Jane Austen Research Paper

The Effects of Society - Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen, author of the instrumental novel famously known as Sense and Sensibility, wrote with a motive to challenge and change the precedents of written work present during her era. The novel is based upon the happenings of two of the Dashwood sisters, and goes behind the scenes with the women as they seek out possible suitors to marry in a society focused on wealth and status. As the Dashwood heroines, Elinor and Marianne, encounter and build relationships, the girls experience first-hand the often times imperfect flows of life throughout the entirety of Sense and Sensibility.

Although different from most written work during this time, one might place Austen’s novel into the guidelines of

While reading through the storyline, one might wonder why a man would leave his love interest which produced nothing more for him than fulfillment. “To have resisted such attractions, to have withstood such tenderness!—Is there a man on earth who could have done it?—Yes, I found myself, by insensible degrees, sincerely fond of her; and the happiest hours of my life were what I spent with her” (Austen Chapter 44). Being intensely guided by the demands of society, Willoughby stripped himself from Marianne’s presence to seek after a woman with more wealth and status than what Marianne could account for. At the hands of societal standards and pressures, various characters within Sense and Sensibility were made exceedingly familiar with the molds and expectation that society continuously posed upon

The differences between them are highly significant in the way that they handle situations and project their natural personalities. Initially, Willoughby makes his entrance into the story as the stark handsome fellow who personally rescued Marianne from her clumsy plight and soon became a love interest to Marianne. “His manly beauty and more than common gracefulness were instantly the theme of general admiration” (Austen Chapter 9). In the eyes of the reader, Willoughby was society’s perfect specimen of a man regarding his masculinity and place in the world. Aside from Willoughby, Edward is nearly the exact opposite of what society desires in a man. Edward’s debut into the Dashwood’s lives found him to be a shy, socially inept character with varying degrees of discretion for societal norms. The contrast between the men offers an opportunity for enlightenment into society’s perceived standards. If a man was to be a gentleman, he must embody high standards of masculinity, hierarchy, and taste predetermined by others. If this mixture was not achieved then a man was to be deemed as incompetent through the eyes of