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bookiecharm's review
3.0
"I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but, like everybody else, it must be in my own way."
This is the second Jane Austen book that I've read. Firstly, I learned that Sensibility actually means something different today then it did when Austen used it to describe Marianne as romantically inclined and expressive. So there's that.
This book follows the Dashwood sisters as they come of age and learn from one another under some unfortunate circumstances. Elinor who is more reserved and the eldest, represents the sense and Marianne represents the sensibility. This is a story about a relationship between sisters, horrible men, and how these sisters have to enter society after their father's death.
As I read more of Austen's novels, I realize she sets the scene by discussing the property, reputation, and obligations that English people have to assimilate to in order to ensure a stable income. I get bored pretty quickly with these discussions but the real focus on the Dashwood sisters allowed me to enjoy this book more than Northanger Abbey. Elinor and Marianne are, arguably, the only people in this book capable of deeper thought and their interactions were the best parts for me. Outside of the sisters, it was hard to get me to care about any other characters.
If the commonality with Northanger Abbey is any indication, it seems that the major themes and plot points in Austen's novels are all very similar. A family is under some financial constraint and women are limited in terms of resources so they often have to marry to survive. Yet, Austen's protagonists also seek happiness.
Hoewever, I'm starting to think Austen's books may just not be my thing. Of the books I've read so far, they feel like reiterations of the same issues with the same long winded monologues and discussions of the same conflicts. Do I really need to read hundreds upon hundreds of pages to get to the same points? Much to think about.
wentworthian's review
5.0
Absolutely charming. I honestly didn't think I"d enjoy Emma as much as I did--I had always gotten the impression that it was about a silly, selfish girl who never changes at all--but it was really very sweet and funny. Which I'm sure is no surprise to anyone who's read it, but it was a surprise to me. It almost eclipses Persuasion as my favorite Austen, but not quite.
nahriny's review
4.0
Plot? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Literary technique? Genius
Austen was rly fuckin it up, she did THAT.
Literary technique? Genius
Austen was rly fuckin it up, she did THAT.
idil's review
4.0
honestly i far preferred pride and prejudice, even though i liked sense and sensibility well enough.
jameskemp's review
2.0
I read this in a phase of trying to pick off classics so that I knew what they were about. I can see why they were novel, but it wasn't something I'd choose to read.
brewsandbooks's review
5.0
I almost rated this a four out of five, because honestly it's my least favorite Austen. It's my second time through (although I've seen the Kate Beckinsale version almost 50 times - If you want something to laugh at look up her random nightmares in that movie "BUT WHAT ABOUT LITTLE HENRY!!"). At the beginning I was so mad at Emma for the way she acts. But then I realized, it's still a five out of five any day. Austen does such an amazing job with satire, I was laughing at the way she treated her characters. I also felt myself completely melt at Emma's own growth throughout the novel, even when I found her so maddening for so long. Austen's way of making miscommunication, naivety and misrepresentations a focus of her plot was so amazing on this reread.
I will say on this reread that I was surprised at my read on Frank Churchill. I always found him kind of a f*ckboy who trampled on his fiance every chance he got in hopes of "hiding their engagement." This reread, I picked up on a few subtle cues showing that he originally didn't mean to treat her viciously, and then slowly got a bit worse and worse as the subtle jokes kept going. In fact, I was openly shocked at the scene where he almost tells Emma. I didn't remember that. He reminded me a lot more of Emma and the way she treats people. It was an interesting new view this time around. I do think he takes it too far in the end, but I didn't hate him as much or find him as villainous this time around. At best, he's just chaotic neutral. On the other hand, I did get annoyed at Knightley more than I have before. He's openly hostile to Emma throughout the novel, and chastises her every chance she gets. It almost felt like he was saying "I love you, therefore you must be a completely different person and better so you earn my love." It made me so upset this time around. I almost wish Emma had just stayed unmarried and started working. There were so many times I was like "Well, Emma really just needs a job and I think she'd be happier." She seemed bored. Although I get this is subject to the times, I was fascinated with the fact that Emma was a woman who didn't need to get married, and had more agency. It was a bit of a let down this time around to see her just settle into love at the end.
