Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility Essays

Like Marianne, Mrs. Dashwood is romantic and whimsical, more prone to act on feelings than reason. Also similar to her youngest daughter, she often misjudges both the characters and situations of individuals. When Elinor tells Marianne of the difficulties Mrs. Ferrars presents in marrying Edward, "Marianne was astonished to find how much the imagination of her mother and herself had outstripped the truth" (18). Furthermore, Mrs. Dashwood's reaction to Willoughby is just as naïve as Marianne's. "In Mrs. Dashwood's opinion, he was as faultless as in Marianne's" (43). It is only Elinor, acting with the maternal caution her mother does not possess, who has reservations about Marianne's suitor.

Jane Austen's 1811 novel "Sense and Sensibility" puts across an account involving two English sisters who come across a series of hardships in their endeavor to find their personal identities in a relatively hostile environment. Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are forced to leave their home, the estate at Norland Park, consequent to their father's death. The two experience economic problems and come to see the world with different eyes as they move in a small house and as they interact with people who are primarily motivated by finances. Even though the two sisters have diverging personalities, they go through similar experiences and they come to have similar perceptions of society.

The awkwardness that transpires as both Elinor and Edward attempt to write letters in the same room shows both Elinor’s and Edward’s reluctance to show their feelings because of society’s judgements and develops their individual characters. Elinor is aware of the impact that her lack of wealth has on her marriage prospects, so she does not admit her feelings for Edward explicitly to him nor her family despite their existence. She is sensible and does not allow her love for a man make her vulnerable. Edward also has difficulty expressing his emotions. His feelings are complicated by his family’s desires and his engagement to Lucy Steele (Sarah Elizabeth Keyes). Despite his feelings for Elinor, he is characterized by his loyalty to his prior commitments. His loyalty, while admirable, is also the hamartia that nearly keeps him away from Elinor forever. Marianne Dashwood’s passion and spontaneity is evident through her actions; she cuts off a lock of her hair for her suitor, John Willoughby, without an engagement and weeps openly when he leaves town. Her excessive sensibility is a critique of women’s dependence on men for happiness. Willoughby is characterized as the perfect man, yet develops into a very problematic and unfaithful character. He draws Marianne in only to break her heart and it is eventually revealed that she is not the only girl

Jane Austen's groundbreaking novel Sense and Sensibility is a relationship-driven account of female protagonists. Sense and Sensibility shares much in common with other novels by and about women. Themes like autonomy versus independence and the role of women in a patriarchal society are explored in Sense and Sensibility. Using two sisters to symbolize the different directions the female spirit can be pulled, Austen shows the variable ways women respond to political, social, and economic oppression. The women of Sense and Sensibility are both trapped by, and breaking free from, the conventions of marriage and motherhood. Marriage and motherhood are portrayed ironically as the natural course of women's lives, but also as the chain that prevents their self-fulfillment. The social norm of patrilineal inheritance leaves Elinore and Marianne Dashwood, and their mother, penniless and dependent on distant male family members. Marriage and motherhood are restrictive roles for women, and yet Austen never provides a satisfactory alternative for Marianne. Marianne seems willing to break free from patriarchal social norms, but she ends up being a slave to heterosexual romance. The message in Sense and Sensibility ends up being rather bleak: women remain socially, economically, and politically oppressed because they cannot envision or enact suitable independent alternatives.

Generous, willing, and proficient—are all qualities of Elinor Dashwood. Creators regularly utilize attributes of characters to depict them as basic bits of the plot. In Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, Elinor is appeared as a vital character through her sympathy towards others and her eagerness to help her family through troublesome circumstances.

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the similarities and differences between Mr. Darcy’s proposals show that a strong romantic bond should develop from an absolute understanding of each other’s characters.

