- Sense and Sensibility is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously; By A Lady appears on the title page where the author’s name might have been.
- “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). By changing the title, Austen added “philosophical depth” to what began as a sketch of two characters.
- The novel, which sold out its first print run of 750 copies in the middle of 1813, marked a success for its author. It had a second print run later that year. It was the first Austen title to be republished in England after her death, and the first illustrated Austen book produced in Britain, in Richard Bentley’s Standard Novels series of 1833. The novel has been in continuous publication since 1811, and has many times been illustrated, excerpted, abridged, and adapted for stage, film, and television.
- Jane Austen wrote the first draft of the novel in the form of a novel-in-letters (epistolary form) perhaps as early as 1795 when she was about 19 years old, or 1797, at age 21, and is said to have given it the title Elinor and Marianne. She later changed the form to a narrative and the title to Sense and Sensibility.
- Austen drew inspiration for Sense and Sensibility from other novels of the 1790s that treated similar themes, including Adam Stevenson’s Life and Love (1785) which he had written about himself and a relationship that was not meant to be. Jane West’s A Gossip’s Story (1796), 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.
- Austen may have drawn on her knowledge of Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India, in her portrayal of Colonel Brandon. Hastings had been rumoured to be the biological father of Austen’s cousin Eliza de Feuillide. Linda Robinson Walker argues that Hastings “haunts Sense and Sensibility in the character of Colonel Brandon”: both left for India at the age of seventeen; Hastings may have had an illegitimate daughter named Eliza; both Hastings and Brandon participated in a duel.
- Austen biographer Claire Tomalin argues that Sense and Sensibility has a “wobble in its approach”, which developed because Austen, in the course of writing the novel, gradually became less certain about whether sense or sensibility should triumph. Austen characterises Marianne as a sweet person with attractive qualities: intelligence, musical talent, frankness, and the capacity to love deeply. She also acknowledges that Willoughby, with all his faults, continues to love and, in some measure, appreciate Marianne. For these reasons, some readers find Marianne’s ultimate marriage to Colonel Brandon an unsatisfactory ending.
- Characters:
- Elinor Dashwood – the sensible and reserved eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Henry Dashwood. She represents the “sense” half of Austen’s title, although not exclusively. She is 19 years old at the beginning of the book. She becomes attached to Edward Ferrars, the brother-in-law of her elder half-brother, John. She sympathetically befriends Colonel Brandon, Marianne’s long-suffering admirer and eventual husband. Always feeling a keen sense of responsibility to her family and friends, she places their welfare and interests above her own and suppresses her own strong emotions in a way that leads others to think she is indifferent or cold-hearted. Ever honourable, she feels she must not reveal Lucy Steele’s secret engagement to Edward, even though it causes her great suffering. While the book’s narrative style is 3rd person omniscient, it is Elinor’s viewpoint that is primarily reflected. Thus, the description of most of the novel’s characters and events reflects Elinor’s thoughts and insights.
- Marianne Dashwood – the romantically inclined and eagerly expressive second daughter of Mr and Mrs Henry Dashwood. Her emotional excesses identify her as the “sensibility” of the book’s title, although again, not exclusively (at the time, “sensibility” meant driven primarily by one’s emotions). She is 16 years old at the beginning of the book. She is the object of the attentions of Colonel Brandon and Mr Willoughby. She is attracted to young, handsome, romantically spirited Willoughby and does not think much of the older, more reserved Colonel Brandon. Marianne undergoes the most development within the book, learning that her sensibilities have been selfish. She decides that her conduct should be more like that of her elder sister, Elinor.
- Edward Ferrars – the elder of Fanny Dashwood’s two brothers. He forms an attachment to Elinor Dashwood. Years before meeting the Dashwoods, Ferrars proposed to Lucy Steele, the niece of his tutor. The engagement has been kept secret owing to the expectation that Ferrars’ family would object to his marrying Miss Steele, who has no fortune. He is disowned by his mother on discovery of the engagement after refusing, out of a sense of duty, to give it up.
- John Willoughby – a philandering nephew of a neighbour of the Middletons, a dashing figure who charms Marianne and shares her artistic and cultural sensibilities. It is generally presumed by many of their mutual acquaintances that he is engaged to marry Marianne (partly due to her own overly familiar actions); however, he abruptly ends his acquaintance with the family and leaves just when an engagement with Marianne seems imminent. It is later revealed that he becomes engaged to the wealthy Sophia Grey because of the ending of financial support from his aunt. He is also contrasted by Austen as being “a man resembling ‘the hero of a favourite story'”.
