Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Book Analysis) E-Book

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• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 26

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of Sense and Sensibility with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, which follows the romantic trials and tribulations of two sisters, Marianne and Elinor Dashwood. While Marianne is impetuous and rushes headlong into relationships with no regard for social propriety, Elinor is much more reserved, to the point that she is often seen as cold and unfeeling. As well as exploring their contrasting approaches to love, Austen paints a vivid and humorous portrait of 19th-century middle-class society and its conventions. Sense and Sensibility first appeared in 1811, making it Austen’s first published novel. Along with her other celebrated novels ( Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion), it has captivated generations of readers and is still widely read and studied today. It has also inspired an Academy Award-winning 1995 film.

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• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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Leseprobe

JANE AUSTEN

ENGLISH NOVELIST

Born in Steventon in 1775.Died in Winchester in 1817.Notable works:Pride and Prejudice (1813), novelMansfield Park (1814), novelPersuasion (1818), novel

Jane Austen was born in Hampshire in 1775, the daughter of an Anglican rector. Although the Austens had a modest income, Jane and her siblings were encouraged to read widely. She wrote her first spoof novella, Love and Freindship (1790) – misspelling deliberate – when she was just 14. Jane apparently read excerpts of the work aloud to her family, developing a writing style characterised by social observation and wit.

In 1801, Jane moved from Hampshire to Bath with her parents and sister Cassandra. Their life in the city was cut short, however, when her father died in 1805. Jane, her mother and Cassandra finally settled in the village of Chawton, where Jane wrote her most famous novels: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey (1818) and Persuasion. In 1816, at the age of 41, she became ill and died the following year, possibly of Addison’s disease. She continued to write until the very end and is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

A DOMESTIC DRAMA

Genre: novelReference edition: Austen, J. (1995) Sense and Sensibility. London: Penguin.1stedition: 1811Themes: sisterhood, passion, love, society, coming-of-age, money

Sense and Sensibility was Jane Austen’s first published novel. It is thought that a first draft may have been written as early as 1795, when Austen was just 19. This draft, given the working title of Elinor and Marianne, was an epistolary novel (a novel told through letters). It was not until 1811 that Sense and Sensibility in its final narrative form was published, and even then, it was published anonymously; the original title page simply states that the book is “by a lady.” It was nevertheless quite the literary success, with the 750 copies of its first print run sold out by 1813.

The story principally follows Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, sisters who are forced to move after the death of their father. The title of the novel refers to their differing characters: while Elinor represents sense, Marianne represents sensibility, and the plot puts both to the test as the sisters respectively fall in love.

SUMMARY

LEAVING NORLAND

The novel opens with the death of Mr Henry Dashwood. He is married with three daughters: 19-year-old Elinor, 16-year-old Marianne and 13-year-old Margaret. The family has been “long settled” (p. 3) at their Sussex home, Norland Park, but upon Henry’s death, the property is passed down to John Dashwood, Henry’s son from a previous marriage. Although John is fond of his stepmother and three half-sisters, his wife, the proud and ungenerous Fanny, insists that he has no responsibility towards them; she convinces her husband that giving them money is tantamount to stealing from his own son’s inheritance, and that the material possessions left to Mrs Dashwood in Henry’s will – all the china, plates and linen – is more than enough of a legacy.