Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen’s novel about Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, sisters whose contrasting responses to feeling are tested by uncertainty and disappointment. Elinor’s restraint and Marianne’s openness each conceal difficulties that the other cannot immediately understand. Their relationships unfold within a network of financial expectations, withheld information, and obligations that make appearances unreliable. Austen does not reduce the sisters to a contest in which thought simply defeats emotion. The movement towards clearer judgment depends on sympathy, self-command, and the recognition that sincerity must be accompanied by responsible conduct towards other people.