Sense And Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility, the first of Austen’s novels to be published, remains as fresh as ever it was. The basic theme of the novel is concerned with the personalities of the two sisters of contrasting temperaments who share comparable experiences in the loss of the men they love. Elinor, practical and conventional, is the perfection of sense. Marianne, emotional and sentimental, is the embodiment of sensibility. While Elinor’s character is one of Augustan detachment, Marianne is a feverent disciple of the Romantic age. Elinor desires a man who is promised to another. Marianne loves a scoundrel who deserts her. Their mutual pangs of tragic love bring a closer understanding between the two sisters and true love finally wins when sense gives way to sensibility, and sensibility gives way to sense. The novel authentically depicts early nineteenth-century middle-class provincialism. Written with forceful insight and gentle irony, the work is of lasting interest on the mores and manners of Austen’s time.