Significance of the Title "Sense and Sensibility"
Q: Discuss the significance of the title, “Sense and Sensibility”, in relation to the novel’s concerns and characters.
Jane Austen’s novel “Sense and Sensibility” was originally named “Elinor and Marianne” before the title was changed during publication in 1811. Thus, the readers associate Elinor with “sense” and Marianne with “sensibility”. “Sense” and “sensibility” establish the overall characterization of the two main characters. The dichotomy of “sense” and “sensibility” is one of the perspectives through which the novel is most commonly analyzed. Although Jane Austen seems to be in favour of “sense”, through the novel’s plot and characterization of the Dashwood sisters, Jane Austen seems to be suggesting that a balance of both attributes is necessary in order for one to survive in their society.
“Sense and Sensibility” refer to Elinor and Marianne, respectively. From the footnotes of the novel, “sense” is defined as possessing judgment and intelligence, while “sensibility” is defined as capacity for refined emotional response to feelings and experiences, involving delicate sensitivity to moral and aesthetic issues. From these descriptions, Elinor can be portrayed as the embodiment of “sense”, while Marianne is “sensibility”. At the beginning of the novel, Jane Austen describes these two traits in Elinor and Marianne and how they are in comparison to each other. “Elinor… possessed a strength of understanding and coolness of judgment… and her feelings were strong: but she knew how to govern them” and “Marianne’s… quite equal to Elinor… but eager in everything… she was everything but prudent.” These descriptions set up the basic personalities of the Dashwood sisters throughout the novel and are important in showing their growth. Some of the main trials faced in the novel are for “sense” and “sensibility” to cooperate and for the sisters to find a meeting point between reason and emotion. In the novel, as Elinor and Marianne mature and develop, the readers
Jane Austen’s novel “Sense and Sensibility” was originally named “Elinor and Marianne” before the title was changed during publication in 1811. Thus, the readers associate Elinor with “sense” and Marianne with “sensibility”. “Sense” and “sensibility” establish the overall characterization of the two main characters. The dichotomy of “sense” and “sensibility” is one of the perspectives through which the novel is most commonly analyzed. Although Jane Austen seems to be in favour of “sense”, through the novel’s plot and characterization of the Dashwood sisters, Jane Austen seems to be suggesting that a balance of both attributes is necessary in order for one to survive in their society.
“Sense and Sensibility” refer to Elinor and Marianne, respectively. From the footnotes of the novel, “sense” is defined as possessing judgment and intelligence, while “sensibility” is defined as capacity for refined emotional response to feelings and experiences, involving delicate sensitivity to moral and aesthetic issues. From these descriptions, Elinor can be portrayed as the embodiment of “sense”, while Marianne is “sensibility”. At the beginning of the novel, Jane Austen describes these two traits in Elinor and Marianne and how they are in comparison to each other. “Elinor… possessed a strength of understanding and coolness of judgment… and her feelings were strong: but she knew how to govern them” and “Marianne’s… quite equal to Elinor… but eager in everything… she was everything but prudent.” These descriptions set up the basic personalities of the Dashwood sisters throughout the novel and are important in showing their growth. Some of the main trials faced in the novel are for “sense” and “sensibility” to cooperate and for the sisters to find a meeting point between reason and emotion. In the novel, as Elinor and Marianne mature and develop, the readers