In a conversation with a dear friend over Jane Austen’s Dashwood sisters, I realized that there are interesting similarities between Austen’s renowned Sense and Sensibility and the widely popular Caraval by Stephanie Garber. Both stories are centered around two sisters and have romance as a substantial part of the plot. Of course, these are likely to be purely coincidental parallels, given that Sense & Sensibility is more of social commentary than wild fantasy adventure. I thought it would be interesting to explore these similarities today.
Sensible older sister vs. younger sister looking for love
It’s pretty clear that Elinor Dashwood is the “sense” in Sense and Sensibility. Austen says it herself: “Eleanor… possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgement” (Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 1). Similarly, Scarlett Dragna from Caraval is the sensible one when compared to Tella (sorry, Tella fans!). She’s grounded, willing to risk an unhappy marriage with the count in order to ensure that her sister is safe — “Scarlet would not jeopardize this marriage for a mere chance at winning a wish during Caraval”(Caraval, pg. 29).
Marianne, while “sensible and clever” like Elinor, is “eager in everything” and “everything but prudent” (Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 1). She’s the “sensibility”. In a conversation with Colonel Brandon, Elinor states, “[Marianne’s] opinions are all romantic” (Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 11). Similarly, Tella is headstrong and daring, excited for adventure and “wishing she had someone of her own to kiss” (Caraval, pg. 399). Coincidentally, both sisters are sixteen years old, but Tella’s upbringing in an abusive household has forced her to grow up faster. Marianne is, admittedly, much more immature due to her tendency to follow passion.
Younger sister falls for hot guy
On the surface level, Donatella Dragna and Marianne Dashwood are romantics. They both fall in love with dangerous men: Marianne with Willoughby, while Tella falls for the mysterious Legend in Legendary (maybe that doesn’t count as a parallel since it’s a different book?). Yet these sisters are more than helpless romantics. They’re daring girls that have a deep loyalty to their older sisters — Elinor and Marianne being “two sisters fond of each other” (Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 49), and Scarlett and Tella both making sacrifices for each other in Caraval.
Older sister wants to save the younger
I could be taking liberties with this point. In Caraval, Scarlett is determined to win this year’s game in order to get her sister back. She’s uncertain “what would happen to Tella if no one found her” and worries that “Tella would vanish just like their mother had” if she doesn’t stay and play the game (Caraval, pg. 132).
Elinor, however, is constantly trying to keep Marianne on track, and this is why they end up getting into a number of fights. She tries to “suggest the propriety of some self-command to Marianne” when it comes to her relationship with Willoughby (Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 11). When Marianne and Willoughby return from Allenham, Elinor takes her aside and tells her “I would not go while Mrs. Smith was in it [Marianne doesn’t even know Mrs Smith!], and with no other companion than Mr. Willoughby” (Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 13). Because she loves her sister, she acts as a sort of moral compass for Marianne and tries to keep her out of trouble.
Conclusions
Sense and Sensibility and Caraval may share a few commonalities, but they both have many differences. They are stories about two sisters, sisters who love each other and look out for one another (I’ve chosen to ignore youngest sister, Margaret Dashwood, who is a bit of a background character). Both books have their separate charms and it has been fascinating to put them together and see if they match.
That’s all for now!
I’d like to emphasize again that these similarities are probably coincidences! You can even apply these parallels to other stories, like Frozen.
Tell me: what do you think about posts like this, where I compare a classic to a modern book? Have you read Sense and Sensibility (or Caraval, for that matter)? Also, let me know if you noticed anything similar between the two stories that I missed!
Make your mark,
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