Analysing Emotional Background Through Protagonists in 'Sense and Sensibility'

Jane Austen’s first major novel was Sense and Sensibility, whose main protagonists were two sisters. The first draft was written in 1795 and was named Elinor and Marianne. In 1797, Austen rewrote the novel and renamed it Sense and Sensibility. After years of polishing, it was finally published in October 1811. Sensitivity and Sensitivity is Austen’s first novel to be made available to the public. It turned out that readers loved it very much, and by 1813 the novel had sold its first copy in 750 copies. But Austen himself did not make a fuss overnight; on the contrary, she was published under the pseudonym 'Lady' during her short life and never achieved personal fame. On the other hand, his books were very successful; he watched with Intention and Vigilance with pride and superstition, Mansfield Park and Emma, ​​and the novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which were published twice after his death.

Although Intuition and Sensitivity is Austen’s first full-length novel, it has many features, and later in some parts of it, in a slightly more widely read work - his books bring us closer to the daily lives of early women. Allows you to take a look at the nineteenth century England. We learn about their trials and tribulations (mostly related to romantic relationships - it hasn’t changed that much over the years) and the importance of family life.

Sense and Sensibility was thought to be largely inspired by Austen’s relationship with his beloved sister, Cassandra; in the novel we see Cassandra in the old, wise Elinor, while Jane resembles the impulsive, emotional Marianna. This personal connection makes sensitivity and sensibility very valuable to the hearts of many Janeits.

As can be seen from the original and final titles, the novel contradicts the character of the two sisters. Elinor manages her life logically or rationally, while Marianne is guided by sensitivity and emotion. Although the plot supports the importance of the mind in relation to emotion, there is a great need for ethical principles of human relations and expanded thought and emotion in response to it.

The only reasons to care about intuition and sensitivity are on the front - so on the front, in fact Jane Austen puts you almost against it. The whole book is basically a discussion between two things most of us are familiar with, logic and emotion (i.e. “sense” and “sensibility”). The point is that while it is a novelty about nineteenth-century social ethics, family life, and the nuances of economic reality, Austen’s book first and foremost forces all readers to face a very personal and very important question: how does everyone work. do we control our lives? Are we Elinors (logic) or Mariannes (emotion) or a combination of both? Are we happy with that?

The trials and tribulations of the Dashwood sisters may at times seem outdated to us, but in the end Elinor and Marianna’s methods of approaching privacy are still well-known: we don’t know about you, but here in Shmoop we have a practice guided by Logical Consciousness Everyone knows about Elinors and the impulsive, passionate Mariannes who allow her to control her heart. The question the novel asks is simple: is one way of life better than the other? Or will a third path open up for us?

To sum up, both Elinor and Marianne have their pros and cons: Elinor can be practical and pragmatic, but she is also emotional, making her suffering worse and worse. In turn, Marianna can’t fill anything - she’s always there. However, his stupidity, his passion, his near death, his disrespect for others or society in general are myths. So neither emotion nor sensitivity seems to work on its own. The two Dashwood sisters learn to put them together by the end of the novel, but the real final question is - can we?