Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility was my first Jane Austen novel, for the simple reason that it leads off the one-volume edition of her works that I was able to snag for about 30 cents at a library booksale. I had no idea it would be the gateway to an immersive new world I had not previously imagined (and when I say immersive, I mean it; I finished this one-volume edition of Austen's six novels plus Lady Susan over the course of the following two weeks).

The plot is well known and tells the story of the Dashwood family, a mother and three daughters left nearly destitute by the death of Mr. Dashwood and the laws that precluded their inheriting any significant portion of his fortune. The two elder Miss Dashwoods, Elinor and Marianne, must find a way show more to live in a world that afforded women very few options. The two sisters could not be more different: Elinor orders her life and behavior according to common sense, while Marianne is ruled by her sensibilities and emotions. Their adventures and misadventures in love and the world of fashion during the Regency is beautifully rendered, with layers of meaning and thought and humor under even the smallest interactions and conversations. I never knew someone could write like this.

Pride and Prejudice seems the obligatory favorite of Austen's novels and I do love it very much, but Sense and Sensibility will always vie for first place in my Austenian affections. Imagine reading Austen with no background knowledge, no movie versions in your head, no knowing what the characters are going to do or where the plot is going to go. It was an amazing literary experience and one that cannot be manufactured. Five stars isn't enough to express my love for this novel. I will simply say: thank you, Jane Austen. show less

I have read this book many times, and I still enjoy it. The characters of the sisters Elinor and Marianne people I would like to meet. Austen's genius is in her characters, and her deft maneuvering of them as she utilizes them to comment on culture and society.

The only things I find disappointing in this novel are the relationships at the end. I think Elinor and Colonel Brandon are much better suited to each other. Edward is so inarticulate and emasculated that it's hard to see what she sees in him.

It's interesting to see how everyone changes their tunes about Willoughby. His actions are reprehensible, yet when he expresses remorse (doing nothing to alleviate the injuries his actions have caused) even Elinor softens toward him. No! The show more man is a charming sociopath. He showed everyone who he was. show less

this may be austen's funniest book, and the middle volume is a mile-per-minute social drama of the highest calibre, just endlessly riveting. but my hot take is that elinor should've ended up with brandon and marianne with edward, since those were the more interesting conversations to read throughout the novel, and i felt a little meh about the ending because i knew what was coming, lol

93/2020. Not as laugh aloud farcically amusing as P&P but the denouement does include several of the bitchiest lines Austen ever published, including this gem about Edward Ferrars: "[...] after experiencing the blessings of *one* imprudent engagement, contracted without his mother's consent, as he had already done for more than four years, nothing less could be expected of him in the failure of *that*, than the immediate contraction of another."

Interestingly, I have far more sympathy for Marianne now than when I eye-rolled my way through reading S&S as a set book as a teenager at school. With the hindsight of age and experience I've also realised that Elinor isn't nearly as sensible as she thinks she is. However, I always knew that show more Colonel Brandon > Edward Ferrars. And why wasn't there a Mrs Jennings in my life when I was a teenager? I would've appreciated her far more than Elinor or Marianne did!

Reading notes

"probabilities and proofs" sound like a missing Blackadder the Third episode about maths. Why isn't there a maths themed romance novel with this title? I'd read it!

Lol 1: "His temper might perhaps be a little soured by finding, like many others of his sex, that through some unaccountable bias in favour of beauty, he was the husband of a very silly woman, - but she knew that this kind of blunder was too common for any sensible man to be lastingly hurt by it."

Lol 2: "Well, it is the oddest thing to me, that a man should use such a pretty girl so ill! But when there is plenty of money on one side, and next to none on the other, Lord bless you! they care no more about such things!"

I still find Edward's wanton scissor-destruction both distressing and offensive. What a spoiled brat he is! (At least they weren't embroidery scissors.) show less

Sense and Sensibility is a lot like a Fast & Furious movie, except there are no supercar races, gun fights, fist fights, robbery, and scantily clad girls. Come to think of it Sense and Sensibility is nothing like a Fast & Furious movie. I just had no idea how to start off the review.

Actually Sense and Sensibility is (seriously now) a lot like [b: Pride and Prejudice|1885|Pride and Prejudice|Jane Austen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320399351s/1885.jpg|3060926]. What with the sisters, one stoic and worldly, one a little wild, impulsive and naive, not to mention the youngest one who is the Maggie Simpson* of the family and does not have much to do. Then we have the nice but immediately friendzoned gentlemen, the handsome cad and the show more twittering mom with the dollar GBP sign popping up in her eyes when considering her daughters’ matrimonial prospects.

