Sense and Sensibility is one of the
most important works of Jane Austen. It was published in 1811, and it basically
tells the story of two sisters named Elinor and Marianne. The novel narrates
the events of their lives. They lived in South West England, and the events are
thought to be taken place between 1792 and 1797. The central characters of this
novel are two sisters. Elinor represents sense and Marianne represents
sensibility.
However, we all need to know the meaning of these two
words ‘Sense’ and ‘Sensibility’. Obviously, the meaning of ‘Sensibility’ in the
18th century England is very different from that of our age. In our age,
‘Sensibility’ means wisdom or slowness and stability, but in this title, the
word has a negative connotation. On the other hand, Jane Austen uses the word
‘Sense’ in a positive sense, and the word sense means slow, steady, calm.
Sensibility, on the other hand, implies someone who is emotional and very
hot-headed. Elinor symbolizes sense. She is a very calm and steady-minded
woman. Not only because she is the eldest of the three sisters, she is very
calm and polite and thinks about everything. She does not fall in head over
heels love for anyone. Even after falling in love, she does not lose her
wisdom. She calmly accepts her heartbreak. At least, she does not reveal her
thoughts to everyone. Elinor Dashwood fell in love with Edward Ferrars and when
Edward Ferrars was forced to leave her, she was emotionally traumatized but did
not let others understand.
What we understand by looking at Elinor or what Jane
Austen wanted to show is that sense is a bit boring and dull. Just because
someone has sense does not mean that he is a happy person. Neither it ensures
happiness in life. Elinor fell in love with Edward but loses him unfortunately.
In the end, she gets Edward, but she did not apply any tricks or tactics. What
happened was that Lucie Steele, the girl Edward was supposed to marry, eloped
with his brother and married him.
On the other hand, younger sister Marianne represents
sensibility. She always remains excited and expresses her emotion in front of
everyone spontaneously. Marianne falls in love with John Willoughby. John
Willoughby looked very handsome and knew a lot about literature and culture.
However, he was a cunning and ill-natured person. Marianne is attracted to him
easily and never realizes that John Willoughby is a fraud. John Willoughby
cheats on her and leaves her to marry a rich girl. As a result, Marianne
Dashwood’s heart is broken and she becomes very ill.
Through Marianne Dashwood, Jane Austen wanted to show that
girls should not be that much sensible. It may seem very attractive to men or
lively to the eyes of society, but this type of sensibility or the kind of
sensible Marianne was can bring extreme danger in a woman’s life. So, Jane Austen
wanted to show through the life of Marianne that women should be as calm as
possible because the reality is when a man and a woman fall in love, it is the
woman who is in a vulnerable position. Had they engaged in physical
intercourse, then Marianne would have become pregnant and it would destroy her
life. When they broke up without having any physical relationship, Marianne
almost died of an illness. On the other hand, John Willoughby marries a much
richer girl in the lure of money.
At the end of the novel, Jane Austen wanted to show that
sense triumphed over sensibility. It is because Elinor becomes happy, but we do
not come to know if Marianne becomes happy or unhappy. Marianne eventually
marries Colonel Brandon whom she once considered too old to be married. So,
Marianne learns from her elder sister’s life and develops some sense in
herself.
From the above discussion, it can be said that the title of the novel Sense and Sensibility is very suitable for it represents the lives of two sisters, and the writer gave both these equal importance. Jane Austen, through various events, beautifully described sense and sensibility.
