Achieving a Balanced Life in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
We are often told that too much of anything can be a bad thing. Even Aristotle, one of the greatest thinkers of all time, insisted that the only path to real contentment and inner peace is "The Golden Mean" (Funk & Wagnalls 328). This life lesson is learned by two of Jane Austen's most well-known characters. Only when Elinor and Marianne Dashwood achieve a balance between Sense and Sensibility do they find true happiness in their lives.
The dichotomy between "sense" and "sensibility" is one of the lenses through which Austen's Sense and Sensibility is most commonly analyzed. This distinction is most clearly symbolized by the psychological contrast between the novel's two main characters. Elinor, the older of the two, represents qualities of "sense," such as reason, restraint, social responsibility, and a clear-headed concern for the welfare of others. In contrast, Marianne, her younger sister, represents the qualities of "sensibility," such as emotion, spontaneity, impulsiveness, and rapturous devotion. As both Elinor and Marianne suffer disappointments in love, they undergo transformations that bring each character closer to the other in behavior and personality. Elinor, the epitome of all that is proper and conventional, begins to show emotions, traits that appeared to have been hidden within her. Marianne, the over-reacting and highly emotional young lady, evolves into a more mature and dignified woman. In the final analysis we find that only when these two young women achieve a balance in their lives, can they truly enjoy a peaceful existence. In other words, the novel's success is a result not of the triumph of sense over sensibility, or sensibilit...
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...rself as a mature and responsible young woman. By adapting some of each other's traits but maintaining some of their own, these women have achieved the necessary balance. Perhaps Yasmine Gooneratne says it best when she writes, "The complete human personality needs certain qualities in balanced proportion. Sense and sensibility, reason and passion, mind and heart, complement each other" (73). This is "The Golden Mean".
Works Cited
"Aristotle." Funk and Wagnallas New Encyclopedia. 1992. 328.
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. New York: Doherty, 1995.
Gooneratane, Yasmine. Jane Austen. London: Cambridge, 1970. 73.
Mansell, Darrel. The Novels of Jane Austen: An Interpretation. London: Macmillian, 1973. 66.
Reinstein, P. Gila. "Moral Priorities in 'Sense and Sensibility'." Renascence 35.4 (Summer 1983): 269-83. (I found this using the MLA Database)
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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.
Although, within the U.N. Charter of 1945, Article 2(4) prohibits the use of force against ‘the territorial integrity or political independence of any state’ (U.N. Charter, art.2 para.4), it has been suggested by counter-restrictionist international lawyers, that humanitarian intervention does not fall under these criteria, making it legally justifiable under the U.N. Charter (e.g. Damrosch 1991:219 in Baylis and Smith 2001: 481). However, this viewpoint lacks credibility, as it is far from the general international consensus, and unlikely the initial intentions of the draftsmen of the charter. In more recent times, one can examine the emerging doctrine of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’(RtoP), which was adopted unanimously by the UN in 2005, as a far more persuasive example of modern legitimacy of humanitarian intervention. While not consolidated within international law, RtoP, which promotes humanitarian intervention where sovereign states fail in their own responsibility to protect their citizens, does use legal language and functions as a comprehensive international framework to prevent human rights
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Some novels written back then from authors have made huge impacts on authors today. The novel “Sense and Sensibility” is an astounding story that was able to enhance their readers point of view towards love, greed, and most importantly family. The novel presents the audience with extraordinary characters that created an experience of something similar to today’s society. Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in Stevenson, England. Where her family was close and her parents were well respected community members. Austen’s novels Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility are literary classics, linking the break between romance and realism. She has written this novel with sorts of different themes that’ll encourage the readers to look deeper into her writing. That not only has love been a huge concern to the characters, but Austen has a way to bring the readers to understand greed and how family works out well in the story.
Obviously, food and wine tourism brings some impacts on the destinations. In the report, we will introduce from three main points of impacts which are economic impact, environment impact and culture impact. Meanwhile, there are some other impacts will be mentioned in this report although they only apply a few effect on the destination. First of all, we will introduce the economic impacts of the food and wine tourism, this tourism brings series of relevant industries. For example, hotel,restaurant, rent a car and guide tour. As we all know, with the developing of tourism industry, an increasing number of people will come to the destination, that means they need more space to live, eat and enjoy the views of that destination. At the meantime,the