In all fairness to Ms. Austen, the two books are not that similar, Sense and Sensibility is her debut novel and she later used some of the same elements to write her magnum opus (“Pride” that is). The book is entirely focussed on the two Dashwood sisters Elinor and Marianne and their felicitous relationships with men. This is not the kind of book you should put through the Bechdel test because the ladies herein very seldom talk about anything else except the men in their lives. Still, you never have to wonder what the ladies in this book do in their spare time because all their time seems to be spare time, [a: Thomas Hardy|15905|Thomas Hardy|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1429946281p2/15905.jpg]’s heroines seem to have much harder and more productive lives. Still, I don’t want to put too much of a negative spin on Sense and Sensibility because it is a pleasure to read in spite of its flaws and low stakes.

Jane Austen is brilliant at writing silly, twittering, meddling women who actually mean well but never stop talking except when they are listening through the door and completely misunderstanding the snatches of conversation they could hear. Mrs. Jennings, a friend of the family, is my favorite character in the book, she can always be relied upon to hilariously bark up the wrong tree. Curiously characterization is both a strength and a weakness of this book. The “good guys”, namely Edward Ferrars and Colonel Brandon, are awfully dull, semi-zombified gentlemen. Whereas Willoughby the cad is lively and always game for a laugh. Sir John Dashwood, who is somewhat of an antagonist, is not so lively but he is hilariously tactless and shallow. Our two heroines are both too nice and are no match for the almost-femme fatale Lucy Steele.

Jane Austen is at her best when she is skewering people in polite society and terribly inhibited gents:
“The nature of her commendation, in the present case, however, happened to be particularly ill-suited to the feelings of two thirds of her auditors, and was so very unexhilarating to Edward, that he very soon got up to go away”

Unexhilarating! LOL! Then there is this bit which is worthy of a high five:

“she did not really like them at all. Because they neither flattered herself nor her children, she could not believe them good-natured; and because they were fond of reading, she fancied them satirical: perhaps without exactly knowing what it was to be satirical; but THAT did not signify. It was censure in common use, and easily given.”

I started reading Jane Austen to find out what the fuss is about, why do the studios keep adapting her works for films and TV? Initially I did not get it, her storylines always seem inconsequential to me but I have always liked her beautiful prose so I keep coming back to read more. With Sense and Sensibility it finally clicked for me. The snark! Beneath the Victorian politeness and sense of decorium Ms. Austen was a fabulously snarky lady. Having come to this conclusion I am practically ready to join the rank of the Janeites. I already have a bonnet, with several bees in it.

* and her name is Maggie Dashwood! (sort of)
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Notes:
It’s kind of a shame that the multiple Oscars winning 1995 film adaptation cast the excellent Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant as the nice but awfully boring gentlemen. Emma Thompson is spot on as the super competent Elinor Dashwood though, and Kate Winslet is always worth the admission price.

GR's Sense and Sensibility Quotes page is full of pithy lines, I think it misrepresents the books as something overly earnest or serious. Sense and Sensibility is, for me, a hoot.

Special thanks to the fabulous Ms. Karen Savage for her gracious and beautiful narration of the free Librivox audiobook edition of Sense and Sensibility. She could narrate a laundry list and I'd be happy to listen to it. show less

Summary: Austen’s first novel, contrasting two sisters’ approach to love: common sense judgment versus more emotional sympathy.

Jane Austen’s birthday was December 16, 1775. So, the literary world spent the last year celebrating the two-hundred-fiftieth year of her birth. I’m a bit late to the celebration but one of my reading resolutions for 2026 is to read her six major novels, most of her published work. As for reviewing Jane Austen, volumes have been written of each of her books so my “reviews” will be more in the line of first responses to encountering Austen’s work. I’ve not viewed the film portrayals of her work, so my readings truly are first encounters, and no doubt reveal me as an Austen neophyte. Hopefully, I show more will inspire other first time readers as well as her fans.

It surprised me to learn that when Austen published this work, the original edition title page simply said “By a Lady.” It suggests to me the gender challenges she faced. At the same time, to not hide her gender was bold, it seems to me.

