Sense and Sensibility has two, closely related and intertwined, plots that offer a contrast to each other. Both are stories of young women who fall in love, are disappointed,
…and find happiness and love in the end. In the case of Elinor, it is a story of a woman of good sense, who is guided by her mind, who overcomes her disappointments, and who is ultimately united with the man she has loved, despite all odds. In the case of Marianne, it is a story of a woman of romantic sensibilities, who is guided by honest emotions but without regard for reason, who is nearly overcome by her disappointment, and who finds happiness in the love of a man she had not found romantically attractive because she was able to recognize her mistakes. It almost sounds like Pilgrim's Progress, the way I have described it, but it has all the attraction of a love story, which is what it is. (MORE) 