Sense and Sensibility Summary
Sense and Sensibility was the first of the Austen novels to be written. It was published in 1811 after it was extensively rewritten. It was then published anonymously and at Jane Austen’s expense. This novel is quite a bit more difficult to read than her other novels. The original draft of this novel was known as Elinor and Marianne and it was written through a series of letters. This story was recalled by her sister Cassandra but there is no surviving manuscript of the draft.
When Mr Dashwood dies, his Norland estate is entailed to his son from his first marriage. This leaves his current wife and 3 daughters and his mercy. John’s greedy wife persuades him to give them very little so they have difficulty finding a new respectable home with their current finances. When the new owners of Norland move in John’s wife’s brother Edward Ferrars comes to visit. During this visit the eldest Dashwood daughter Elinor become very close to him. Fanny Dashwood observed their growing relationship and warns Mrs Dashwood that her mother Mrs Ferrars would not approve of the match and she will cut of his inheritance if he proceeds with the relationship. Mrs Dashwood becomes quite annoyed about Fanny’s comments and resolves to move the family out of Norland as fast as possible. Within the same week she receives news that her cousin heard about their plight and offers them his cottage which they readily accept. On arriving at Barton Park they are introduced to their cousin Sir John Middleton his wife Lady Middleton, their children and also his mother in law Mrs Jennings. They are eventually introduced to Colonel Brandon who is a good friend of the Middleton’s. It is clear that he has feelings for Marianne the second youngest daughter but she is not interested.
While touring the fields one day with Margaret, Marianne falls and is rescued by John Willoughby. She soon falls madly in love. Unbeknownst to the Dashwood family, Brandon's ward is found to be pregnant with Willoughby's child, and Willoughby's aunt Lady Allen disinherits him. As a result of this he moves to London, leaving Marianne heartbroken.
Mrs Jennings invites her daughter and son in law, Mr and Mrs Palmer, to visit. They bring with them Lucy Steele. Lucy confides in Elinor that she and Edward have been engaged secretly for five years, thus dashing Elinor's hopes. Mrs Jennings takes Lucy, Elinor, and Marianne to London, where they meet Willoughby at a ball. They learn that he is engaged to the extremely wealthy Miss Grey and the engagement of Edward and Lucy comes to light. Edward's mother demands that he break off the engagement. When he refuses, his fortune is taken from him and given to his younger brother Robert. On their way home to Devonshire, Elinor and Marianne stop for the night at the country estate of the Palmers, who live near Willoughby. Marianne cannot resist going to see his estate and walks five miles in a torrential rain to do so. As a result, she becomes seriously ill and is nursed back to health by Elinor. After Marianne recovers, the sisters return home. Eventually Marianne’s relationship with Colon Brandon grows to where she becomes increasingly found of him. Life at Barton Cottage returns to normal for a while until they learn that Miss Steele has become Mrs Ferrars and assume that she is married to Edward, who arrives to explain that Miss Steele has unexpectedly wed Robert Ferrars. Edward is thus released from his engagement to the delight of Elinor. Edward proposes to Elinor and becomes a vicar, while Marianne falls in love with and marries Colonel Brandon.
When Mr Dashwood dies, his Norland estate is entailed to his son from his first marriage. This leaves his current wife and 3 daughters and his mercy. John’s greedy wife persuades him to give them very little so they have difficulty finding a new respectable home with their current finances. When the new owners of Norland move in John’s wife’s brother Edward Ferrars comes to visit. During this visit the eldest Dashwood daughter Elinor become very close to him. Fanny Dashwood observed their growing relationship and warns Mrs Dashwood that her mother Mrs Ferrars would not approve of the match and she will cut of his inheritance if he proceeds with the relationship. Mrs Dashwood becomes quite annoyed about Fanny’s comments and resolves to move the family out of Norland as fast as possible. Within the same week she receives news that her cousin heard about their plight and offers them his cottage which they readily accept. On arriving at Barton Park they are introduced to their cousin Sir John Middleton his wife Lady Middleton, their children and also his mother in law Mrs Jennings. They are eventually introduced to Colonel Brandon who is a good friend of the Middleton’s. It is clear that he has feelings for Marianne the second youngest daughter but she is not interested.
While touring the fields one day with Margaret, Marianne falls and is rescued by John Willoughby. She soon falls madly in love. Unbeknownst to the Dashwood family, Brandon's ward is found to be pregnant with Willoughby's child, and Willoughby's aunt Lady Allen disinherits him. As a result of this he moves to London, leaving Marianne heartbroken.
Mrs Jennings invites her daughter and son in law, Mr and Mrs Palmer, to visit. They bring with them Lucy Steele. Lucy confides in Elinor that she and Edward have been engaged secretly for five years, thus dashing Elinor's hopes. Mrs Jennings takes Lucy, Elinor, and Marianne to London, where they meet Willoughby at a ball. They learn that he is engaged to the extremely wealthy Miss Grey and the engagement of Edward and Lucy comes to light. Edward's mother demands that he break off the engagement. When he refuses, his fortune is taken from him and given to his younger brother Robert. On their way home to Devonshire, Elinor and Marianne stop for the night at the country estate of the Palmers, who live near Willoughby. Marianne cannot resist going to see his estate and walks five miles in a torrential rain to do so. As a result, she becomes seriously ill and is nursed back to health by Elinor. After Marianne recovers, the sisters return home. Eventually Marianne’s relationship with Colon Brandon grows to where she becomes increasingly found of him. Life at Barton Cottage returns to normal for a while until they learn that Miss Steele has become Mrs Ferrars and assume that she is married to Edward, who arrives to explain that Miss Steele has unexpectedly wed Robert Ferrars. Edward is thus released from his engagement to the delight of Elinor. Edward proposes to Elinor and becomes a vicar, while Marianne falls in love with and marries Colonel Brandon.
Themes
As with Pride and Prejudice the main themes seen in this novel are similar for example love, marriage, wealth, society and class and competition. Another theme which is exclusive to this novel is sense and sensibility in human behaviour which could also be seen as the balance between reason and passion and there needs to be a balance between them. Another theme running through this novel is the use of money and power as a control, which can be seen in the case of Willoughby. Sense can be observed in the character Elinor, this can be seen in the way she cautiously shows her feelings for Edward while Marianne being the opposite. Her character would betray sensibility and this can also be observed in the way she embraces romance and she does not fear the consequences of showing her feelings on matters throughout the novel. Austen’s main point was to show that sense and sensibility are both important but there needs to be a balance between them