Eveline's internal struggle illustrates clearly how one struggles between the past and the future, leading to the failure to escape. While weighing her options as to whether or not leave Dublin, Eveline remembers her mother's wishes: "Her promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could" (Joyce 40). Even though Eveline's home contains an abusive father, absence of family members, and the struggles of domestic work, she is unable to let go. Awaiting her a promised adventurous and free spirited life with her respectful and kind lover, Frank. He has the ability to rescue Eveline from a troubling past and allow her to enter a new phase in her life, liberated from the ugliness of Dublin. However,

Lucy appears to have an initially pleasant effect on other characters in the story. She appears to be quite well-mannered and people take a liking to her. However, as the story progresses we see her true demeanor and its unpleasant effect on certain characters. Upon her arrival at Barton Park, she befriends Elinor Dashwood and confides in her about her engagement to Edward Ferrars. ""I did", said Elinor, with a composure of voice, under which was concealed an emotion and distress beyond anything she had ever felt before. She was mortified, shocked, confounded "(161). Lucy slyly reveals her secret to Elinor, knowing that she and Edward Ferrars had had a romantic history. Elinor initially thinks well of Lucy, since they form a friendship. As

Elinor is able to be mature for her age and able to be consoling to other characters in the book. A major event takes place where another character named Lucy is affiliated with Elinor’s

Throughout sense and sensibility, Elinor is shown to be fair and just in her personal judgements. Elinor is also distinguished for her ability to self govern her feelings. The neo classics disprove of one indulging in feelings and believe one should instead conceal them, suffering silently. An example of this can be seen when Edward breaks Elinor's heart, thus Austin places Elinor and Marianne in parallel situations. Marianne, the romantic, focuses solely on her own feelings and disregards the feelings of others. However, Elinor follows Neo Classic ethics by remaining a pillar of support for those who depend on her. She does not withdraw away and contemplate her life but instead carries on with the duties she undertook since the beginning of the novel. She continually self sacrifices her desire to the needs and benefit of those around her, showing a magnanimous concern to others while silencing her own feelings; dealing with issues with an unbiased outlook:

Marianne flaunted the relationship, and gave everyone reason to believe they were engaged for example she gave Willoughby a lock of her hair and rode

Jane Austen impacted the world of literature in more ways than one. Museums located around the United Kingdom are dedicated to her works which many people still enjoy to this day. Audiences around the world continue to read the love stories she shared many years ago. She portrayed a sense of female strength and hefty feelings of true love in her writing. Austen’s wording and her particular writing style are recognizable among those who enjoy 18th century literature, her distinct approach to the realities of the time is one reason her fan base has grown over the years. Jane Austen pioneered romantic literature because she was among the first authors to write a happily ever after type story, and she used her work to portray this feeling

Her development in the novel is from Innocence to Experience. The episode she suffered with Willoughby has shown her how the world really looks like and has contributed to her growth as a person, a growth towards maturity. After her illness, she realizes that too much feeling is the cause of her suffering and thus starts to move towards ‘sense’, leaving slightly behind her ‘sensibility’. This is why the modern reader does not happen to be pleased with the ending of the novel, for her marriage with Colonel Brandon is looked at as a betrayal of everything in which Marianne believed: feeling, love, passion… Nothing of which she achieves at the beginning of her relationship with Brandon, even though we find out that eventually she became ‘as much devoted to her husband as it had once been to Willoughby’ (294). Hence Experience has taught her well and thus she learns to value more her stability and security than love and

She feels inclined to do this, as “she [has a] knowledge which her mother had yet to learn, and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught”(Austen, 6). When her father died, both her mother and Marianne went into a state of hysteria and spells of dramatic depression, and Elinor had to be the voice of reason in the household. Even though she too was affected by his passing, she took the responsibility of caring for her mourning family by entertaining guests and handling the legal fundamentals with her brother. By staying calm and collected, Elinor proves that her rationality guides her through a life of responsible actions and care for those that she loves. Elinor also steps up as the responsible family member by covering up for their mistakes, particularly her sister’s. Marianne is oblivious to the offenses and conflict that she is creating through her carelessness, as well as the fact that Elinor is covering them up. While the sisters are living in London, Marianne’s strange love-struck behavior does not go unnoticed by their company, and Elinor incessantly interjected excuses for her sister’s imprudent behavior, claiming her to be ill, anxious or tired. She voluntarily takes the responsibility of keeping her family in line, assuring that their lack of rationality will not cause any troubles for them in the future.

Jane Austen lived from 1775 until 1817, a span of four decades that saw significant changes in English social, political, and economic life. At the time her birth, England was embroiled in a bitter struggle with its American colonies, the loss of which, several years later, proved to be a tremendous blow to English political and military prestige. Under the rule of George III, England's political climate became increasingly unstable with constant struggles between the King and Whig politicians. Ireland received its independence in 1782, although the violence that had long plagued the country continued to rage. Across the Channel, the French Revolution had begun and the English aristocracy watched in horror as royal heads began to roll.