The title signifies the main theme of the book: the two approaches to love of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. However, the backdrop of the book concerns money and inheritance as it bears on matters of love. For the Dashwood sisters, this is set up by Henry Dashwood, who asked his son John on his deathbed to provide for his stepmother and stepsisters. But beyond a basic “living,” John’s wife discourages any further help. Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters, including Margaret, the youngest, accept a modest existence. Sir John Middleton ameliorates their straitened circumstances by providing them the use of Barton Cottage and welcoming them to gatherings at Barton Hall. However, their financial condition affects the marriage prospects of the sisters.

This is where sense and sensibility come into play. Elinor is the one with “sense.” She is somewhat diffidently courted by Edward Ferrars. The couple do grow in their friendship and Elinor has hope of more. Edward, as eldest son, has the expectation of a good inheritance. But mother has her sights set higher than Elinor Dashwood. Edward ceases to be in contact, and it appears he is affianced to the socially ambitious Lucy Steele. Elinor comes to a stoic acceptance that she may not marry–except we see hints that in her heart of hearts, she would have it otherwise.

Meanwhile, Marianne, the younger sister, is beautiful, winsome and characterized by “sensibility.” Attraction and connection matter. Through the Middletons, she meets Colonel Brandon. Brandon is more than ten years older and has a respectable estate after a career in military service. He is quiet and “solid” and interested in Marianne. But she has no interest in him. Instead, due to a sprained ankle, she meets John Willoughby. Quickly, they discover common interests, and before long, there are intimations of a forthcoming engagement. Then Willoughby suddenly leaves for London in connection with a financial crisis.

When Sir John Middleton’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings invites the sisters to London, Marianne reaches out to Willoughby but hears nothing. Finally, she learns Willoughby is betrothed to another woman. She is heartbroken, which sends her into a physical as well as emotional tailspin that her sister is powerless to prevent. She contracts a “putrid fever,” her condition so bad that Elinor enlists Colonel Brandon to bring Mrs. Dashwood to her daughter’s bedside.

At this point, things look bad all around for love and even, in Marianne’s case, for life. Neither sense nor sensibility seem to be working out very well. I’m going to leave it at that, as far as the story goes so you can discover how it all works out if you haven’t read the book.

Money and love. One of the things I notice is that this is a relatively monied crowd. There’s no working class here. No women in service. No men who are laborers. The question is whether you are moving up, and for both women and men, marrying into money is a part of the equation. Edward Ferrar’s mother’s purse strings deters him from pursuing Elinor. Willoughby’s finances are shaky. He also needs to marry money.

Sense and sensibility. It seems in the end, the sisters realize a bit of each are important. At the same time, the portrayal of men reveals few men of virtue. Maybe Sir John Middleton, who seems a generous soul. Colonel Brandon is a solid man of integrity, but uninteresting to Marianne. Ferrars is weak through most of the novel. Willoughby is just a flashy cad. As Flannery O’Connor commented in a very different context, “A good man is hard to find.” It’s not surprising there are so many unhappy marriages.

To her credit, Elinor represents a woman strong enough not to settle. She reminds me of a wise woman I knew who married late in life. She said, “it was better to be single and a little lonely, than married to the wrong person and miserable.” Things are different today than in Jane Austen’s time. No doubt she played a small part in that. But her tale of sense and sensibility suggests both are necessary in the making of good marriages. show less

I have always loved Sense and Sensibility best out of all of Jane Austen's novels, no doubt partly because it features the three Dashwood sisters (however invisible young Margaret may be), and I am one of three sisters myself. This tale of sensible Elinor and romantic Marianne, whose differing approaches to life and love are tested throughout the book, features the same sort of contest between desire and duty that gives Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre such power. It is a fitting tribute to Austen's powers as a writer, that although Elinor's "sense" is clearly meant to triumph, Marianne's "sensibility" is portrayed with such loving fondness.

The story of a family of dependent women, whose fate is entirely in the hands of their male show more relatives, I have always found Sense and Sensibility to contain some of Austen's sharpest social criticism. The Dashwood women find themselves unwelcome guests in their own home when John Dashwood inherits the estate at Norland, and are only saved from the unpleasantness of the horrible Fanny by the kindness of Mrs. Dashwood's (male) cousin, Sir John Middleton. I have always found it fascinating that while Austen clearly endorses the more passive role that Elinor stakes out for herself, vis-a-vis romance, she simultaneously offers a very pointed critique of the enforced passivity of women, when it comes to economic activities and inheritance law.

In the end though, for all its philosophical framework and subtle social commentary, Sense an Sensibility is most successful because Austen understands the complicated relations between women, particularly the bond between sisters. show less