping after hearing her father’s favorite song on the piano. Elinor’s love for Edward is challenged when he sends the atlas to the ladies by mail, rather than bringing it himself. While his letter says he is delayed in London, one can easily read between the lines and discern that his vile sister is keeping Edward away from Elinore. When another woman also claims to have his affection…indeed, to be secretly engaged to Edward for the past five years, and very much in love with him, and a much more suited match, and this is confirmed when Elinor sees her with the same monogrammed handkerchief that she, herself, possesses, Elinor is crushed. While Edward’s mother does not wish her son to withdraw into the country, to marry a humble country girl, like Miss Elinor, and live a humble life as a minister of a country church, rather than having a profession that would distinguish him and secure his wealth and position, and indeed his mother vows that any such plan by her son will immediately result in Edward being disowned by his dear mother forever, Edward’s heart, and his love, still belong with Elinor, and not the woman he is betrothed to marry. When the secret engagement of Edward Ferrars and Lucy Steele is brought to light, his mother, once again, forbids the marriage, but he is determined to remain faithful to her, and while Marianne believes that Edward can only marry her sister, Elinore praises Edward for doing his duty and marrying Lucy. And even when her pain is so near the surface, Elinore still hugs her sister to comfort her. When Edward arrives at the cottage to visit the family, Elinore learns that what she believes, is news that Edward has married, is actually not the truth at all. So, when he finally comes in, she can barely look at him because her heart is so crushed. She respects him, but she hides the pain in her eyes… until he tells her that it is NOT Miss Lucy who has stolen his heart, after all. It is still only Miss Elinor who possesses Edward’s heart and his love. Now, he has come running up on his noble steed, to ask for her hand and heart in marriage, now that he is finally free to do so, since his fiancé married his more esteemed brother. And thanks to Colonel Brandon's very generous gift, Edward can now take care of Elinore and her family.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Gemma Jones, Harriet Walter, Hugh Grant, Myriam Emilie Francois, Tom Wilkinson, James Fleet, Greg Wise
When Mr. Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) dies, he must leave the bulk of his estate to his firstborn son, which leaves his second wife, and their three daughters Elinor (Dame Emma Thompson), Marianne (Kate Winslet), and Margaret (Emilie François), in straitened circumstances. The women are taken in by a kindly cousin, but their lack of fortune tarnishes the likelihood of finding a suitable marriage prospect for the beautiful Dashwood daughters – ever-practical Elinor and romantic Marianne. After the Dashwood ladies move to a cottage in Devonshire, Elinor's sister Marianne (Kate Winslet) is torn between the handsome John Willoughby (Greg Wise) and worthy and rich Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman). Meanwhile, Elinor's romantic hopes with Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) are hindered, due to his prior engagement to another. Both Elinor and Marianne strive for love while the circumstances in their lives demand they find sensible marriage prospects to secure their futures.
Grief is a powerful theme in this film, and it expresses itself quite differently with each of the four ladies living in the Dashwood home.
For their mother, her heart is grief-stricken, not only at the loss of her benefactor, her income, and all but two of their servants, but at the thought that she and her three daughters: wise and steady Elinor, with her mind laid out in neat, practical rows, like a summer garden, beautiful Marianne, with all her romantic fancies all tangled up inside her head, like a skein of worsted, and Margaret, who is the darling of the family, as the youngest daughter, and only loves her mother and sisters, but still makes her voice heard. Her girls will now be penniless and without a home, not to mention having very diminished prospects as far as suitable men to marry her daughters and sustain her family. So, she is reduced to weeping to convey her grief and leaves the more practical running of the household to her eldest daughter, Elinor. It is brave Elinor who comforts her mother and sisters in their time of family grief. As the rock of the family, she chooses to express her grief by taking care of her family. She offers comfort to her little sister, Margaret, when she is hiding in her tree house, dreading the arrival of the new family. She bids their servants farewell and tries to secure a new, more modest home for her family, and she tries to encourage her sister, Marianne, to play something more cheerful on the pianoforte, because her mournful songs were making their mother even more melancholy. She makes gifts for the servants to thank them for their devoted service to her family. And when everyone is weeping over Willoughby’s abrupt departure, Elinor’s tonic is a comforting cup of tea, which she drinks herself, when everyone else withdraws to their beds to weep.
