Publisher: Barnes & Noble Genre: Literary Fiction; Classic Page Count: 325 Year Published: 2004 (first published 1811)
Last August, I said I was going to read all of Jane Austen’s works within one year of finishing The Jane Austen Society. Well, I recently finished Sense and Sensibility, which I read first at the suggestion of a friend. Review coming soon! Next up from Austen is Persuasion.
I started with Sense and Sensibility because a few friends told me it was their favorite Austen novel, and I’m glad I started with it as it’s a charming tale of sisterhood and a contemplation on different attitudes about love and passion.
Synopsis: “Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor’s warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.”
The novel poses the question: “Is it better to be sensible or inclined to sensibility?” The answer lies in the middle, as the synopsis suggests. A balance must be struck between responsibility and logic and our heart’s desires. Sometimes what we most want is not what’s right for us, but we struggle to identify the wrongness of it because our emotions blind us. In the alternative, becoming too closed off or fearful of exploring our emotions leads to loneliness and prevent happiness. Honestly, I laughed out loud when I read the line “The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!” …. I related a bit.
I will also note that while Austen’s writing used to feel daunting, I found myself enjoying her use of language. For example, the cliché “words speak louder than words?” Austen writes, ““I have not wanted syllables where actions have spoken so plainly,” which I found poignant. I particularly loved the juxtaposition of Marianne and Elinor, two sisters who love each other so much but have different outlooks on life and the role of passion in it. Marianne is emotive, unabashedly so, and often fails to conceal her emotions as was proper of the time. Elinor is shy, closed-off, methodical in her love. As someone with a sister, I appreciated seeing how two sisters could approach life so differently but neither judge nor pressure the other to be like them.
Tell me, do you like reading Austen or do you prefer the movies (specifically, the ’05 Pride and Prejudice)?
Read It Like Rory 