The Importance Of Etiquette In Sense And Sensibility By Jane Austen

As vital components when regarding the importance of etiquette during the antiquity of the late eighteenth century in England: class, rank and money were all highly valued among families. In Sense and Sensibility, a novel written by Jane Austen in 1811 under the pseudonym “A Lady,” transformed into a motion picture, a story similar to the novel Pride and Prejudice outlines the daily lives and drama of the Dashwoods. An upper class family who unfortunately came under deep infelicity and public disrepute after the passing of the patriarch, Mr. Henry Dashwood. After his death, his son, John Dashwood resumed the estate at Norland Park and his wife, Fanny whom which is described as being “narrow-minded” and a “selfish woman,” evicted Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters and impelled them into being mere visitors of their own home, and in turn lowered their social rank. In addition to being ousted out of their own estate, Mrs. John Dashwood split the inheritance of the old Dashwood family from ten thousand pounds to five hundred pounds each, which left them virtually penniless. Sense and Sensibility encapsulates the importance of a fatherly or husbandly figure in a quintessential eighteenth century English family. At the core of income, inheritance, and …show more content…
The breaks between rank and class due to misfortunes regarding money in the fate of the Dashwoods creates a void in which everyone becomes equal. The theme of equality runs thin through the plot as great division is expressed in order to let the rich remain rich, and the poor remain poor. The way characters sought to jump over barriers in order to avoid such segregation allowed Jane Austen the satisfaction of having two novels that exceed societal normalities and drawn out tradition, creating the perfect storm for a well rounded love