Sense Over Sensibility The Ang Lee adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic “Sense and Sensibility” takes several departures from the contributing text. These departures include an increased presence by the youngest Dashwood, Margaret, a tacked-on conversation about gender and working and the film had more obvious romantic undertones, to name a few. One prevailing similarity is one that cannot be changed while remaining honest to the novel’s plot: the prevalence of sense over sensibility. Austen’s major theme is to show the contrast between thinking with emotion and thinking in a manner that is level-headed and smart. While Elinor may at times seem emotionless, she has an orchestra of feelings underneath the surface, which, in the end, appears to be the correct approach. Marianne, by contrast, thinks completely with emotion, without regard for …show more content…
As Elinor was rewarded in the end with her first choice, Edward Ferrars. She had to deal with heartache, but her acceptance of the way of the world and her realistic opinions on love kept her level-headed and undeniably happy in the end. Her reaction to Edward’s marital status shows the viewer that emotion isn’t necessarily wrong, but there is a time and a place for dramatic outbursts, despite the scene’s departure from the book. Bottling up emotion can be detrimental to one’s health, however, in the context of the film, that option seems vastly preferable to the whirlwind of dramatic disappointment Marianne is privy to throughout. Marianne who has fallen down a hill, fallen in love, learned her love is a scandalous Lothario, gotten deathly ill is rewarded by marrying a thirty-five-year-old man with a “pleasing countenance” in her teens. Those who fare well in the film, meaning marrying who they originally assigned themselves to, are Elinor, Edward, and Colonel Brandon. All of whom are very composed, non-confrontation and, as best described,