- Colonel Brandon – a close friend of Sir John Middleton. 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 father’s ward, Eliza, whom he loved when he was young. He was prevented from marrying Eliza because his father was determined that she should marry Brandon’s older brother. Brandon was sent into the military abroad to be away from her, and while he was gone, Eliza suffered numerous misfortunes, partly as a consequence of her unhappy marriage. She finally died penniless and disgraced, and with a “natural” (i.e., extramarital) daughter, also named Eliza, who becomes the ward of the Colonel. He is a very honourable friend to the Dashwoods, particularly Elinor, and offers Edward Ferrars a living after Edward is disowned by his mother.
- Henry Dashwood – a wealthy gentleman who dies at the beginning of the story. The terms on which he inherited his estate and his own death soon after prevent him from leaving anything of substance to his second wife and their children. He extracts a promise from John, his son by his first wife, to look after (meaning ensure the financial security of) his second wife and their three daughters.
- Mrs Dashwood – this name always refers to the second wife of Henry Dashwood. She is left in difficult financial straits by the death of her husband. She is 40 years old at the beginning of the book. Much like her daughter Marianne, she is very emotive and often makes poor decisions based on emotion rather than reason.
- Margaret Dashwood – the youngest daughter of Mr and Mrs Henry Dashwood. She is thirteen at the beginning of the book. She is also romantic and good-tempered but not expected to be as clever as her sisters when she grows older.
- John Dashwood – the son of Henry Dashwood by Henry’s first wife. He initially intends to do well by his half-sisters, but he has a keen sense of avarice, and is easily swayed by his wife to ignore his deathbed promise to his father and leaves the Dashwood women in genteel poverty.
- Fanny Dashwood – the wife of John Dashwood, always referred to as “Mrs. John Dashwood” or “Fanny Dashwood” – not to conflict with “Mrs. Dashwood” (above) – and sister to Edward and Robert Ferrars. She is vain, selfish, and snobbish. She spoils her son Harry. She is very harsh to her husband’s half-sisters and stepmother, especially since she fears her brother Edward is attached to Elinor.
- Sir John Middleton – a distant relative of Mrs Dashwood who, after the death of Henry Dashwood, invites her and her three daughters to live in a cottage on his property. Described as a wealthy, sporting man who served in the army with Colonel Brandon, he is very affable and keen to throw frequent parties, picnics, and other social gatherings to bring together the young people in the area. He and his mother-in-law, Mrs Jennings, make a jolly, teasing, and gossipy pair with no sense of how their meddling embarrasses others.
- Lady Middleton – the genteel, but reserved wife of Sir John Middleton, she is quieter than her husband, and is primarily concerned with mothering her four spoiled children.
- Mrs Jennings – mother to Lady Middleton and Charlotte Palmer. A widow who has married off all her children, she spends most of her time visiting her daughters and their families, especially the Middletons. She and her son-in-law, Sir John Middleton, take an active interest in the romantic affairs of the young people around them and seek to encourage suitable matches, often to the particular chagrin of Elinor and Marianne.
- Robert Ferrars – the shallow younger brother of Edward Ferrars and Fanny Dashwood, he is most concerned about status, fashion, and his new barouche. He subsequently marries Miss Lucy Steele after Edward is disinherited.
- Mrs Ferrars – Fanny Dashwood and Edward and Robert Ferrars’ mother. She is a bad-tempered, unsympathetic woman. She is determined that her sons should marry well. She disowns her eldest son for his engagement to Lucy Steele but her youngest son later marries the very same woman.
- Charlotte Palmer – the daughter of Mrs Jennings and the younger sister of Lady Middleton, Mrs Palmer is pleasant and friendly but quite silly, and laughs at inappropriate things, such as her husband’s continual rudeness to her and to others.
- Thomas Palmer – the husband of Charlotte Palmer who is running for a seat in Parliament, but is idle, sarcastic and often rude. While obviously bored with and barely tolerant of his silly wife, he is more considerate toward the Dashwood sisters.
- Lucy Steele – (never called “Miss Steele”) a young, distant relation of Mrs Jennings, who has for some time been secretly engaged to Edward Ferrars. She assiduously cultivates the friendship of Elinor Dashwood and her mother. Attractive but limited in formal education and financial means, she affects affable innocence but is actually manipulative and scheming.
