Social Class in Sense and Sensibility In her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen brought to life the struggles and instability of the English hierarchy in the early 19th century. Through the heartaches and happiness shared by Elinor Dashwood, who represented sense and her sister Marianne, who stood for sensibility, Austen tells a story of sisters who plummet from the upper class to the lower crust of society and the characters that surround them. Austen juxtaposes the upper
between the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, during their visit to Whitwell. The sisters along with Willoughby, Colonel Brandon, and the Middletons, planned an excursion to Whitwell to enjoy each others company.
October 2015 Annotated Bibliography apRoberts, Ruth. “Sense and Sensibility or Growing Up Dichotomous.” Jane Austen. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 43-55. Print. This passage discusses the dichotomy found in Sense and Sensibility. apRoberts connects the work with the poets and shows how Austen uses writing techniques in the novel. “Sense and Sensibility really is is about the relations between sense and sensibility or, as we might put it, between Head and Heart, Thought
The next female antagonist belonging to the category of self-centred girls is Elinor’s sister Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. While the classification of Marianne as her sister’s antagonist might cause confusion or even objections/disapproval as she naturally loves her sister and encourages her potential relationship with Edward Ferrars (source?), she endangers nonetheless Elinor’s happy ending – albeit unknowingly and unintentionally. Marianne’s emotional nature provides the basis