Sense and Sensibility
Marianne Dashwood
The romantic younger sister
A passionate, musical young woman who believes love should be felt without reservation, and learns what that can cost.
Marianne Dashwood is the younger of the two eldest Dashwood sisters: impassioned, artistic and entirely sincere. She plays the pianoforte, loves poetry and says what she feels. When she thinks Elinor too reserved or Edward too tame, she says so plainly.
Marianne has no patience for polite small talk, and she dislikes the idle chatter of the Middleton circle. She wants a love that matches her own intensity. She dismisses Colonel Brandon as too old to feel or inspire affection, and she lets herself be carried away by the first handsome stranger who seems to share her tastes. Her feelings are never half-measures, which is her greatest charm and her greatest danger.
“Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
After Willoughby carries her home with a twisted ankle, Marianne falls quickly in love with him. When he leaves for London without a word, she is heartbroken, and when she meets him at a London ball he treats her coldly. His letter announces his marriage to Miss Grey.
Marianne grows ill at Cleveland and nearly dies, saved by Elinor’s nursing and by Colonel Brandon’s ride to fetch her mother. She recovers with a new humility, vows to govern her feelings, and over time comes to love Brandon wholeheartedly. They marry at Delaford.
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