Sisters = Happy Ending?

 As we discussed in the last class, it’s not as easy as saying that Elinor is sense Marianne is sensibility. They both show contrasting sides at different times. In Volume II and III, they definitely show some shift, but I wonder what Austen is trying to say about that change in behavior. Marianne has to marry her second choice and live in her sister’s back yard for the rest of her life. At first I’m left thinking, I’m left thinking “so sense is not the fun place to be.” But then Elinor is also kind of the leftovers for Edward and I don’t want to be either of them. This, in that way, may be the most realistic of emotions from an Austen novel? It may seem the most cookie cutter happy ending, but at the same time, both women took the best option given their circumstance. They made the best of what they had. This may be to say that yes, Austen’s novels are often not exactly reality, but they can teach women that they can still be happy by making the most of what is available to them. Maybe? Is that too much of a stretch? Her commentary also seems to go further that the only real companions that you’ll ever have, the ones that you want that want you, are your siblings. Austen herself was very close to her sister and neither of them married, so they spent a lot of time together and greatly valued their relationship. In the end of this novel, Elinor and Marianne end up living together. So does sisters still together and living together equal the happy ending? Because I wouldn’t be happy to be either of these characters really just in their love life.