Analysis Of Sense And Sensibility And Persuasion By Jane Austen

Jane Austen, an author of the eighteenth century wrote Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion, novels about young women struggling to navigate through the obstacles set by the society of the time. Jane Austen elicits the flaws and corruption in her society by using exaggeration and sarcasm in her novels. She discusses the societal expectations that shaped her characters that continue to exist to this day.
Many saw their marriage as a rung of the social ladder, marriage was for social and economic benefits, not for love, “It was creditable to have a sister married, and she might flatter herself with having been greatly instrumental to the connexion, by keeping Anne with her in the autumn;” (Austen 182). This is where Austen peaks with the idea …show more content…
People valued money, power and social status more than anything and Austen showed how characters that only desired such things did not get a happy ending. However, characters that were full of good intentions, stumbled upon on such things at the end. “Willoughby could not hear of her marriage without a pang; and his punishment was soon afterwards complete … that had be behaved with honour towards Marianne, he might at once have been happy and rich.” (Austen 312). Willoughby, who had genuine affection for Marianne, left her for money. However, in the end, he could have had everything he wanted but his avarice led to a marriage without love. Austen does not only end it with Willoughby, he also leads Anne’s father in Persuasion into misfortune due to his greed. “Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot 's character; vanity of person and of situation. He had been remarkably handsome in his youth; and, at fifty-four, was still a very fine man.” (4). The society that Jane Austen lived was a patriarchy so she portrays the stereotypical male of the 1800s: pompous and egotistical. Sir Walter is a man of high social class, leads his family into debt due to lavish spending, and refuses to admit that he almost ruined himself. Austen pokes fun of his false sense of security and how most patriarchs refuses to acknowledge their mistakes. In addition to his stupidity, Sir Walters is vain and only concerns himself with people of upper class. This shows how much people cared about social standing and what people thought of you and whom you associated with. Through these characters, Austen conveys that money is not the most important thing in the world and if one does not put wealth first, things will somehow work out because one’s “sense of self” never fails. While Austen did not agree with the corruption and greed of the time, she did