MDIA 1020: Award Winning Structure (50pts)

I watched Sense And Sensibility (1995) which won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screen play). The story centers around two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who after the death of their father have to struggle between marrying for love or marrying for convenience.  While trying to take care of her family’s finances and becoming acquainted with the wife of her haf-brother, the eldest of the sisters, Elinor, is introduced to Edward Ferrars.
They fall in love, but due to the disapproval of his family and a previous engagement, they are separated. Later on, Marianne rejects the obvious affections of the Colonel Brandon while chasing after a John Willoughby. She is eventually heartbroken upon the realization that because of Mr. Willoughby’s previous actions, his family disowns him and he decides of leave Marianne for a woman of high standing and wealthy family. She later turns to the Colonel and he helps her recover and wins her heart. During which time we discover that Mr. Ferrars has left his family and due to the change of heart of his intended, is no longer engaged. He happily comes looking to Elinor for forgiveness and are reunited.

In the instance of Elinor, the hamartia is that her character is too timid and accepting. She worries about others before herself and therefor allows her own happiness to slip away without the slightest action from her. She quietly suffers while being pulled and tugged by the troubles of her sister and family. The peripeteia in her storyline is the moment when after having fallen in love with Mr. Edward Ferrars, she and her family are suddenly moved to her uncle’s cottage because of their lack of money. She is separated from Ferrars and as a result, his family takes the opportunity to make it as difficult as possible for the two to reunite. However, despite his family’s meddling, she had some understanding of his affections and therefore her anagnorisis moment was finding out that he had already been secretly engaged for several years.

As for Marianne, her hamartia is that she was too ignorant of what love really meant and held too high of standards for it. She had a strong opinion of what she wanted in a husband and then threw her whole self and heart into attaining it. Which inevitably led to a broken heart as well as a newfound maturity and a deeper-rooted love. Marianne’s peripeteia was when Willoughby had to leave so suddenly and without a reason. We later find out it was because he had left a girl pregnant and abandoned her. A fact his family found out about and disowned him for and so he fled. Her anagnorisis was when she found out that although Willoughby loved her, he prioritized his financial well being above his love for her. She had held on to the idea and promise of their love that she was utterly distraught to find out how far he was willing to go for her.