Anne let the love of her life get away when she was younger, based on the advice of her family that was not suitable because of their different social stations, and has never married since. Now he comes back into her life seeking a wife, and neither she nor him assume it will be her. However, the attraction between them remains.
Impressions: I think this was, perhaps, my least favorite of the Ausitn novels, and I was glad when I was done. Like the previous two, the brevity of the book helped.
Elizabeth, the second of five girls in a family with moderate financial means. She's spirited, gives as good as she gets, and is attracted to a man she finds disagreeable because of his attitude towards the "lower" classes and an overheard comment on his opinion of her looks. The main question of the book? Will they get together or won't they? Both are unwilling in their attraction to each other, yet can't seem to change it even when they try. and they do try.
Impressions: You'd think I'd like a book with a smartass, strong-willed heroine. And while I think this is perhaps my favorite of the Austin books, it's still not something I would have read, or would choose to reread, if it weren't recommended on my list of classics or required by a class. What can I say? I've found very few classics I can actually say I like. This one was okay. And for me, that's saying something.
Two sisters, Elinor and Marianne, fall passionately in love, but behave very differently. Marianne is ruled completely by her heart and her actions are ruled by her heart in such a way that her behavior borders on improper for the time. (In fact, her behavior is almost modern!) Elinor, the more logical of the two, suffers her love silently and keeps within the social boundaries of the day.
Impressions: I read this because it's on my list of classics a writer should be familiar with. While it wasn't as boring as a number of classics I was forced to endure during my college days, it didn't do anything to improve my attitude about classics either. The one saving grace: it was mercifully short, so even though the language is sometimes hard to understand, it went fairly quickly.
