Elinor and Marianne Dashwood

In Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, there are actually two protagonist characters in this classic tale: two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Elinor is the nineteen year old eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs.Henry Dashwood. She is known to be the perfection of sense as she is affectionate and though her feelings are strong, she knows how to keep them under control. Her mother qualifies her as her counsellor because her advice is full of understanding and good judgment. Elinor begins to fall for Edward Ferras, the brother of her half-sister-in-law. Though it is implied that Elinor likes Edward, she doesn't yet completely admit her feelings for him as she is unsure of Edward's feelings for her. Since her mother and her younger sister both look up to her, as a result,  Elinor is a composed, mature young woman who understands how to act morally and with compassion. On the other hand, Marianne is the seventeen year old second daughter of Mr. and Mrs.Henry Dashwood. She is known to be the perfection of sensibility as she is more emotional about the events that happen in her life than her sister is. For instance, Marianne had a much more heart-felt and tearful goodbye to their home at Norland than the rest of her family. Furthermore, Marianne has high expectations for love; she dreams of finding a man with taste, spirit, class, charm, style, and fire in his eyes. She doesn't particularly approve of her sister's choice of Edward Ferras as she thinks he doesn't embody the things she looks for in a "perfect man". However, Marianne supports her sister and her choice of Edward as long as she sees that he makes her happy. But the more Marianne thought of it, the more she feared she wouldn't find a man for herself; she feels that she may be asking for so much that a man of her dreams won't exist. Both sisters embodies sensibility and sense in their features but both lacks one or the other. As a result, Elinor and Marianne both help each other through their difficulties in life. For me, I feel like I can relate more to Marianne than Elinor. Maybe its because shes around the same age as me and so we have more of the same experiences. She hasn't yet fallen in love yet and neither have I. I, too, have my ideals for a perfect man and haven't learned the ways of Elinor. Though I am the eldest sibling in my family, I don't embody as much maturity and sense as Elinor does. I wouldn't call myself immature but certainly, I have a lot more to learn and to experience which is exactly like Marianne. Furthermore, I tend to be over-emotional as well; I probably resemble sensibility more than sense. Lastly, just like Marianne, I am too, curious as to what its like to fall in love. Though I know it'll happen one day, I too, have my expectations of the type of person it'll be with. In conclusion, I feel like Elinor is the type of person whom any younger sibling can look up to and that Marianne is more relatable to since she shares a lot of the same characteristics as me.