5. "Her mind did become settled, but it was settled in a gloomy dejection. She felt the loss of Willoughby's character yet more heavily than she had felt the loss of his heart; his seduction and desertion of Miss Williams, the misery of that poor girl, and the doubt of what his designs might once have been on herself, preyed altogether so much on her spirits, that she could not bring herself to speak of what she felt even to Elinor; and brooding over her sorrows in silence, gave more pain to her sister than could have been communicated by the most open and most frequent confession of them." (Austen 178)
Marianne's acceptance of Willoughby's nasty history is a very sad part of the book... it signifies the death of her strongest passion. This demonstrates a turning point in the book, because instead of being hysterical and upset like she usually would, Marianne starts to hold some feelings just inside herself. This shows her maturing as an individual, and also realising that sometimes some things are too good to be true. This loss of child-like innocence is more worrisome to Elinor, her older sister, than the usual fit that Marianne would have thrown at this news, because it is a stark change to her usual behavior.
6. "Her narration was clear and simple; and though it could not be given without emotion, it was not accompanied by violent agitation, nor impetuous grief. -That belonged rather to the hearer, for Marianne listened with horror, and cried excessively. Elinor was to be the comforter of others in her own distresses, no less than in theirs; and all the comfort that could be given by assurances of her own composure of mind, and a very earnest vindication of Edward from every charge but of imprudence, was readily offered." (Austen 218)
This passage is important because it shows the character contrast between Elinor and Marianne. Like night and day, the sisters have completely different personalitites. Marianne cannot control herself at all, and even though Elinor is sharing her own drama, ironically she ends up being the one doing the consolations because Marianne cannot handle the information without exploding into emotion. This passage also shows the immense inner fortitude of Elinor, who is suffering greatly on the inside but can control it effectively.
7. "How should she begin- how she should express herself in her note to Edward, was now all her concern. The particular circumstances between them made a difficulty of that which to any other person would have been the easiest thing in the world; but she equally feared to say too much or too little, and sat deliberating over her paper, with the pen in her hand, till broken in on by the entrance of Edward himself." (Austen 241)
There are a few times in the book when Elinor's feelings are explored, and most of them are silent windows to her mind because she usually doesn't talk about her feelings to others. This section is important because since Marianne is so much more vocal and dramatic about her problems than Elinor sometimes it is possible to forget about the plight of the elder sister. However, this quiet little scene really reveals her inner confusion and struggle no matter how composed she looks to everyone around her. Thank goodness Edward barged in and spared her the frustration. :)
8. "...the Colonel's manners are not only more pleasing to me than Willoughby's ever were, but they are of a kind I well know to be more solidly attached to Marianne. Their gentleness, their genuine attention to other people, and their manly unstudied simplicity is much more accordant with their real disposition, than the liveliness- often artificial, and often ill-timed of the other. I am very sure myself, that had Willoughby turned out as really amiable, as he has proved himself with the contrary, Marianne would yet never have been so happy with him, as she will be with Colonel Brandon." (Austen 286)
This line is really important because it really talks about one of the main themes in the book. Willougby, who was characterized as a 'perfect' man, was the main attention of Marianne throughout the entire book. However, by the end, we can see that even though Willoughby is handsome, young and gives the impression that he's 'all that', the imperfect Colonel Brandon defeats him in all matters of importance like character, heart and wisdom to the point where he is even more pleasing to the eye than the scandalous Willoughby. This leads to the theme that good character traits reflect on a person's beauty, while if someone is naturally handsome but have a bad character they may look ugly.
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