Love comes in many forms, whether it's an inanimate object or a person you want to spend the rest of your life with life. Jane Austen's novel, "Sense and Sensibility," revolves around two sisters who attempt to find true love, while requiring a balance between reason and emotion. Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are seen as two completely different people. Elinor is known to represent "sense" while Marianne represents "sensibility". In the novel, Jane Austen emphasizes two common characteristics of women and shows us how Elinor and Marianne both find love and happiness by overcoming their struggles and learning from each other's actions and mistakes. It is clear that Marianne and Elinor are in fact completely two. different people as shown in their traits and behaviors: “While Marianne is an emotional wreck, completely and utterly driven by her emotions, Elinor seems to have only sense and reason” (Manukyan). This quote explains the difference between the Dashwood sisters, explaining that Marianne is more interested in her emotions and Elinor is interested in facts and reason. The two show that they are completely different in how they express their feelings in their love interests. Elinor is nineteen years old; she is very mature for her age and has common sense. Elinor describes the "meaning" of the title and is different from her sister Marianne; she is practical, reserved and very attentive. She is able to control her feelings and consider a calmer, more practical way of dealing with her love interest, telling Marianne that she has feelings for Edward: "I'm not trying to deny that I have a very high esteem for him, that I... esteem him greatly. …I like him. (Austen 35). Although she expressed this to Marianne, she quickly dismisses them: "I am in no way sure of... middle of paper... but I allowed her to correct the flaws and make a change for the better. Grief not only brought the two heroines closer together, but actually helped them change each other. Elinor who always kept her feelings to herself learned to let them out and express them while Marianne who was too passionate and eager to find a man learned to calm down and wait for the right moment. The balance between sense and sensitivity helped shape the girls and allowed them to flourish. Ultimately, this allowed Elinor and Marianne to find love and happiness by overcoming their struggles and learning from each other's actions and mistakes. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Sense and sensitivity. Ed. Claudia Johnson. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.Shmoop Editorial Team. “Marianne Dashwood’s Timeline in Meaning and Sensibility.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. April 12. 2014.