This is my presentation on the topic Comparison between the theme of Marriage in Sense and Sensibility and Middle March of the paper The Romantic Literature.

1. Comparison between the theme of
Marriage in Sense and Sensibility and
Middle March
Name- Budhiditya Shankar Das
Course- M.A. (English)
Paper No.- 05
Roll No.- 07
Email Id- budhiditya900@gmail.com
Submitted to- Smt.S.B.Gardi
Department of English
M.K.Bhavnagar University

3. ThemeofMarriageinSenseandSensibility
-> The plot of Sense and Sensibility revolves around
marriage. The novel begins
with Elinor and Marianne as unmarried but eligible
young women
-> For Marianne and Elinor ‘marriage’ is not a choice
but a necessity; and their need to marry expediently
and well is a pressing concern in the novel as they
look for suitors.

4. -> Younger men are more free to chose a life partner
for marriage rather than young women, for
example- Mr. Colonel Brandon reach at the age of 35
and still unmarried.
-> However, marriage isn’t all about love in the
world of Sense and Sensibility. In fact, it’s often more
about wealth, uniting families, and gaining social
standing.
-> Moreover, it’s often families and parents who
attempt to decide engagements as much as any
individual husband or wife.

5. -> “ I could not be happy with a man whose taste
did not in every point coincide with my own. He must
enter in all my feelings; the same books the same
music must charm us both.” (Marianne).
-> Elinor falls in love with Edward. Edward has true
feelings for Elinor because of which he marries with
Elinor though he is disinherited from will. That’s why
it can be said as “Marriage for Love”.

6. -> For John, money is important rather than
Marianne though he loves her, he doesn’t marry her
because of money and at the end Marianne marries
with Colonel Brandon for “Social Status”.

7. Elinor
Colonel
Edward
Lucy
Marianne
Willoughby
Marianne
Eliza
Willoughby
Robert
Lucy
Edward

9. ThemeofMarriageinMiddleMarch
-> Marriage and the pursuit of it are central concerns
in Middle March, but unlike in many novels of the
time, marriage is not considered the ultimate source
of happiness.
-> Most characters in Middle March marry for love
rather than obligation, yet marriage still appears
negative and unromantic.

10. -> Two examples are the failed marriages
of Dorothea and Lydgate.
-> Mr. and Mrs. Bulstrode also face a marital crisis
due to his inability to tell her about the past, and
Fred Vincy and Mary Garth also face a great deal of
hardship in making their union.
-> As none of the marriages reach a perfect fairytale
ending, Middlemarch offers a clear critique of the
usual portrayal of marriage as romantic and
unproblematic.

11. Dorothea Brooke Edward Casaubon
Rosamond Vincy Tertius Lydgate

13. ComparisonbetweenthethemeofMarriagein
boththenovels
Marriage for
Love
Marriage for
Money
Marriage for
Social Status