- Anne “Nancy” Steele – (often called “Miss Steele”) Lucy Steele’s elder, socially-inept, and less clever sister.
- Mr Harris – an apothecary who treats Marianne when she falls ill at Cleveland.
- Miss Sophia Grey – a wealthy heiress whom Mr Willoughby marries to retain his expensive lifestyle after he is disinherited by his aunt.
- Miss Morton – wealthy daughter of Lord Morton – whom Mrs Ferrars wants her eldest son, Edward, and later Robert, to marry.
- Mr Pratt – an uncle of Lucy Steele and Edward’s tutor.
- Eliza Williams (Jr.) (daughter) – the ward of Col. Brandon, she is about 15 years old and bore an illegitimate child to John Willoughby. She has the same name as her mother.
- Eliza Williams (Sr.) (mother) – the former love interest of Colonel Brandon. Williams was Brandon’s father’s ward, and was forced by him to marry Brandon’s older brother. The marriage was an unhappy one, and it is revealed that her daughter was left as Colonel Brandon’s ward when he found his lost love dying in a poorhouse.
- Mrs Smith – the wealthy aunt of Mr Willoughby who disowns him for seducing and abandoning the young Eliza Williams, Col. Brandon’s ward.
- Plot:
- Henry Dashwood, his second wife, and their three daughters live for many years with Henry’s wealthy bachelor uncle at Norland Park, a large country estate in Sussex. That uncle decides, in late life, to will the use and income only of his property first to Henry, then to Henry’s first son (by his first marriage) John Dashwood, so that the property should pass intact to John’s four-year-old son Harry. The uncle dies, but Henry lives just a year after that and he is unable in such short time to save enough money for the future security of his wife Mrs Dashwood, and their daughters, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret, who are left only a small income. On his deathbed, Mr Henry Dashwood extracts a promise from his son John to take care of his half-sisters. But before Henry is long in the grave, John’s greedy wife, Fanny, persuades her husband to renege on the promise, appealing to his concerns about diminishing his own son Harry’s inheritance, despite the fact that John is already independently wealthy thanks to both his inheritance from his mother and his wife’s dowry. Henry Dashwood’s love for his second family is also used by Fanny to arouse her husband’s jealousy, and persuade him not to help his sisters financially.
- John and Fanny immediately move in as the new owners of Norland, where the Dashwood women are treated as unwelcome guests by a spiteful Fanny. Mrs Dashwood seeks somewhere else to live. In the meantime, Fanny’s brother, Edward Ferrars, visits Norland and is attracted to Elinor. Fanny disapproves of their budding romance, and offends Mrs Dashwood by implying that Elinor must be motivated by his expectations of coming into money.
- Mrs Dashwood moves her family to Barton Cottage in Devonshire, near the home of her cousin, Sir John Middleton. Their new home is modest, but they are warmly received by Sir John and welcomed into local society, meeting his wife, Lady Middleton; his mother-in-law, the garrulous but well-meaning Mrs Jennings; and his friend, Colonel Brandon. Colonel Brandon is attracted to Marianne, and Mrs Jennings teases them about it. Marianne is not pleased, as she considers the thirty-five-year-old Colonel Brandon an old bachelor, incapable of falling in love or inspiring love in anyone.
- While out for a walk, Marianne gets caught in the rain, slips, and sprains her ankle. The dashing John Willoughby sees the accident and assists her, picking her up and carrying her back to her home. After this, Marianne quickly comes to admire his good looks and his similar tastes in poetry, music, art, and love. His attentions, and Marianne’s behaviour, lead Elinor and Mrs Dashwood to suspect that the couple are secretly engaged. Elinor cautions Marianne against her unguarded conduct, but Marianne refuses to check her emotions. Willoughby engages in several intimate activities with Marianne, including taking her to see the home he expects to inherit one day and obtaining a lock of her hair. When the announcement of an engagement seems imminent, Willoughby instead informs the Dashwoods that his aunt, upon whom he is financially dependent due to his debts, is sending him to London on business, indefinitely. Marianne is distraught and abandons herself to her sorrow.
- Edward Ferrars pays a short visit to Barton Cottage, but seems unhappy. Elinor fears that he no longer has feelings for her, but she will not show her heartache. After Edward departs, sisters Anne and Lucy Steele, vulgar cousins of Mrs. Jennings, come to stay at Barton Park. Lucy informs Elinor in confidence of her secret four-year engagement to Edward Ferrars that started when he was studying with her uncle, and she displays proof of their intimacy. Elinor realises that Lucy’s visit and revelations are the result of her jealousy and cunning calculation, and it helps Elinor to understand Edward’s recent sadness and behaviour towards her. She acquits Edward of blame and pities him for being held to a loveless engagement to Lucy by his sense of honour.
- Elinor and Marianne accompany Mrs Jennings to London. On arriving, Marianne rashly writes several personal letters to Willoughby, which go unanswered. When they meet by chance at a dance, Willoughby is with another woman. He greets Marianne reluctantly and coldly, to her extreme distress. She leaves the party completely distraught. Soon Marianne receives a curt letter enclosing their former correspondence and love tokens, including the lock of her hair. Willoughby is revealed to be engaged to a young lady, Miss Grey, who has a large fortune. Marianne is devastated. After Elinor reads the letter, Marianne admits to Elinor that she and Willoughby were never engaged. She behaved as if they were because she knew she loved him and thought that he loved her.
- As Marianne grieves, Colonel Brandon visits and reveals to Elinor that Willoughby seduced, impregnated, then abandoned Brandon’s young ward, Miss Eliza Williams. Willoughby’s aunt subsequently disinherited him, and so, in great personal debt, he chose to marry Miss Grey for her money. Eliza is the illegitimate daughter of Brandon’s first love, also called Eliza, a young woman who was his father’s ward and an heiress. She was forced into an unhappy marriage to Brandon’s elder brother, in order to shore up the family’s finances, and that marriage ended in scandal and divorce while Brandon was abroad with the Army. After Colonel Brandon’s father and brother died, he inherited the family estate and returned to find Eliza dying in a pauper’s home, so Brandon took charge of raising her young daughter. Brandon tells Elinor that Marianne strongly reminds him of the elder Eliza for her sincerity and sweet impulsiveness. Brandon removed the younger Eliza to the country, and reveals to Elinor all of these details in the hope that Marianne could get some consolation in discovering Willoughby’s true character.
- Meanwhile, the Steele sisters have come to London. After a brief acquaintance, they are asked to stay at John and Fanny Dashwood’s London house. Lucy sees the invitation as a personal compliment, rather than what it is: a slight to Elinor and Marianne who, being family, should have received such an invitation first. Too talkative, Anne Steele betrays to Fanny Lucy’s secret engagement to Edward Ferrars. As a result, the sisters are turned out of the house, and Edward is ordered by his wealthy mother to break off the engagement on pain of disinheritance. Edward, still sensitive of the dishonour of a broken engagement and how it would reflect poorly on Lucy Steele, refuses to comply. He is immediately disinherited in favour of his brother, Robert, which gains Edward respect for his conduct and sympathy from Elinor and Marianne. Colonel Brandon shows his admiration by offering Edward the clerical living of the Delaford parsonage, so to enable him to marry Lucy after he is ordained.
- Mrs Jennings takes Elinor and Marianne to the country to visit her second daughter, Mrs. Charlotte Palmer, at her husband’s estate, Cleveland, on their way back to their home in Devonshire. Marianne, still in misery over Willoughby’s marriage, goes walking in the rain and becomes dangerously ill. She is diagnosed with putrid fever, and it is believed that her life is in danger. Elinor writes to Mrs. Dashwood to explain the gravity of the situation, and Colonel Brandon volunteers to go and bring Marianne’s mother to Cleveland to be with her. In the night, Willoughby arrives and reveals to Elinor that his love for Marianne was genuine and that losing her has made him miserable. He elicits Elinor’s pity because his choice has made him unhappy, but she is disgusted by the callous way in which he talks of Miss Williams and his own wife. He also reveals that his aunt said she would have forgiven him if he married Miss Williams but that he had refused.
- Marianne recovers from her illness, and Elinor tells her of Willoughby’s visit. Marianne realizes she could never have been happy with Willoughby’s immoral, erratic, and inconsiderate ways. She values Elinor’s more moderated conduct with Edward and resolves to model herself after her courage and good sense. Edward later arrives and reveals that, after his disinheritance, Lucy jilted him in favour of his now wealthy younger brother, Robert. Elinor is overjoyed. Edward and Elinor marry, and later Marianne marries Colonel Brandon, having gradually come to love him. The two couples live as neighbours, with sisters and husbands in harmony with each other. Willoughby considers Marianne as his ideal but the narrator tells the reader not to suppose that he was never happy.
Sense and Sensibility (1811) – Jane Austen
About the Author: Abirlal Mukherjee (Mukhopadhyay)
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