Sense and Sensibility

1.Jane Austen
Jane Austen was born in December of 1775 in the town of Steventon
in Hampshire, the seventh of the eight children of the Reverend George
Austen and his wife. As a child she wrote farces and parodies and in the
late 1790s she wrote versions of what would become 'Pride and Prejudice'
and 'Sense and Sensibility'. Both books were extensively rewritten, and in
1811 'Sense and Sensibility' was published anonymously at Jane's
expense. She subsequently published 'Pride and Prejudice' in 1813,
'Mansfield Park' in 1814 and 'Emma' in 1816. She began 'Sandition' in
1817 but died at Winchester on 18th July leaving her novel unfinished.
As for her private life, Jane Austen had a very strong relationship
with her elder sister, Cassandra. Between 1785 and 1786, the two sisters
attended the courses of the Abbey boarding school in Reading. By
December 1786, Jane and Cassandra had returned home because the
Austens could not afford to send both of their daughters to school.
As an adult, Austen continued to stay at her parents' home, carrying
out those activities normal for women of her age and social standing:she
played the piano, assisted her sister and mother with supervising servants,
and attended female relatives during childbirth and older relatives on their
deathbeds She was a religious person attending church regularly,
socialized frequently with friends and neighbours, and read novels aloud
with her family in the evenings. This type of activities are mostly found in
her books.
Despite the fact that the dates about her life are a few, there are
several testimonials regarding this period of time. For instance, Ms.
Mitford, who had known the Austen girls since they were little, presented
Jane as being the most beautiful and foolish girl of the ones who were
looking for a husband. However, neither Jane nor Cassandra had ever
found a husband.

2.Summary

The story begins when Mr. Henry Dashwood dies, leaving all his
money to his son John Dashwood. Therefore, John Dashwood inherits the
Norland estate, on codition that he would help his stepmother and
halfblood sisters as they are left with no permanent home and very little
income, but John's selfish and greedy wife, Fanny, soon persuades her
weak-willed husband that he has no real financial obligation in the matter,
and he gives the girls and their mother nothing. John and Fanny move into
Norland immediately on the death of Mr Dashwood and take up their place
as its new owners.
The Dashwood women, now treated as rather unwelcomed guests in
what was their home, begin looking for another place to live, a difficult
task because of their small income. Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters
(Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret) are invited to stay with their distant
relations, the Middletons, at Barton Park. Elinor is sad to leave their home
at Norland because of her relationship with the young gentleman Edward
Ferrars, Ms. John Dashwood's brother.
However, once at Barton Park,
Elinor and Marianne discover many new acquaintances, including the
retired officer and bachelor Colonel Brandon, and the gallant John
Willoughby, who helps Marianne after she injures her ankle running down
the hills of Barton in the rain. Willoughby openly courts Marianne until he
suddenly announces that he must depart for London on business, leaving
Marianne in a state of misery. Meanwhile, Anne and Lucy Steele, two
relations of Lady Middleton's mother, Mrs. Jennings, arrive at Barton Park.
Lucy becomes close to Elinor and informs her that she has been secretly
engaged to Mr. Ferrars for five years. Elinor cannot believe her ears and
initially assumes that Lucy is referring to Edward's brother, Robert.
Unfortunately, she is shocked to learn that her beloved Edward is the one
Lucy is speaking about.
After a while, Elinor and Marianne travel to London with Mrs.
Jennings in order to get married. Colonel Brandon is fond of Marianne and
feels obliged to inform Elinor that everyone in London is talking of an
engagement between the Willoughby and her sister. Marianne is anxious
to meet her beloved Willoughby and writes him daily, but when they
finally see each other at a party in town, he abandons her, denying his
feelings for Marianne. Colonel Brandon tells Elinor of Willoughby's
unworthy history and Mrs. Jennings confirms that Willoughby has become
engaged to the wealthy Miss Grey as a result of his disinheritance.
Then, Lucy's older sister reveals the news of Lucy's secret
engagement to Edward. His mother is angry and also cuts him off,

promising his fortune to Robert instead. Meanwhile, the Dashwood sisters

visit family friends at Cleveland on their way home from London. There,
Marianne falls deathly ill on account of the painful walks in the rain.
Willoughby comes to visit, tryiong to explain his mistakes and hopes for
forgiveness. Elinor believes him and shares his story with Marianne, who
finally recovers from her illness. Mrs. Dashwood and Colonel Brandon
arrive at Cleveland and are relieved to learn that Marianne is safe.
When the family returns home, they learn from their servant that
Lucy Steele and Mr. Ferrars are engaged. They are certain that he means
Edward Ferrars. Edward soon arrives and reveals the true story: it was
Robert, not himself, whom the fortune-desirer Lucy decided to marry.
Hence, Edward is finally able to propose to his beloved Elinor, and not long
after, Marianne and Colonel Brandon become engaged as well.

