Discussion questions – Sense And Sensibility Volume 2 : What are the causes that lead both women

Virtually at the heart (literally the center of the novel) Marianne muffles a scream in response to the letter from Willoughby. At losing their respective loves, Marianne screams (although muffled) while Elinor suffers in silence, but they both do suffer emotionally. What are the causes that lead both women to suffer? And what does Marianne’s muffling of her own scream indicate about her character in comparison to the first half of the novel and then the second half?