Sense and Sensibility: Justification of title

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.