3. Characters
Elinor Dashwood is the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry
Dashwood and the nineteen- year-old heroine of Austen's novel. She
represents the sense and feels responsible for her family, always placing
the welfare of the beloved ones above her own. Elinor is the most rational,
often having to remind her mother what is the proper way to behave or
handle ones money. It is she who notices all the little inconsistencies in
polite society, and the hypocritical nature of many with whom they
associate. Moreover, she is well-educated, mature and tends to hide her
true feelings, fact that leads others think she is cold-hearted.

Marianne Dashwood is a sixteen- year- old characterized by a

redunant sensibility and a romantic spirirt. This romantic idealism
determines her to look for a strong and tragic love and to fall in love with
John Willoughby. Unlike her sister, she is Unwaveringly honest to her
feelings and cannot lie or flatter or behave in ways contrary to what she
feels. She is unable to think of the Colonel Brandon which desperately
seeks to comfort her as he is much older and more reserved than John.
Marianne undergoes a great development within the book, learning to
suppress her sensibilities and become more like her sensible sister, Elinor .

Despite his lack of handsomeness, Edward Ferrars is honest and

loyal, and does what he thinks is right, always keeping his word. Though
he no longer loves Lucy Steele, he will not break off the engagement, even
though he does not love her. Like Elinor, he will sacrifice his own feelings
to do what is right. So he is disinherited, and hopes to take orders in an
effort to support Lucy. Lucky for him, Lucy falls in love with his brother, and
marries Robert. This leaves Edward free to marry his real love, Elinor.
John Willoughby is an attractive but deceitful man who truly loves
Marianne but abandons her as a result of his greed. He also treats
Marianne terribly, ignoring her letters, treating her coolly at a party, and
sending her a cruel last letter in which he denies any relationship. When
Marianne is ill, he realizes the mistakes he has made, and apologizes to
Elinor for all the pain he caused.
Colonel Brandon is a close friend of Sir John Middleton and a
distinguished gentleman. He is 35 years old at the beginning of the book.
He falls in love with Marianne at first sight, as she reminds him of his first
true love, Eliza. He is a very honourable friend to the Dashwoods,
particularly Elinor, and offers Edward Ferrars a living after Edward is
disowned by his mother. After her illness, Marianne begins to respect the
Colonel more, and the two soon marry.

4. The Main Themes of the Novel

There are several themes reflected in 'Sense of Sensibility' such as
love, society, marriage, wealth and the last but not least feminity. Two of
them, wealth and society are well-known among Jane Austen's
masterpieces.
The novel deals with a specific social class. Often, her characters live
on the outskirts of the gentry, being permanently threatened with the
possibility of rejection from fashionable gentry society due to lack of
money and social connections. The only way out involves making a good
marriage. In most of the cases, the characters are prevented from
marrying whom they wish by the greed, vanity, and social snobbery of
their parents. Thus in Austens novels as in the society of her time,
conflicts arise between love and economic priorities, and between

individual

desires

and

familial

expectations.

This kind of situation is also met in 'Sense and Sensibility'. The

Dashwood sisters are worthy and well-behaved. However, this qualities
count for little because the society is primarily interested in their
inheritance of which they are lacking. Austen lived in an age in which
social security did not exist, since gentlemen were restricted to a few
respectable professions like the church or law, and women were unable to
work. This might explain Austens insistence on the necessity of having
enough money to support the couple and any children before they could
marry. The writer' s views on money are maily expressed through the
practical Elinor. Elinor says that wealth has much to do with happiness.
Marianne romantically dismisses wealth as an ingredient of happiness:
Elinor, for shame! Beyond a competence, it can afford no real
satisfaction. Thus, through irony, even those who claim to believe that
money is not important are in the end convinced of the necessity of having
it.
Therefore the financial aspect would always haunt their love. For
instance, Marianne is left behind by Willoughby when he is disinherited
and Elinor is fortunate in attracting a man who cares little about wealth
but who is a victim of this kind of cruelty himself for he is threatened by
his mother in order to marry an eligible woman. Similarly, Colonel Brandon
intends to marry Marianne without thinking about money due to the fact
that he is already rich.

5.Conclusion
Overall, even though the story has a happy end for the sisters, the
writter manages to make it clear how important money and connections
are to both women and men. Nevertheless, men have at least the option
of pursuing a career.

6.Bibliography

Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austen

The introduction of the novel- Stephen Arkin

http://www.bookrags.com/

http://www.sparknotes.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://www.shmoop.com/

Bivolaru Madalina