by Alice George

Created on: August 12, 2009

When analysing 'Sense and Sensibility' it is important not to look upon the two qualities as polar opposites. After all in Austen's description of John Dashwood she comments that he 'had not the strong feelings of the rest of the family' admitting from the first that Elinor's feelings though little shown are strong enough.

What really stands out about Elinor is her sense, other characters like Mrs. Dashwood, Margaret and to a certain extent Willoughby share Marianne's romantic sensibility no one really shows the kind of sense found in Elinor. Even much older women, her mother or Mrs Jennings lack her coolness and ability to think clearly. Edward takes a view in opposition to Marianne's excessive sensibility but his entanglement with Lucy show a sort of folly you could never see Elinor falling into.

Elinor's 'sense' is shown in the degree of prudence that prompts her to reject 'several houses, as too large for their income, which her mother would have approved.' And a guardedness of emotion as well as a strong sense of duty.

Marianne's 'sensibility' is, as expressed by Jane Austen, an'eagerness' in everything she does. Her joys and sorrows must always be whole hearted and her reactions to landscape, art literature, or music are always excessive. There is no moderation in her emotions.

Marianne sensibility could be seen as a kind of parody of the emotions felt by the characters of gothic writers such as Anne Radcliff, Marianne herself says that 'it is very true that admiration of landscape scenery has become a mere jargon' but I think it is overly simplistic to gloss Marianne emotions as a parody of a common affectation.

Her views may be seen in the light of her transformation at the end of the novel to be artificial but I would say rather that it was the transformation that was artificial whereas Marianne's sensibility had a degree of earnest warmth that was deeply appealing if slightly heightened by her choice of reading matter.

Throughout the novel frequent references are made to literature, particularly Cowper, music, art and landscape. All of these are deeply entangled with sensibility. Marianne nurses her grief with music and poetry. She has an 'enthusiasm for dead leaves' and twisted trees that provides rather comic exchanges with Edward and Elinor. These things all seem a sign of her strong feelings and are something she searches for in others as indicative of a similar 'sensibility'. It is one of the things that draws her to Willoughby and disappoints

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