Marianne Dashwood: Slytherin primary/Gryffindor secondary
It was difficult for me to decide between Slytherin and Gryffindor primary. Marianne has a close circle of friends and family that she values, and she doesn't think much about others. Very Slytherin. But she also seems to have a deeply felt sense of right and wrong that she follows implicitly. Very Gryffindor. I decided Slytherin because when those two are in conflict (for instance, when Elinor violates one of her deeply held feelings of what is right), she chooses her inner circle. Elinor (or Edward) can be excused of anything, no matter what.
Her secondary seems obvious. She does exactly what she feels boldly and directly.
Elinor Dashwood: Ravenclaw modeling Slytherin primary/Hufflepuff secondary
Elinor has a tight inner circle that she cares about, just like Marianne, but I believe that sense that HER PEOPLE are important is more constructed. She looks at the world and develops a system. She seems that, rationally, taking care of family and friends and being loyal and having deep intimacies is the best way. Her secondary as difficult for me to decide on. She certainly plans and thinks her way through life, which seems Ravenclaw, but she is very focused on propriety, doing right in community, and lessening the burden on everyone else. Because that is so central to the plot rather than planning, I decided that I would make her a Hufflepuff secondary.
Mrs. Dashwood: Slyterin primary/Gryffindor secondary
I think Mrs. Dashwood is pretty much exactly like Marianne, except that she's a bit more mature and is willing to be guided by Elinor.
"The resemblance between [Marianned] and her mother was strikingly great."
Edward Ferrars: Frozen Slytherin primary/Hufflepuff secondary
Edward looks like a frozen Slytherin to me because of this quote:
"Colonel Brandon give me a living! -- Can it be possible?"
"The unkindness of your own relations has made you astonished to find friendship any where."
"No," replied he, with sudden consciousness, "not to find it in you ; for I cannot be ignorant that to you, to your goodness, I owe it all. I feel it -- I would express it if I could -- but, as you well know, I am no orator."
Edward's family and regretted engagement with Lucy have made him think that he can never have an inner circle of people he loves. He has pushed himself out of his own inner circle, even, and he doubts his own merit severely. He meets Elinor, she is the kind of person he wants to cherish, along with her family, and then he marry her. His inner circle is broken and a disappointment, but he misses it and wishes for it.
He is a Hufflepuff secondary because the way he goes about this is a good heart, being in harmony with the community and his values, showing up to do the right thing. When he refuses to break his engagement with Lucy and is disowned, he doesn't do it as a Gryffindor, embarking on the right path with glorious swelling music. He does it like a Hufflepuff: he said he would, so he does. Day after day, no matter what.
Colonel Brandon: Slytherin primary/Gryffindor secondary
Colonel Brandon is Marianne as she ought to be (and we hope will be). He cares about his people and is loyal almost to a fault. He would do anything for Elinor, for Marianne, for the child of his childhood love. Screw around with his friends, and you'll end up in a dual. :) Once someone is in the circle, they are forever. His secondary is less obvious because he is so quiet and subtle and mature. But he acts directly when action is called for: he gives a living to Edward on the spur of the moment, he duals in a time when dualing was not so common in England, he rushes to London to help Eliza. He's the Gryffindor secondary with sense applied.
Mrs. Jennings: Hufflepuff primary/Gryffindor secondary
Mrs. Jennings wants all the world to be happy and married and prosperous. She has a general good will that isn't focused exclusively or even primarily on her inner circle. That seems Hufflepuff primary. Her secondary seems to be Gryffindor because she is so direct and bold and impertinent in a good hearted way.
Sir John Middleton: Hufflepuff primary/Gryffindor secondary
Pretty much exactly like his mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings.
John Dashwood: Slytherin primary/Hufflepuff secondary
I believe that John Dashwood is a Slytherin primary because he is a one man dog. He has an inner circle that can only comprise himself and another person, so maybe he is a partially frozen Slytherin? I call him a Hufflepuff secondary because his means of getting stuff done is through community, connection, taking on the traditons and values of his circle. Too bad he chose a bad wife.
"He was not an ill-disposed young man, unless to be rather cold hearted, and rather selfish, is to be ill-disposed: but he was, in general, well respected; for he conducted himself with propriety in the discharge of his ordinary duties. Had he married a more amiable woman, he might have been made still more respectable than he was; he might even have been made amiable himself; for he was very young when he married, and very fond of his wife. But Mrs. John Dashwood was a strong caricature of himself; more narrow-minded and selfish."
Fanny Dashwood: Frozen Slytherin primary/Slytherin secondary
Fanny has an inner circle of one: herself. Not even her husband is valuable, except as he does what she wants. She isn't out for his good, only her own. To achieve her ends, she is endlessly adaptable, able to manipulate, able to be what she needs to be in the moment. Very Slytherin as well. The second chapter illustrates her adaptability well, I think. I won't quote the whole thing, but it's worth reading to see a Slytherin secondary in action: http://www.pemberley.com/etext/SandS/chapter2.htm.
