Synopsis
Unfairly deprived of their family inheritance by their half brother and his greedy wife, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood and their mother find themselves in greatly reduced circumstances. Marianne, whose sweet radiance and open nature charm the roguish John Willoughby, is soon deeply in love. Elinor, whose disposition is more cautious and considered, who carefully conceals her emotions, is suffering the loss of Edward Ferrars whom she has left behind. Despite their very different personalities, both sisters experience great sorrows in their affairs of the heart: Marianne demonstrably wretched and Elinor allowing no one to see her private heartache. It is, however, the qualities common to them both—discernment, constancy and integrity in the face of the fecklessness of others—that allow them entry into a new life of peace and contentment.- ★★★★☆
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- The great scholar, Imam al-Ghazali, may Allah ﷻ have mercy on him, uses a metaphor to describe the different elements that make up a human soul: the intellect is the king, emotions are a dog, and the base desires of the lower self is a pig. The dog and the pig are meant to be used in service of the king. It is when the dog or pig is in control of the king that you become the sum of your base desires or emotions, you lose wisdom, and the soul is left to the whims of unchecked emotion.
- A hunting dog which is not trained will bark continuously, attack others, cannot be constrained, and will lead the master astray. But the one who is trained will be at the service of his master, will allow him to gain benefit, will protect him when he’s in danger and will remain tame otherwise. Reflect on how Marianne learns to “train her dog.” Reflect on how Elinor has control of “her dog.”
- A pig, on the other hand, eats without restraint, acts without thinking of consequences, without knowing the harm or good of what he does. A pig who is under the master’s control may eat and play within limits, allowing the body to be nourished and have rest. Reflect on Willoughby’s character. Which element is in control of his soul? Reflect on Marianne’s character when she is being seduced by Willoughby. Which element of her self does she allow to take control?
Mindful Muslim Review
This classic is crucial for our children to read during a time when feelings are increasingly treated as fact—when the use of logic and reason to arrive at truth is frowned upon if it gets in the way of expressing your emotions. Our children are taught that if they feel anger, the other must be at fault. If they feel discomfort, the other must be silenced. If they feel betrayed, the other must be untrustworthy. If they feel unhappy, the other must succumb to their wishes. Examining your own character and heart, reflecting on your wrong feelings and actions—muhasabah—has become not only a lost art, but a distrusted one. Austen shows us what happens when we lose this ability of reflection and temperance.
Sisters Elinor and Marianne are heartbroken from losing the ones they love. Elinor’s Edward acts honorably toward a young girl to whom he has a long-ago commitment. In return, Elinor honors his secret, acts with comportment despite her inner anguish, and maintains good adab with her family and neighbors, even when they tease her and unknowingly cause her suffering.
Marianne’s Willoughby is charming and doting but ultimately proves to be selfish and reckless. He abandons her without regard to her heart or her reputation. In turn, Marianne almost dies from her imprudent behavior and her wild feelings of grief and agony. She cannot be prevailed upon to control her emotions, to look with logic and sense at the honorable Colonel Brandon, to abandon her untamed and fluctuating tempers. Her feelings become her facts, and she refuses to see beyond them.
Elinor models the best of behavior, when she maintains her composure despite her equally trying circumstances. She knows Edward loves her, yet they cannot marry. She prefers that he act with honor, though it means she loses him, and though she knows he won’t be happy with his fiancee, who is manipulative, crass, and conniving.
To consider any of Jane Austen’s works to be simply a “novel of manners” would be to cruelly limit her genius in exposing the true nature of human character: their follies and faults, their strengths and saintly potential. While the wide array of characters in this novel allow the reader to gain insight into the reality of Regency era romance, the true beauty of her story is in the window she opens to the two ways of interacting with the world: through sense and logic or through feelings and emotions.
Readers can look upon Elinor as a model of balancing the strongest, most heart-felt passions with a calm reasonableness to arrive at the correct way of interacting with the world. They can reflect on Marianne’s behavior and her slow transformation as a means of hope in taming emotions in the use of intellect and reason. This book earns our Gold Star for its beautiful and wrenching look at the realities of human behavior.