When John and Fanny Dashwood descend on the family, the ladies, again, have different methods of coping with this hardship. Mrs. Dashwood accepts her fate with quiet dignity, when addressing John, but maintains her position as lady of the house when it comes to Fanny, making her own voice heard when the family was greeting Edward Ferrars. Mrs. Dashwood finds a small ember of hope when she sees that Edward and Elinore have taken a shine to each other, and she hopes that delaying the truth that they have found other accommodation will lead to a proposal of marriage from Edward, for her daughter, thus securing her future, and that of her family, because Edward is very kind and handsome and a good man. Her plans are thwarted by Edward’s conniving sister, who tells Mrs. Dashwood that should Elinor pursue a marriage with Edward, their esteemed mother would strip him of his wealth and disinherit him, should he deem to marry someone so inferior… a threat that this wise mother understands perfectly… even when Fanny wants to send Edward to their mother when Mrs. Dashwood announces their departure to the cottage. But she does fire one parting shot at the prissy Miss Fanny, when she assures Edward that he may visit them at their new country home whenever he wishes, and he will always be welcome, sending a meaningful look at Elinor. Unlike Elinor, their mother refuses to see Willoughby in a negative light, despite her daughter’s anguished tears, but I think this stems more from her hope that he will still make a good match for her daughter than anything. It is a mother’s dearest hope that her daughters will be both happy and loved in life, and in the end, this good mother got that love for both of her daughters. Marianne has banished the intruders with scornful silence, and she disapproves of this match for her sister because while Edward may be handsome and a fine and very sensible match for her sister, he is rather lacking when it comes to the sensibility side of things… the romance, the passion, the reckless abandon. Margaret resents them for taking her precious atlas, and avoids the invaders entirely, and she is only coaxed out when Edward and Elinore play a game with her about the atlas and the whereabouts of things therein, and Marianne, ever the strong one, tries her best to bear it bravely and find them a new home at once, but she finds herself very much enjoying Edward’s gentle company and her heart is falling in love with him, though she is more practical in her description of her affection than Marianne is, who fondly tells her so, when she comes to give Elinor her blessing to marry Edward… on the condition that they don’t live too far away, so she doesn’t lose her beloved sister.
Love is, indeed, a very strong theme in this film, and nowhere is the complicated tapestry of love woven more perfectly, than in the characters of Elinor and Marianne and how both sense and sensibility are present in the respective relationships these sisters have with Colonel Brandon and Sir Edward.
For Marianne, the love she feels for the cruel and manipulative John Willoughby is born purely from sensibility. John is literally Marianne’s knight in shining armor, when he rescues her from a storm after she is injured and brings her home on his noble white steed. John’s love for the beautiful Marianne is also reflected when he brings Marianne wildflowers and shares her love of Shakespearean sonnets, even going so far as to gift her his own pocket sonnets to protect her from further injury. But while he does recite her favorite sonnet, Willoughby stumbles over the words. He also exchanges letters with Marianne, and she gives him a lock of her own hair, as a token of her love. Willoughby's love for Marianne may have been sincere, but it was also both fragile and fleeting. The moment trouble came to him, he abandoned Marianne to pursue a wealthier prospect in Ms. Grey to save himself from disgrace and ruin. He abandoned a woman who was carrying his child, he abandoned Marianne and broke her tender, romantic heart, and when Ms. Grey's fortune is spent, he will, no doubt, abandon her, as well. When Brandon learns of Willoughby's vile actions, he told Elinor this truth to soften the blow dealt to Maryanne's heart and tried to ease her suffering more by saying that Willoughby would have married Marianne, had he not betrayed her by impregnating another woman, but he was not worthy of her heart.
