Sense and sensibility-differences in the novel and the film - Essay Example

?Sense and Sensibility Differences in the novel and the film adapted on it Sense and Sensibility was written by Jane Austen when she was 19 years oldand got published first in the year 1811. The novel was published under her pseudonym – A Lady as female writers were still not considered at par with male writers in terms of talent or worthiness. Sense and Sensibility is a romance novel and like other novels of Jane Austen has the touch of realism associated with it depicting the lives and times of the earlier half of the 19th Century of the English gentry. Sense and Sensibility remains one of the most popular of Jane Austen’s novels till date and has found a lot of adaptations in the popular media be it movies, television series, audiobooks, plays etc. In this essay I shall be comparing the differences in the novel and the film Sense and Sensibility (1995) directed by Ang Lee. The plot of Sense and Sensibility involves the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne whose lives take a turn after their father’s death when the estate passes on to their half-brother John Dashwood. Humiliated by the instigations of the step-daughter-in law, Fanny that Elinor was trying to entice her brother Edward Ferrars, the widowed Mrs. Dashwood chooses to leave the estate and settle at a cottage at Barton Park offered by her cousin, Sir John Middleton though it is apparent to all that both Elinor and Edward have feelings for each other. At Barton Park, Marianne falls in love with the dashing and passionate Willoughby but one day Willoughby leaves for London inexplicably leaving Marianne in jilt and despair. Elinor and Marianne, then accompany Mrs. Jennings, Sir Middleton’s mother-in-law to London where they both hope to get in touch with their love-interests. But as fate would have it, they both discover the horrible news of their beaus’ engagements to other ladies. In the end, knotty strings are straightened out and both the sisters get married happily and lead happy lives. Although there are many differences between the novel and the movie which are only obvious because of the limits of a film-maker in its ability of story-telling, there are, however, three major differences between the movie and the novel which cannot go without being noticed. The first of the major differences is the absence of characters like Lady Middleton and Anne Steele. It may have seem unimportant to Emma Thompson, who adapted the novel for the screenplay of the movie but for an avid Jane Austen reader it would be no less than a grave folly not to include such characters in the film. Lady Middleton was well in her prime twenties and is obsessed with children. She indulges her four children and has spoilt them. She appears frigid and curt. She is beautiful but in spite of all her qualities she is regarded boring and stupid by the Dashwood sisters. Miss Anne Steele is one of the vulgar and rustic cousins of Lady Middleton. She is close to thirty and is not so pretty as her sister, Lucy. She’s destined to be a house maid. Although, one may justify that these characters were not suitable enough for the film adaptation and were best left of, one cannot deny their importance all at once. Lady Middleton was responsible for illuminating the characters of the Dashwood sisters by her cold demeanor and laconic replies. It’s when the reader gets to know a boring and silly character that the protagonists’ persona gets embellished in the novel. Anne Steele’s character was important in the novel as she was the one to accidentally tell the news of the secret engagement of Lucy and Edward Ferrars. Again, she along with her sister, Lucy serves to show the characters of Elinor and Marianne in better light, by their uncouth and rustic ways. While Charlotte Palmer is shown to be obsessed with children in the movie, the character of Lucy Steele is shown to have traits of both the sisters as in the novel. The second major difference in the movie is that the visit of Edward Ferrars to Barton Cottage has been shifted to a visit in London. In the novel, Edward’s visit to Barton Cottage is significant as Elinor comes to terms with her own feelings. Seeing Edward’s uneasy quietness and inconsistent behavior, she’s bound to think that he has no longer feelings for her, but then she feels obligated by a sense of prudence to hide her feelings from the world esp. her family. She is however mature enough to understand Edward’s point-of-view and sympathizes him for being so gentlemanly about a promise that he made in the past when he was young and rash and holding on to a loveless engagement. It is when one read the afore-mentioned; one realized the conflict between the sense and sensibilities of a young woman. Elinor chooses sense over sensibility as she cannot put her family’s honor at stake and throw herself at a man who was already engaged to someone else. This is exactly opposite of what Marianne would have done were she at Elinor’s place. This event was vital and should have been included in the film appropriately as it pertains to the theme of the novel. Another major difference in the movie and the novel is the meeting between Willougby and Elinor when Marianne is gravely sick has been omitted altogether. In the novel, the meeting was important as it presented the state of mind in which Willoughby was. It clarifies his position and acquits him of any kind of duplicitous intentions in his relationship with Marianne. If it were not for his disinheritance he’d have gone to marry Marianne, which he very much wanted as she shared with him the same passion for living. Willoughby admits to having made a lot of mistakes in his life and how he repents all of that. Also, equally important was the chapter in which Elinor informs Marianne of Willoughby’s visit and his repentance. Surprisingly, Marianne is not moved by the account and is shown to have metamorphosed into a judicious and mature woman compared to the sensitive and enthusiastic teenager that she used to be. She analyses the events of her life and comes to understand the fact that she could have never been happy with Willoughby given his spendthrift and immoral ways. She now values her sister, Elinor’s composure and conduct in her own life and resolves to follow her. In the movie, however Willoughby’s true intentions are presented to the audience by Colonel Brandon but to no effect as it follows the accusation of seduction of his ward. It can be assumed that Willoughby’s character is portrayed as villainous in the movie. He appears again in the end of the movie when Marianne gets married to Colonel Brandon to demonstrate his remorse over the course of events. Jane Austen is credited for a dab of realism in her literary works. She wrote about honor and prudence as was rampant in the elite English classes of the 19th Century. The film fails the novel precisely in this aspect. The film does not highlight the theme of the novel which is that sense should prevail over sensibilities. As depicted in the movie, the problems in the lives of the Dashwood family got solved when the girls got married to wealthy suitors. The novel presents the struggle between prudence and sentiments in young women’s mind which holds true to even this day. Eventually, it is understood that emotion must concede to reason, that in life one cannot live on feeding one’s sensibilities but has to act responsible and have a rein over one’s feelings. Movie adaptation of any novel is an arduous task and a voracious reader can never be satisfied with what he sees on the screen when he compares it to what he/she has read. However, there are many examples of movies which have been more popular than the novels itself. Sense and Sensibility although a brave attempt by director Ang Lee and screenplay writer Emma Thompson, fails to create that magic which Jane Austen did with her writing. REFERENCES Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. New York: Modern Library, 1995. Print. Sense and Sensibility. Dir. Ang Lee. Perf. Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant. Columbia Pictures, 1995. Read More