I was also blown away at my reading of Jane Fairfax and the way it made me see the classicism in the novel. I always considered her boring (and still sort of do). But I think as an adult I do see a lot of her just being a well-bred lady. Emma gets away with a lot of her actions due to her station in society, and I think she recognizes that on some level. It's why she takes out anger on Jane.
Emma spends pages lamenting the actions of others "beneath her" and the way they act that enrage her. She hates Mrs. Elton for the way she addresses Mr. Knightley, she hates how Miss Bates can't hold her tongue, and she is openly hostile to Harriet being married to a tenant farmer. However, on the other side, she is openly familiar with multiple people (including the moment she mocks Miss Bates), her father is just as ridiculous as Miss Bates, and she ends up slowly removing Harriet as a friend at the end of the novel once she marries the tenant farmer and discovers she's merely the daughter of a tradesman. Emma is guilty of all the things she hates most: the only difference is money. Mr. Knightley handles this astutely when he tells her what she said to Miss Bates was out of line, pointing out that her station in life makes it unfair for Emma to treat her that way. The fact that Austen can use these characters and their positions in life so astutely is amazing, and why Austen remains one of my favorite authors.
I was also blown away at my reading of Jane Fairfax and the way it made me see the classicism in the novel. I always considered her boring (and still sort of do). But I think as an adult I do see a lot of her just being a well-bred lady. Emma gets away with a lot of her actions due to her station in society, and I think she recognizes that on some level. It's why she takes out anger on Jane.
Emma spends pages lamenting the actions of others "beneath her" and the way they act that enrage her. She hates Mrs. Elton for the way she addresses Mr. Knightley, she hates how Miss Bates can't hold her tongue, and she is openly hostile to Harriet being married to a tenant farmer. However, on the other side, she is openly familiar with multiple people (including the moment she mocks Miss Bates), her father is just as ridiculous as Miss Bates, and she ends up slowly removing Harriet as a friend at the end of the novel once she marries the tenant farmer and discovers she's merely the daughter of a tradesman. Emma is guilty of all the things she hates most: the only difference is money. Mr. Knightley handles this astutely when he tells her what she said to Miss Bates was out of line, pointing out that her station in life makes it unfair for Emma to treat her that way. The fact that Austen can use these characters and their positions in life so astutely is amazing, and why Austen remains one of my favorite authors.
melodypowers65's review
2.0
I was slower to warm up to this book than I was to the other Austen I have read recently (Persausion). This was partly due to my lack of knowledge of the social ettiquette and politics of the time. I started grasping it better after the Miss Dashwoods had been a few weeks in town with Mrs Jenning and from then on my enjoyment of the book increased dramatically. Not that I hadn't enjoyed it before - I quite liked Elinor and Colonel Brandon and enjoyed reading about the family's life in Barton - but it was easier to enjoy when I understood better why some things happened the way they did!
I had been hoping that Elinor would end up marrying Colonel Brandon, for no other reason than liking her better to Marianne, but as the end of the book approached and a resolution seemed no nearer than at the start of the book, I began despairing of either sister being well married! However, I thought Jane Austen did a wonderful job of bringing Elinor and Marianne together with their respective husbands in a way that was believable and sympathetic (it wasn't quite emotional, as Austen's style seems to be much more matter of fact when she has actually gotten the characters together, then when she is building up to it). I can even understand and accept the choice that each sister made (although that is helped by the fact that I predicted it from the beginning, even if I hoped against it for a time!).
Lastly, I feel I need to give a special mention to Miss Lucy Steele. I thought she was a sweet, if boring, young lady and she turned out to be an evil genius!
I had been hoping that Elinor would end up marrying Colonel Brandon, for no other reason than liking her better to Marianne, but as the end of the book approached and a resolution seemed no nearer than at the start of the book, I began despairing of either sister being well married! However, I thought Jane Austen did a wonderful job of bringing Elinor and Marianne together with their respective husbands in a way that was believable and sympathetic (it wasn't quite emotional, as Austen's style seems to be much more matter of fact when she has actually gotten the characters together, then when she is building up to it). I can even understand and accept the choice that each sister made (although that is helped by the fact that I predicted it from the beginning, even if I hoped against it for a time!).
Lastly, I feel I need to give a special mention to Miss Lucy Steele. I thought she was a sweet, if boring, young lady and she turned out to be an evil genius!