Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility highlights problems of over-reliance on either sense or sensibility. This is displayed by two of the Dashwood women, Elinor and Marianne. As the oldest, Elinor is portrayed as the sensible one, even advising her mother’s financial decisions. Marianna, the middle child, is the romantic, her emphasis on sensibility causes her to believe everything should be dramatic and elaborate. Austen emphasizes these traits not only through each character’s behavior, but in how she writes each sister.

For Elinor, all of her descriptions are straightforward, especially towards the beginning of the novel. When Elinor first meets Edward, there isn’t any description of their interactions. It’s very matter-of-fact, with more emphasis on the other family members’ reactions. Mrs.Dashwood describes him as “quiet and unobtrusive”, but the reader doesn’t get to actually see Edward for themselves (Austen 18). Austen skims over their early flirtation, sticking almost entirely to only necessary details. Within the story, Marianne voices her displeasure of Elinor and Edward’s mundane interactions, “...and though he admires Elinor’s drawings very much, it is not the admiration of a person who can understand their worth” leading the reader to believe that not much happens off-page either (Austen 19). While more happens later on in the novel, based on first introductions Edward is easily forgettable due to the lack of time spent with his character.

In comparison, Marianne’s moments are written with the same level of drama that Marianne would desire: “The gentleman offered his services, and perceiving that modesty declined what her situation rendered necessary, took her arms up without further delay, and carried her down the hill” (Austen 44). Willoghby’s introduction is straight out of a romance novel, not the simple arrival Edward has. Marianne and Willoughby's first introduction is over the top and romantic, Marianne being literally swept off her feet. And while Edward gets very little physical description, Austen dedicates an entire paragraph to Willoughby:

“His person and air were equal to what her fancy had ever drawn for the hero of a favourite story; and in his carrying her into the house with so little previous formality, there was a rapidity of thought which particularly recommended the action to her Every circumstance belonging to him was interesting. His name was good, his residence was in their favourite village, and she soon found out that of all manly dresses a shooting jacket was the most becoming” (Austen 45).

As for their relationship, Austen spends the next several chapters detailing Willoughby working himself into the lives of the Dashwoods. He presents himself as the perfect courter, buying Marianne a horse and inviting her to his family home. Of course, the relationship ends in disaster, but that only adds to Austen’s depiction of sensibility.

By characterizing each sister not only through their actions, but through the way they’re written, Austen adds an extra layer to her depiction of sense and sensibility. It shows how each sister perceives the world, with Elinor having so little description it takes away from the scene, and Marianne having so much that it distracts from what’s actually happening.

Northanger Abbey

In Northanger Abbey, Catherine’s friendship with Isabella marks how she grows and matures as a character throughout the novel. At the very beginning when Catherine has just arrived in Bath, the narrator describes her as “not experienced enough in the finesse of love, or the duties of friendship, to know when delicate raillery was properly called for, or when a confidence should be forced” (Austen 22). Catherine’s unused to spending time with so many people she doesn’t know, and as we see in the novel she struggles to pick up on social cues and oher subtle interactions. There are several moments where the narrator describes characters flirting with one another or with Catherine and how Catherine completely misses them. It’s especially apparent when Catherine befriends Isabella, failing to notice how poorly she treats her. Catherine’s lack of knowledge with friendships leads her to wholeheartedly believe the best in people, including Isabella whose intentions are pretty clear to the reader: “She endeavoured to believe that the delay of the marriage was the only source of Isabella’s regret, and when she saw her at their next interview as cheerful and amiable as ever, endeavoured to forget that she had for a minute thought otherwise” (Austen 96). When James first arrived Catherine fails to register Isabella and James’ flirting with one another essentially until they’re already engaged. And after they’re engaged, Catherine refuses to see Isabella’s true motives surround funding and not a love for James. She even gives Isabella the benefit of the doubt when she begins actively flirting with Henry's brother despite her engagement to James.

Catherine’s not completely unaware of societal norms, as we see when she visits Northanger Abbey. When Catherine conjures up her fantasy that General Tilney murdered his wife, she is rightfully shamed by Henry, “and with tears of shame she ran off to her own room” (Austen 140). This is one of the first times Catherine is directly faced with a moment where her perception is wholeheartedly wrong, which likely leads her to question her judgement across the board. This is around when Catherine fully cuts off Isabella, especially when she breaks off her engagement with James in an attempt to marry Henry’s brother (something she’s already hinted at a few times). Similar to her interaction with Henry, it takes a direct action to cue Catherine in to the situation and other’s intentions. This is proved even more when Isabella write to Catherine asking for help to fix her relationship with James, and “such a strain of shallow artifice could not impose even upon Catherine.” (Austen 155). Catherine has not only fully caught on to Isabella’s intentions, but she’s also developed the ability to stand up for herself, something she didn’t have at the beginning of the novel (which nearly disrupted her friendship with Eleanor and relationship with Henry). In this scenario, Catherine and Isabella’s friendship ending is a good thing, a way to display how Catherine develops as a character.

Persuasion

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Persuasion is the romance between Anne and Captain Wentworth. Unlike other Austen novels, Anne and Captain Wentworth have a previous romantic relationship from before the novel begins. Emma and Mansfield Park both have situations where the protagonists have romantic interests that they already knew well, but the story showed them realizing their feelings and developing a romantic relationship. In Persuasion, Austen introduces us to Anne and Captain Wentworth’s history by saying “[t]hey were gradually acquainted, and when acquainted, rapidly and deeply in love. It would be difficult to say which had seen highest perfection in the other, or which had been the happiest: she, in receiving his declarations and proposals, or he in having them accepted” (Austen ch. 4). This change creates an entirely different dynamic of the readers wanting to see two past lovers find their way back to one another. It changes the story from watching two people fall in love, such as with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, or two people realizing that they’re already in love, such as Emma and Mr. Knightley. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Jane Austen novel without a long list of romantic obstacles that prevent Anne and Captain Wentworth from reconnecting the moment they meet. First Anne believes Captain Wentworth has taken interest in her friend Louisa, ruining her intentions to admit she was wrong to reject him: “[s]o ended all danger to Anne of meeting Captain Wentworth at Kellynch Hall, or of seeing him in company with her friend” (Austen ch. 13). This is something Austen has done a few times, such as when Emma believes Mr. Knightley is in love with Harriet or Elinor stressing over Edward’s engagement. When that concern subsides, Captain Wentworth worries that Anne is returning Mr. Elliot’s affections, something Anne realizes later on: “Captain Wentworth jealous of her affection! Could she have believed it a week ago; three hours ago!” (Austen ch. 20). This is the small amount of encouragement Anne needs, knowing that Captain Wentworth still has feelings for her even after so much time has passed. And of course, the letter at the end of the novel in which Captain Wentworth writes “I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant” (Austen). This type of confession of love is also new for Austen, as only a few of her romantic interests even fully confess their love. Captain Wentworth in himself is a unique romantic interest, as a Captain he’s the only man who is actively working and doesn’t own his own estate. It means Anne is the few Austen protagonists who chooses love and doesn’t also conveniently get “the house” or wealth in the end, as Elizabeth gets Pemberly, Emma is already wealthy, and Catherine gets Northanger Abbey. She’s choosing a life where her financial status is actually below what she would’ve been used to, as her father was titled and she grew up on a very wealthy estate before her father’s debt developed.