Sense and Sensibility (2008 TV series) and 17, so these romantic relationships are real rites of passage for them." Davies commented that he would have liked to have been in charge of the casting. He revealed that he had initially objected to Hattie Morahan being cast in the role of the eldest Dashwood sister, Elinor. However, he was glad that his objections were ignored, because he fell in love with her performance. Morahan told "The Daily Telegraph's" Jasper Rees that she deliberately chose not to watch the 1995 film adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility" or think about Emma Thompson's portrayal of the character. She explained that
Sense and Sensibility which features one sister full of rational sense and another sister of romantic, emotive sensibility, is considered to have been an inspiration as well. West’s romantic sister-heroine also shares her first name, Marianne, with Austen’s. There are further textual similarities, described in a modern edition of West's novel. "Sense" means good judgment, wisdom, or prudence, and "sensibility" means sensitivity, sympathy, or emotionality. Elinor is described as a character with great "sense" (although Marianne, too, is described as having sense), and Marianne is identified as having a great deal of "sensibility" (although Elinor, too, feels deeply, without expressing it as openly).