Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Jane Austen is one of the most popular female authors in the History of English literature. This 19th-century author was famous for her works of romantic fiction, which helped her to get a place among the most widely read writers in English literature. She wrote a few novels, but all of her novels are taught at the university level. Sense and Sensibility is one of the few novels written by her. Because of the popularity of this novel, it has been adapted for film and television many times. 

 

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Her first published work is Sense and Sensibility, which was published in 1811 under the pseudonym 'A Lady'. It was first written in the epistolary form. Then the form was changed to a narrative one. The story takes place in southwest England between 1792 and 1797. By changing the title from Elinor and Marianne to Sense and Sensibility, the author added “philosophical depth” to what began as a sketch of two characters. 

Sense and Sensibility is the story of two sisters- Elinor and Marianne Dashwood who faced many obstacles on their way to true love. The whole story revolves around these two sisters. It shows the suffering of the Dashwood family. After the death of Mr. Dashwood, the property passed to his son John, the child of his first wife, while his second wife Mrs. Dashwood and their daughters- Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, were left with only a small income. Because of these circumstances, Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters had to shift to a new home, a small cottage on a distant relative’s property. This new place has a very important role in the play because here they experienced love, romance and heartbreak. 

Elinor and Marianne represent two different characteristics. While Elinor represents sense, Marianne represents sensibility. While Elinor conceals her true feelings, Marianne reveals her feelings to everyone. As Elinor is ruled by sense, she does not listen to her emotion or passion. Marianne is just opposite to her. She always listens to her heart. Because of their characteristics, they go through a lot of suffering in their lives and relationship. 

Readers could not stop reading the play until it is finished. This play is full of climax and excitement. They keep their eyes on the central characters to know what would happen to them next. If the readers want to know that if Elinor and Marianne could get married to their beloved, they will have to read the play till the end. The main attraction of this play is these two sisters and the circumstances that happened around them. 

Though the play was written around two hundred years ago, Elinor and Marianne represent most of the girls even in today’s world. The writer may want to give the message with these characters that how girls should behave. So, I think that every girl should read this play very seriously. Though the play does not have many comic elements, I did not feel bored reading it. Its setting and characters were not that much complicated compared to other plays of Jane Austen. Jane Austen could successfully show the dark side of the society. 

It is needless to say that society, culture, social status and relationship between men and women get much importance in Jane Austen’s play, and I really enjoyed reading this. I also enjoyed the wicked character Willoughby, which made the play more thrilling. The play is so engaging that readers would feel relieved from anxiety after reading it.