Colonel Brandon represents the more sensible choice for Marianne, but his love for her is far stronger than Willoughby’s… even if Colonel Brandon does not believe himself worthy of the beautiful Marianne after he is drawn to her beautiful siren song. Even wise sister Elinor notices his attraction to her sister. Brandon proves that he is worthy of Marianne’s heart when he comes to her aid again. He rescues her from the storm and brings her home when she wanders over to Willoughby’s estate, lamenting her loss of him, and when Marianne is gravely ill, it is Brandon who goes for her mother and brings her to her daughter's bedside to comfort her. When Marianne is grieving over the loss of Willoughby, it is Colonel Brandon who offers to escort the sisters’ home to their mother, to spare Marianne more suffering. He also confides in Miss Elinore, the truth about Willoughby’s vile character, and while he did concede that the man loved Marianne, he was not worthy of her love. When he is reading to Marianne after her illness, Colonel Brandon’s voice is like warm honey spilling the words from the page into her ears. He also brings Marianne a surprise… a new pianoforte, so she can resume her musical endeavors. So, it is truly satisfying when Marianne and Brandon are married, because she has found a man worthy of her heart, and their love is balanced in both sense and sensibility. Now that she's lost her romantic fantasies about love, Marianne finally realizes what those love stories she loves so much were actually talking about. Willoughby was a wildfire, but Brandon is like a warm hearth. One gave her passion, but burned her badly, while the other gives her comfort and warmth as she heals and rests. Passion is nice to have in a relationship, but passion unrestrained is quickly extinguished, and without gentle care to back it up, a marriage is doomed.
Dear Edward proves the worthiness of his devotion to Elinor, when he chooses to take the guest chamber when visiting her home, rather than drive her sister, Margaret, from her bedroom, just for the sake of having a better view. He also understands Margaret’s shyness towards strangers, even saying that he, himself, is very shy and he doesn’t have her good reason to be so. This kindness to her sister wins him Miss Elinor’s approval, if not his sister’s. He protects the girls by reminding his cruel sister that they’ve just lost their father, and are grieving, when his sister harshly criticizes their behavior, and he endears himself to young Margaret, by spending time with her, to cheer her up, after her father dies. He offers Miss Elinor his handkerchief and his company, when he finds her weeping over sister Marianne’s playing of her father’s favorite song on the piano, and we hear Elinore thank Edward for cheering her sister up. The pair enjoy a walk and a cheerful conversation outside, but dear sister Fanny is lurking in the shadows, like a spider, and she does not approve of her brother’s growing affection for Miss Elinore, believing this family to be inferior to them, and thus, unworthy of her brother. While Elinor’s love for Edward is more subdued in nature, we see her feelings for him reflected when she keeps the handkerchief, he kindly offered to her when she was weeping after hearing her father’s favorite song on the piano. Elinor’s love for Edward is challenged when he sends the atlas to the ladies by mail, rather than bringing it himself. While his letter says he is delayed in London, one can easily read between the lines and discern that his vile sister is keeping Edward away from Elinore. When another woman also claims to have his affection…indeed, to be secretly engaged to Edward for the past five years, and very much in love with him, and a much more suited match, and this is confirmed when Elinor sees her with the same monogrammed handkerchief that she, herself, possesses, Elinor is crushed. While Edward’s mother does not wish her son to withdraw into the country, to marry a humble country girl, like Miss Elinor, and live a humble life as a minister of a country church, rather than having a profession that would distinguish him and secure his wealth and position, and indeed his mother vows that any such plan by her son will immediately result in Edward being disowned by his dear mother forever, Edward’s heart, and his love, still belong with Elinor, and not the woman he is betrothed to marry. When the secret engagement of Edward Ferrars and Lucy Steele is brought to light, his mother, once again, forbids the marriage, but he is determined to remain faithful to her, and while Marianne believes that Edward can only marry her sister, Elinore praises Edward for doing his duty and marrying Lucy. And even when her pain is so near the surface, Elinore still hugs her sister to comfort her. When Edward arrives at the cottage to visit the family, Elinore learns that what she believes, is news that Edward has married, is actually not the truth at all. So, when he finally comes in, she can barely look at him because her heart is so crushed. She respects him, but she hides the pain in her eyes… until he tells her that it is NOT Miss Lucy who has stolen his heart, after all. It is still only Miss Elinor who possesses Edward’s heart and his love. Now, he has come running up on his noble steed, to ask for her hand and heart in marriage, now that he is finally free to do so, since his fiancé married his more esteemed brother. And thanks to Colonel Brandon's very generous gift, Edward can now take care of Elinore and her family.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved