Book Report - Sense and Sensibility 1.) In Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, the title is a metaphor for the two main characters Elinor and Marianne. Elinor represents sense and Marianne represents sensibility.We find out early that Elinor does not share her feelings. When Edward comes into the story, there was an immediate attraction. She tells no one of her feelings. It was just assumed that they are meant for each other. When Edward has to leave, Elinor says nothing.
Edward does promise he will come down and give Margaret an atlas. When the atlas comes and not Edward, the one who ends up crying was Margaret and not Elinor. We do learn, however, that Elinor can get emotional too. When Marianne was playing the piano at their new cottage, Elinor cries as she listens. She said the song was her late father's favorite. Later on in the story, Marianne kept on nagging Elinor for not sharing her feelings.
Finally, Elinor shows her emotions by telling her that she did have a broken heart after she found out that Edward had a fiancee - Lucy. Elinor would definitely represent sense. She keeps her thoughts to herself. Maybe it is because she thinks she will not end up hurting so bad as Marianne did.
Marianne, on the other hand, represents sensibility. She follows her heart. She does not let anything come in the way of showing her emotions. When she first met Colonel Brandon, it is obvious that he was in love with her at first sight.
Marianne, shows very clear that she was not interested in such an old man like him. However, when Marianne meets Willoghby, it was like a hero rescuing his princess. They fall in love with each other. Marianne does not hide her emotions about Willoughby to anyone, However, in the society that they were in, Willoughby did not think he could marry Marianne because of the social class. In the end, this almost kills Marianne.
As Marianne realizes that the Colonel has always been there, she falls in love with him. 2.) My favorite character is Colonel Brandon. I think in a way he is very much like Elinor. He does not show his emotions a whole lot, but he does talk to people about his problems.
There were so many instances when he asks Elinor about the relationship between Marianne and Willoughby. He was always depressed to hear and to know that there was no way of getting his lover from Willoughby. However, that does not stop his ...
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...old. I also learned that when things do not turn out the way we expected, or when things all the sudden turn down-side, we should react with calmness and composure and not just cry and burst out with our immediate feelings. Patience is the keyword.
With patience it is much easier to deal with painful situations. Most of the time, it turns out pretty well if you can think optimistically'. J6.) Yes, I am glad I read this book because it is one of the well-known classics. I see no harm only benefits in reading a book. Sense and Sensibility has given me a better understanding of the women and lifestyle during that time-period. Most of the women back then are pretty much like Elinor and Marianne.
Education for them wasn't viewed as highly as now. It seems their parents just want to marry them off to some rich and upper class man so that they may lead a luxurious life without bothering their parents anymore. Also, women back then are a lot more artistic than women now. Most of them play the piano "really" well; if not, they have some sort of other artistic talents. Personally, I'm glad I am born late in this century. I do not know how I could survive if I lived back then!!
...to Marianne, nor can I suppose it a relief to your own conscience." Elinor does not condone his behavior and tells him that he cannot make himself feel better by making someone else look or feel worse than himself. Elinor has seen through him.
Passage One, portrays the relationship between Marianne and Willoughby. Marianne was blinded by her love, ‘He was exactly formed to engage Marianne’s heart.’ Marianne is someone who can show no concern for wealth if she believes she has found true love. Willoughby was estimated to be ‘Faultless as in Marianne’ Willoughby was all that Marianne fancied, her affection for him was beyond everything else. This is rather ironic for Willoughby the man she loves holds a wholly contradicting viewpoint on the matter. Willoughby is willing to sacrifice even the greatest of loves if it cannot secure status and wealth.
Elinor and Marianne responded differently to love with the first being more reserved while the latter was blatantly obvious about her devotion. Their response to heartbreak also differed as Elinor kept her feelings to herself, but others could easily deduce that Marianne was upset since she did not hide her emotions. The audience if left to believe that Elinor will not marry Edgar and Marianne will die from heartbreak; however, the play ends with a deus ex machina. Elinor and Edgar get married after he breaks his engagement. Marianne also get a happy ending as she marries the Colonel (Jeffrey Cornell) who cared for her since he first met
lucy steele plays a major role in sense and sensibility as she is the climax of the plot as she had already been engaged to edward for 5 years which conflicts elinors love for edward as welll as edwards love for elinor. lucy steele's character is a support character for elinor dashwood due to the fact that elinor is able to show her sense while lucy tells her about her engagement to edward and elinor also gets to show composure when telling edward about the help that colonel brandon was giving to edward and lucy so that they may be wed without many issues as before. auste utilizes lucy in such a way as to give edward a double identity by showing that edward has secrets as well as showing some conflict in edwards character as well by submerging
In closing, it must be stated that there are certainly other structural dichotomies within the novel, contrasts of high and low which bisect the lateral distinctions upon which I have focused. These involve the shifts in social stations experienced by various characters such as Elinor, Marianne, Lucy, and Edward. These are, however, secondary to the primary theme, the seemingly impassable, yawning chasm which separates those with sense from those possessed by mere trivial sensibility
Darcy begins to reexamine his corrupt tone, motives, and the consequential end result of his proposal. In reviewing this, he has a change of heart and proceeds to assist in the reunion of Jane and Mr. Bingley and in the locating of Lydia from Wickham. Through these generous actions, Mr. Darcy proves he does care deeply about Elizabeth and his feelings for Elizabeth are true. Proposing a second time, Mr. Darcy completely changes his approach and therefore hopes for a different outcome. This second proposal catches Elizabeth off guard, yet she does have a more docile reaction than she did to the first proposal. Mr. Darcy’s true love for Elizabeth shines through in the sincere and loving tone of his proposal. Also, he apologizes to Elizabeth for his former arrogance, extreme pride, and rudeness in his prior proposal. Not only does his tone shift, he now has a new set of motives to support his proposal. Mr. Darcy explains to Elizabeth how fervently he loves her and how he does not care about money or social status as much as his love for her. Unlike the last proposal, he is not sure of what her answer will be, but this only causes the proposal to be more sincere. Mr. Darcy also does not want to pressure Elizabeth into marriage, so he tells her, “‘If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever.’” (314). She then informs
Gwendolen and Cecily act like air-heads and are easily won over by the men they plan to marry. Gwendolen simply wants to marry a man named Earnest. She tells Jack “my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest” (I.381-82). The mere idea of marrying a man for his name shows how easily Gwendolen can attach herself to a man. Marriage is the most serious of all relationships and Gwendolen is foolish to deter...
Throughout Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett faces many challenges to realize that she was in the wrong and her prejudice against Mr. Darcy was misguided. Austen emphasizes the importance of wisdom through Elizabeth who faces the challenge of overcoming her prejudiced judgement to reach maturity and recognize the man she loves.
In many of Jane Austen’s novels, women are often portrayed as very passionate and strong characters, much more so than the men. The novel Sense and Sensibility, in particular, contains multiple female leads that display different aspects of a woman and her approach on life’s many decisions. Elinor Dashwood, for example, made her decisions and acted on her sense, making her a strong character especially when her emotions are tested. Marianne Dashwood, on the other hand, made all of her choices solely based on her emotions rather than sense, which is what made her seem weak as her emotions were tested win the book. Even with these two very different mindsets between the two sisters, Austen also placed a lot of cunning women into the story such as Lucy Steele and Fanny Dashwood that display how strong and zealous women can be compared to men.
What role does gossip have in society? What significance does it have in the formation of both disputes and disclosures? Gossip is commonly believed to be a cause of conflict between individuals in society; however, one can assert that it can also be beneficial via means of influence. In being influenced, people can harness the gossip for their benefit. Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility approaches gossip in a way that shows how it can both resolve and initiate conflicts within the novel’s plot. By exemplifying gossip from this approach, Austen’s novel encapsulates it’s both detrimental and beneficial uses. Gossip exacerbates emerging conflicts because of the both positive or negative influences it has on characters’ perceptions of each other. I will argue that the novel uses conflict-causing and conflict-resolving properties of gossip as a device for moving and turning the plot, demonstrating that to understand the novel, we have to also understand that social conversations, even the most idle and frivolous ones, are what push the plot; the things that are most important in Austen’s world — reputation, marriage, social relationships — are extremely vulnerable to influence by gossip. In this essay, I will analyze three moments of gossip that exemplify consequences of conflict-causing, conflict-resolving, and both, respectively.
In her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen brought to life the struggles and instability of the English hierarchy in the early 19th century. Through the heartaches and happiness shared by Elinor Dashwood, who represented sense and her sister Marianne, who stood for sensibility, Austen tells a story of sisters who plummet from the upper class to the lower crust of society and the characters that surround them. Austen juxtaposes the upper and lower classes in English society to give the reader a full understanding of the motivation to be a part of the upper class and the sacrifices one will give up to achieve such status. Austen exposes the corruptness of society, the significance of class and the fundamental building blocks both are to the decision-making surrounding her protagonists, Marianne and Elinor.
Austen was a recondite writer with a new inside perspective with an outside view on life in the early 19th century. Born on December 16, 1775, Austen was a curious child given the unseal luxury of an education. Her father was a part of the gentry class and raised a family of ten, but was not well off by any means (Grochowski). Sense and Sensibility, written by Jane Austen, tells a dramatic story of three sisters and their emotional journey where they encounter love and betrayal. Because Jane Austen was raised in a liberal family and received a comprehensive education, her dramatic analysis of societal behavior in Sense and Sensibility was comparable to the hidden truths of social and class distinctions in 18th and 19th century Europe.
Through remarkably realistic characters like Elinor, Marianne, Fanny, Lucy, and Col. Brandon, Austen brings our attention to the way we should and should not act. She highlights sense’s importance, but insists that sensibility must temper it. These lessons, as much as the compelling stories, explain why Austen’s work is still relevant today. Read her works; learn what she teaches; strive to live your life in a way that unites sense and
Contrary to the stereotypical woman of the Victorian culture, both female characters Gwendolen and Cecily become instigators of love, from influencing the proposal to composing their own love letters from their lovers. Gwendolen affirms her forwardness in romantic matters when she exclaims to Jack who is hesitant about proposing, “I am afraid you have had very little experience in how to propose” (Powell, 132). Not only do the ladies have a skewed view of marriage and their responsibilities within that relationship, but the men do as well. Algernon says of proposals, “I really don’t see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted” (Ericksen, 150). He clearly has a skewed view of marriage. When it comes to Lady Bracknell, her view of marriage is primarily concerned with money and sometimes concerned with social respectability. When questioning Jack about the potential of marrying Gwendolen, she focuses on typically irrelevant characteristics. Lady Bracknell says of Jack’s confession to his tendency to smoke, “I am glad to hear it. A man should always have an occupation of some kind” (Greenblat, 539-540). She goes on to take interest in such things as his knowledge and education, finances, and family
Throughout Jane Austen’s lifetime her most treasured relationship was with her older sister, Cassandra. Neither sister was married, though both were engaged, and their correspondences provide Austenian scholars with many insights. Austen began working on her manuscript for Sense and Sensibility the same year that Cassandra’s fiancé, Tom Fowle, passed away. Although there is no evidence to prove that Jane wrote Sense and Sensibility with her sister in mind, it is evident that she writes of a familial bond that she certainly felt with Cassandra. Many readers think of Jane Austen as a writer with a penchant for constructing sparkling, but Sense and Sensibility goes against that framework, providing us with underwhelming romances, overshadowed by the sisters’ relationship. Claudia Johnson argues that the reason Sense and Sensibility was not a huge critical success was because, “Pride and Prejudice was the model for what a novel by Jane Austen ought to be, and, set against that model, Sense and Sensibility came short,’ (Johnson, Sense and Sensibility, ix). As its title suggests, Sense and Sensibility is a novel about the intertwining of sense and sensibility in life, love and family. According to Cassandra, the roots of Sense and Sensibility can be found in an epistolary novel called Elinor and Marianne, which, most likely written in 1795, documented the correspondences between two sisters separated by marriage (Pride and Prejudice 407). In the late 1790s Austen rewrote this novel into the third person. Sense and Sensibility was met with positive criticism, specifically in the “British Critic” and the “Critical Review,” and was praised primarily for the characters and the morality which governed the story. Widely regarded as the most d...