Jane Austen authored many literary classics in her lifetime. Sense and Sensibility is one of these revered works of fiction. Sense and Sensibility follows the love-lives of sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood in late 18th and early 19th century England. The novel explores themes relevant to the time period Austen wrote them. The battle to balance sense and sensibility, and the economic gender dictated social hierarchy are two prominent recurring themes in Sense and Sensibility.
The main theme in Sense and Sensibility comes from the title itself. The concepts of sense and sensibility are represented by various characters, namely the two protagonists Elinor and Marianne. Elinor represents the motif of sense. Sense is representative of traits that were valued in the era of neoclassicism. Such traits were those such as logic, simplicity, restraint, …show more content…
The time in which Sense and Sensibility is set is that of the late 1700s and early 1800s in various England locations. This setting has a great influence over the social expectations at the time. Reputation was important in the social hierarchy, and wealth greatly influenced reputation. Much of Sense and Sensibility discusses wealth and social order, particularly that of the Dashwoods. They were left with a small amount of money to live off of when their father passed. This is a problem, as in this period of English history, women were reliant on men through familial or marital relation to provide wealth. Thus, Elinor, Marianne and the rest of the Dashwood family were located near the bottom of the social ladder. This financial issue was inspired by Jane Austen’s own life and money woes. In“Money in Jane Austen”, Robert D. Hume mentions that “she lived at the bottom of gentility”(290). This emphasis on social and economic predicaments in Sense and Sensibility is prevalent because it was common in the setting of the
The main theme in Sense and Sensibility comes from the title itself. The concepts of sense and sensibility are represented by various characters, namely the two protagonists Elinor and Marianne. Elinor represents the motif of sense. Sense is representative of traits that were valued in the era of neoclassicism. Such traits were those such as logic, simplicity, restraint, …show more content…
The time in which Sense and Sensibility is set is that of the late 1700s and early 1800s in various England locations. This setting has a great influence over the social expectations at the time. Reputation was important in the social hierarchy, and wealth greatly influenced reputation. Much of Sense and Sensibility discusses wealth and social order, particularly that of the Dashwoods. They were left with a small amount of money to live off of when their father passed. This is a problem, as in this period of English history, women were reliant on men through familial or marital relation to provide wealth. Thus, Elinor, Marianne and the rest of the Dashwood family were located near the bottom of the social ladder. This financial issue was inspired by Jane Austen’s own life and money woes. In“Money in Jane Austen”, Robert D. Hume mentions that “she lived at the bottom of gentility”(290). This emphasis on social and economic predicaments in Sense and Sensibility is prevalent because it was common in the setting of the