Platonic Rhetorical Themes in Sense and Sensibility

Platonic Rhetorical Themes in Sense and Sensibility

     In Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne move with their Mother to a new neighborhood after the death of their father. Marianne becomes enamored with John Willoughby, a handsome and charming young man with lively manners much to her taste. For her, he is in stark contrast to the other dull, and sometimes vulgar other neighbors. Willoughby’s obvious admiration, warm and openly intimate rhetorical style leads Marianne and others to believe that he seriously considers her his future wife. His reckless speech and behavior might be what Socrates in Plato’s Gorgias negatively calls rhetoric, “…persuasion, one that provides belief without knowing…” (454e)

     Much later it is revealed that he and Marianne were never actually engaged. This ability of rhetoric to persuade with out truth is one of several faults of rhetoric, according to Socrates. Even Gorgias admits that, “…one must use rhetoric justly too, just as a competitive skill.” (457b) “But flattery,” says Socrates, ”…pretends to be this that it has slipped in under, gives no heed to the best but hunts after folly with what is ever most pleasant, and deceives, so as to seem to be worth very much.” (464d) While Marianne comes under the spell of Whilloughby, Lucy Steele, the secretly betrothed of Elinor’s love, Edward Ferrars, tries through flattery to work her way into the affections of his haughty and disapproving family.

“For rhetoric…is a phantom of a part of politics,” says Socrates and calls it a bad and shameful thing.

     “So then, “says Socrates, “if doing injustice is more shameful than suffering injustice, either it is more painful and would be more shameful by surpassing pain, or in badness, or in both.” (475b) Marianne and Elinor suffer much injustice and emotional pain by means of Whillougby and Lucy Steele. Marianne becomes ill after discovering the heartbreaking truth that Willoughby has married a wealthy woman. Elinor suffers when Lucy confides in her and often gloats about Edward’s love. In addition, Lucy and Edward know they no longer love each other but Edward behaves honorably by maintaining the engagement once his disowning family finds out. Edward suffers the pain of loving Elinor while regretting the folly of his youthful engagement to Lucy. “ So then,” says Socrates, “doing injustice would be worse than suffering injustice.”

     So, according to Plato, Willoughby and Lucy would suffer most from the injuries they caused others to suffer. Is Jane Austen a rhetor of Platonic persuasion? During Marianne’s life threatening illness John Willoughby rides all night in a coach to see and speak to her about his past behavior. He meets Elinor and pours out his tortured feelings and explanations for several pages. “I did not know the extent of the injury I meditated, because I did not then know what is was to love…the happiest hours of my life were what I spent with her when I felt my intentions were strictly honorable and my feelings blameless.”

     After Edward is disowned upon the discovery of his secret engagement to Lucy she manages to cajole and flatter Edward’s brother in to marrying her. Lucy and Robert…”settled in town…and setting aside the jealousies and ill will continually subsisting…as well as, the frequent domestic disagreements between Robert and Lucy themselves, nothing could exceed the harmony in which they all lived together.” “For I assert,” says Socrates, “ that the noble and good man and woman are happy; the unjust and base, wretched.” (470 e)