Austen’s opening narrative utilizes primarily grammar and indirect discourse to create an intimate, private space that juxtaposes outward perception, and internal thought. Through its incorporation of and insulated space, the novel attempts to transpose narrative direction onto Elinor herself, and use this as a way to subtly communicate the difference between appearance and reality.
	For private thought to exist, both public expression and a sense of internal dialogue must necessarily be present. Opposed to purely abstract third person narratives, Austen’s blended omniscient dialogue allows for a contrast of the public and private spheres.
Without using direct dialogue, Elinor’s thoughts become transparent in a way that mirrors first person narratives. 
	This “mirroring” done by Austen acts as a mechanism to simultaneously create intimacy with the character at hand, and create an inherent subjectivity regarding the environment of the novel. Disregarding an “objective” stance of a true third person narrator, Austen instead seeks for the reader to create an opinion based upon an opinion; the use of free indirect discourse inherently contributes to characterization, both of the character “speaking” and the characters spoken of. The construction of Marianne elucidates this clearly; throughout the opening lines, the reader is barraged with her traits through Elinor’s distanced narration. 
While a purely objective narrator leads the reader to believe and witness through a streamlined lens of truth, Austen creates a duality of interpretation. Marianne’s delineation becomes a subject of analysis that includes both herself and Elinor; her optimistic characterization in turn informs the reader on Elinor’s personality, and situates the latter as a voice of authority and “sense.” 
	Another interesting injection of privacy comes from the intrinsic value of the environment that the scene itself takes place in. 

The inclusion of the carriage - a closed off space which forces the characters to closely interact physically - adds layers to the internal space in Elinor’s mind. Austen builds a situation in which any personal direct dialogue cannot exist, therefore reinforcing Elinor’s internal space as the only valid interpretive outlet for this situation.
	Austen also employs punctuation - in the form of a semicolon - to highlight the situational difference and concurrent connection between Marianne and Elinor. Used twice during this short excerpt, the usage of the semicolon follows a uniform pattern; each time it begins with a statement about Marianne, then immediately after the punctuation continues with “and Elinor”. The second clause always exceeds the length of the first, and is treated as a direct response to the first clause.
