Confession: I've read many books, but never in my life have I picked up anything by Jane Austen. The other evening, however, I was bored (bored? me?) and flipping through channels in an effort to find something to watch.
Lo and behold, I came across the movie Sense and Sensibility, which I'd never seen before-- or read, obviously. To be honest, I'd never even taken the slightest interest in anything to do with Jane Austen. For some reason, though, I began to watch-- and I got hooked, even though I'd picked it up about 20 minutes into the movie. It didn't take long to catch on to the story, and I was soon wrapped up in the characters. Not much time passed before I was rooting madly for Colonel Brandon-- will Marianne ever love him back? And I was cursing Fanny every time she came on screen (I know, I'm super-cool like that). And I'm sure many of you will be oblivious to the characters I just referred to.
Sense and Sensibility is a story about two sisters, one with sense, the other with sensibility. I don't want to discuss the entire story; instead, I'll list just a few of the themes. The story tells of unrequited love and heartbreak, as well as the importance of a relationship between sisters. Ah, three themes with which I can relate. Is there anyone out there who can't relate to heartbreak? Unfortunately, it seems essential to growing up.
At one point in the movie, Marianne says, "The more I see of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love." I feel the same way, Marianne. It seems like you can only give so much of yourself, without receiving anything back, before you've got nothing left to give. In other words, you can only spend time with so many losers before you decide that you're only wasting your time. If we're only bound to get our hearts broken yet again, what's the point of trying?
Thank you, Jane Austen, for your literary work. It exemplifies the loser-ific condition of so many suitors out there-- the exact reason that so many of us are hesitant to offer our hearts to another, for fear of their being carelessly broken once more. If anyone can prove to me that my next suitor will, in fact, leave my heart in a wholly intact state, I'll regain my unassuming faith in love. Until then, I'm going to be cautious and protective of my fragile heart. There are too many "Willoughbies" out there for me to open my heart to just anyone. O, Mr. Perfect, where art thou?
"Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable." -- The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
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