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A Study Guide for Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
A Study Guide for Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
A Study Guide for Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
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A Study Guide for Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility

By Gale and Cengage

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A Study Guide for Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students.This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 21, 2015
ISBN9781535832816
A Study Guide for Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility

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    A Study Guide for Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility - Gale

    1

    Sense and Sensibility

    Jane Austen

    1811

    Introduction

    Sense and Sensibility was first published in 1811, sixteen years after Jane Austen began the first draft, titled Elinor and Marianne. Financed by Austen's brother and attributed only to A Lady, it was the first of her novels to be put into print.

    Austen is particularly known for her sharp portraits of early-nineteenth-century upper-class English society and for her remarkable talent in creating complex, vibrant characters. Sense and Sensibility is no exception. It is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who, as members of the upper class, cannot work for a living and must therefore make a suitable marriage to ensure their livelihood. The novel is a sharply detailed portraiture of the decorum surrounding courtship and the importance of marriage to a woman's livelihood and comfort.

    The novel is also, as is most evident in its title, a comparison between the sisters' polar personalities. The eldest sister, Elinor, exemplifies the sense of the title—she is portrayed as a paragon of common sense and diplomatic behavior—while her younger sister Marianne personifies sensibility in her complete abandonment to passion and her utter lack of emotional control. In upholding Elinor's levelheaded and rational behavior and criticizing Marianne's romantic passions, Austen follows the form of the didactic novel, in which the personalities of two main characters are compared in order to find favor with one position and therefore argue against the other. Although rich in character development and wit, Sense and Sensibility is viewed as one of Austen's lesser works because of this formulaic approach, which Austen abandons in her more mature novels.

    Author Biography

    Jane Austen, a nineteenth-century English novelist, is considered one of Britain's most important writers. Her talent has been compared to that of Shakespeare, and her work remains an integral and important part of what is commonly accepted as the canon of classic English literature.

    Austen was born December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, the seventh child and second daughter of Rev. George Austen and his wife Cassandra. As a clergyman's daughter, Austen was a member of the professional class. As she lived her entire life in the country, she wrote about her society and her surroundings, and she would become famous for her insightful portrayals of upper-class English country life.

    The Austens, though plagued by debt, were a learned family of book lovers. Her mother wrote light poetry, and her brothers, in early adulthood, aspired to literary endeavors while they were at college. Their delight in language, puns, and witticisms is evident in Austen's works.

    Except for brief stints at boarding schools, Austen was schooled largely at home, benefitting from

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