Elinor and Marianne are very different. Some say that Elinor exemplifies “sense”- cool reason, logic, restraint - While Marianne illustrates “sensibility”- emotion, passion, lack of restraint.

I think Elinor is a static character, she stays the same. Elinor is the glue that holds the family together during times of stress; she often counsels her mother and sisters to behave with restraint. Throughout the book, Austen holds up Elinor as a paragon of virtue.

Marianne can be seen as more of a dynamic character. Marianne believes that it is only in the nature of the human spirit to love once. Her obsession with Willoughby, a man who jilts her, as her one true love, leads to a long period of despondency in which she must gradually reassess her values and philosophy. She ends up marrying Colonel Brandon, a man of whom she once spoke derisively. Nevertheless, she is content because she comes to respect the wisdom of sense over sensibility. The transformation of Marianne's values and behavior is a crucial theme in the book.