Willoughby: Frozen Slytherin primary/Gryffindor secondary
Willoughby has an inner circle exactly like Fanny Dashwood: Willoughby is the only person in it. He has frozen his ability to love others and is entirely self-focused. We see him start to unfreeze and to let the Dashwoods into his inner circle, but when it came down to a choice, he chose himself alone.
His secondary, like Marianne and Colonel Brandon, is to be direct, open, active, and brash: Gryffindor definitely.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After writing these up, I am struck by the new insights I gained about a book I've read a million times. The story seems to focus on two evils: Slytherins being frozen (when your inner circle is to constricted, you become a villain: John and Fanny, Willoughby, even Marianne at her worst thinks only of herself and maybe one other) and a Gryffindor secondary run wild instead of moderating one's actions with sense.
So this is the story of Marianne struggling to control her primary and her secondary in appropriate ways, and the other characters exhibit ways she could go right or wrong.
Damaged/Frozen Slytherin primary: Fanny, John, Willoughby, Edward
Just Right Slytherin primary: Elinor, Colonel Brandon
Gryffindor secondary run wild: Marianne, Mrs. Jennings, Sir John, Willoughby
Gryffindor secondary in check: Elinor, Colonel Brandon
Elinor is Marianne's model through the book, and in the end, her choice as to the direction of her character (healthy Slytherin primary/sensible Gryffindor secondary vs. frozen Slytherin primary/wild Gryffindor secondary) is also the choice in her husband.
Colonel Brandon: Slytherin primary/Gryffindor secondary
Colonel Brandon is Marianne as she ought to be (and we hope will be). He cares about his people and is loyal almost to a fault. He would do anything for Elinor, for Marianne, for the child of his childhood love. Screw around with his friends, and you'll end up in a dual. :) Once someone is in the circle, they are forever. His secondary is less obvious because he is so quiet and subtle and mature. But he acts directly when action is called for: he gives a living to Edward on the spur of the moment, he duals in a time when dualing was not so common in England, he rushes to London to help Eliza. He's the Gryffindor secondary with sense applied.
Mrs. Jennings: Hufflepuff primary/Gryffindor secondary
Mrs. Jennings wants all the world to be happy and married and prosperous. She has a general good will that isn't focused exclusively or even primarily on her inner circle. That seems Hufflepuff primary. Her secondary seems to be Gryffindor because she is so direct and bold and impertinent in a good hearted way.
Sir John Middleton: Hufflepuff primary/Gryffindor secondary
Pretty much exactly like his mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings.
John Dashwood: Slytherin primary/Hufflepuff secondary
I believe that John Dashwood is a Slytherin primary because he is a one man dog. He has an inner circle that can only comprise himself and another person, so maybe he is a partially frozen Slytherin? I call him a Hufflepuff secondary because his means of getting stuff done is through community, connection, taking on the traditons and values of his circle. Too bad he chose a bad wife.
"He was not an ill-disposed young man, unless to be rather cold hearted, and rather selfish, is to be ill-disposed: but he was, in general, well respected; for he conducted himself with propriety in the discharge of his ordinary duties. Had he married a more amiable woman, he might have been made still more respectable than he was; he might even have been made amiable himself; for he was very young when he married, and very fond of his wife. But Mrs. John Dashwood was a strong caricature of himself; more narrow-minded and selfish."
Fanny Dashwood: Frozen Slytherin primary/Slytherin secondary
Fanny has an inner circle of one: herself. Not even her husband is valuable, except as he does what she wants. She isn't out for his good, only her own. To achieve her ends, she is endlessly adaptable, able to manipulate, able to be what she needs to be in the moment. Very Slytherin as well. The second chapter illustrates her adaptability well, I think. I won't quote the whole thing, but it's worth reading to see a Slytherin secondary in action: http://www.pemberley.com/etext/SandS/chapter2.htm.
Willoughby: Frozen Slytherin primary/Gryffindor secondary
Willoughby has an inner circle exactly like Fanny Dashwood: Willoughby is the only person in it. He has frozen his ability to love others and is entirely self-focused. We see him start to unfreeze and to let the Dashwoods into his inner circle, but when it came down to a choice, he chose himself alone.
His secondary, like Marianne and Colonel Brandon, is to be direct, open, active, and brash: Gryffindor definitely.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After writing these up, I am struck by the new insights I gained about a book I've read a million times. The story seems to focus on two evils: Slytherins being frozen (when your inner circle is to constricted, you become a villain: John and Fanny, Willoughby, even Marianne at her worst thinks only of herself and maybe one other) and a Gryffindor secondary run wild instead of moderating one's actions with sense.
So this is the story of Marianne struggling to control her primary and her secondary in appropriate ways, and the other characters exhibit ways she could go right or wrong.
Damaged/Frozen Slytherin primary: Fanny, John, Willoughby, Edward
Just Right Slytherin primary: Elinor, Colonel Brandon
Gryffindor secondary run wild: Marianne, Mrs. Jennings, Sir John, Willoughby
Gryffindor secondary in check: Elinor, Colonel Brandon
Elinor is Marianne's model through the book, and in the end, her choice as to the direction of her character (healthy Slytherin primary/sensible Gryffindor secondary vs. frozen Slytherin primary/wild Gryffindor secondary) is also the choice in her husband.
No comments:
Post a Comment