Sense and Sensibility Analysis

Symbols aren't really Austen's thing. Sure, occasionally things ring somewhat symbolic bells for us – for example, how Marianne's passionate music or Elinor's careful, precise drawings expres...

This novel moves between the town and the country, just as most people of a certain class did in Austen's time. Austen's very concerned with the social milieu of her characters, and her settings ve...

This is a textbook third person omniscient narrator – we have a privileged view inside the minds of most of the characters, and Austen's strong narratorial voice takes us in and out of the pe...

OK, most difficult things first: though we'd be hard pressed to simply label Austen's novel a work of satire, her writing is heavily satirical throughout. Her deadpan humor and biting send ups of t...

There's occasionally something of a "wink wink, nudge nudge" tone to Austen's writing here; her deadpan humor is sharp, witty, and usually between the lines. Humor is more often than not insinuated...

Austen's style is famously… well, together. Simply put, she just really knows what she's up to. She doesn't believe in mincing words, nor does she indulge in long, flowery flights of fancy li...

This book was originally titled "Elinor and Marianne," but Sense and Sensibility is barely a leap from there – the traits included in the title describe these two main characters to a tee. El...

What is up with this ending? Sympathetic readers have been puzzling over the conclusion to Sense and Sensibility since the novel's arrival on the literary scene. The events that unfold aren't the m...

The Dashwoods move from their childhood home, Norland, to a new place and a new life.The novel begins with a time of transition and new beginnings – after the death of their father, the Dashw...

The Dashwoods adjust to life after the death of their father; they move to Devonshire and settle in to a brand new life at Barton Cottage. (Chapters 1-8)The beginning of the novel sets us up for wh...

Chapters 1-14. Elinor and Marianne are both involved in the relationships that will shape the rest of the novel.Chapters 15-43. Happy endings for either Marianne or Elinor seem impossible, due to W...

The story's not entirely over, apparently – a reinterpreted version, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (a follow up to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) was recently! (Source)Austen in lo...

The lovers in Sense and Sensibility are all chaste and innocent – at least, as far as we know. As with all things Austen, implication is more important here than what happens openly on the pa...

William Cowper (3.11, 10.4, 17.6)Sir Walter Scott (10.4, 17.6)Alexander Pope (10.4)Celtic mythology, Queen Mab (12.5) James Thomson (17.6)