Sense & Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, both written by Jane Austen is a novel centered around the romantic lives of the sisters. However, through their journey through navigating love, we are also able to have an insight on the darker side of love and its impacts. In love, there is often an antagonist, and the antagonist often plays a big role in helping develop the theme and plot of the story. Although it may seem like it’s easy to identify the antagonist, in reality, the antagonist usually conceals themselves well, making it less obvious for the reader to notice. So, without further ado, let’s join the Dashwood sisters and the Bennet sisters and learn how to recognize the antagonist in love and avoid being in a toxic relationship.
Truth is one of the key components in a healthy relationship, for those who hide the truth can cause heartbreaks. Telling the truth in the aspect of love can be a lot of different things. It can range for admitting your wrongs and what you do to coming clean about cheating and “two-sided” dating. In Sense & Sensibility, Edward Ferras, demonstrates this through his actions. Edward is engaged to Lucy. Being engaged is the step right before marriage. However, despite being engaged, he fell in love with Elinor and made love with her, ignoring the fact that he is engaged. This essentially means he cheated on Lucy. As a cheater, he didn’t even “perform” it well, due to the fact that everyone noticed what he was doing. This eventually resulted in Elinor’s heartbreak. In relationships, it is important to tell the truth earlier than later. It is also important to know if the person you are in a relationship with is secretly in another relationship. When in love, you should make it clear who you like and stay loyal. If you start a relationship being the other woman, you will never be the only woman.
Gold diggers are toxic people you should stay away from when seeking a romantic partner. Gold diggers, although often women, can be men too. Gold diggers refers to those who strive for materialistic relationships, based on money, not romantic feelings. John Willoughby in Sense & Sensibility is an example of such a person. Willoughby really did love Marianne. He had genuine feelings for her and was ready to marry her. However, upon meeting someone even richer, he abandoned Marianne in a heartbeat to pursue his goal of becoming wealthy. Such an action broke Marianne’s heart. Love should be based on true feelings, not wealth. Although someone may be wealthy now, someday they may go bankrupt. After that happens, what will you do? Don’t marry someone for their money. If they can buy you with money, then they can buy many more. Marry someone for their heart. If it beats for you now, it will beat for you forever.
It is important to understand your partner’s past when going into a relationship. Sometimes, people have a past that they don’t reveal to you for whatever reason. However, sometimes someone’s past isn’t so pleasant and can reveal something deeper about them. George Wickham, in Pride and Prejudice is someone who has a dirty past that isn’t revealed till much later in the novel. George Wickham appears at first as someone who is handsome and charming, eventually attracting Lydia Bennet. However, as revealed later in the novel, it is discovered that a) George Wickham is a gold digger, only being with Lydia for the money and b) he eloped with Georgina Darcy before, and because his elopement with Georgina failed, he went to seek for another rich girl to elope with. Men like Wickham elope without a sense of commitment, making them a bad choice for a lover. A lesson we learn from Wickham’s actions is that in love, looks and money aren’t the most important, loyalty and true feelings are.
In love, not everyone is what or who they seem to be. That is why it is important to be careful not to get yourself in a toxic relationship or a relationship in which you are taken advantage of. Edward Ferras, although appearing to be sweet to Elinor, is secretly engaged, making him a cheater and breaking her heart. From this scenario we learn that if you start a relationship being the other woman, you will never be the only woman. Then there’s John Willoughby, who despite the fact that he truly loves Marianne, chooses money over love, making him a gold digger. And lastly, there’s George Wickham whose past speaks for itself. In love, there will always be antagonists and it is important to recognize them and save yourself from such relationships.
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