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A review by lovelymisanthrope
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I picked up the Barnes & Noble Classic edition of this novel in my quest to slowly collect and read more classics.
"Sense and Sensibility" follows Marianne Dashwood and her sister, Elinor. Marianne has fallen for John Willoughby, a man who truly does not deserve her time. Elinor warns Marianne to not be impulsive, but Marianne wants to follow her heart and give him a chance. Elinor, who has always played by the book, has her own romantic disappointment, but she tries to hide it from everyone. These sisters have to learn how to balance their sense and sensibility when falling in love in a world where money and status mean everything.
The thing I really enjoyed about this novel was the discussions of money and being a woman. During this time period, it was very uncommon for a woman to be self-sufficient nor to have a major voice over the family's finances. However, in this novel, Jane Austen writes strong women who know how to manipulate the conversation with their partners in order to control where the household money goes. I think this is so powerful and is great foreshadowing to highlight that women are going to play a bigger role in their households in years to come.
This was not my favorite Jane Austen novel, but it is not terrible either. Ultimately, I struggled to become invested in this story because the plot felt denser than it needed to be. I really loved the discourse surrounding money, and I think some of the ideas of proper and smart investments are very noteworthy and translatable for today's world. Something I kept reading was this idea of not spending more than the interest you earn on the wealth you have. We do not need to go into debt, and I really loved seeing this being discussed. Unfortunately, I was more interested in this plot line than any of the romance going on.
I will, of course, read more from Jane Austen in the future, and perhaps I will give this another read at a later date to see if I enjoy it more.
"Sense and Sensibility" follows Marianne Dashwood and her sister, Elinor. Marianne has fallen for John Willoughby, a man who truly does not deserve her time. Elinor warns Marianne to not be impulsive, but Marianne wants to follow her heart and give him a chance. Elinor, who has always played by the book, has her own romantic disappointment, but she tries to hide it from everyone. These sisters have to learn how to balance their sense and sensibility when falling in love in a world where money and status mean everything.
The thing I really enjoyed about this novel was the discussions of money and being a woman. During this time period, it was very uncommon for a woman to be self-sufficient nor to have a major voice over the family's finances. However, in this novel, Jane Austen writes strong women who know how to manipulate the conversation with their partners in order to control where the household money goes. I think this is so powerful and is great foreshadowing to highlight that women are going to play a bigger role in their households in years to come.
This was not my favorite Jane Austen novel, but it is not terrible either. Ultimately, I struggled to become invested in this story because the plot felt denser than it needed to be. I really loved the discourse surrounding money, and I think some of the ideas of proper and smart investments are very noteworthy and translatable for today's world. Something I kept reading was this idea of not spending more than the interest you earn on the wealth you have. We do not need to go into debt, and I really loved seeing this being discussed. Unfortunately, I was more interested in this plot line than any of the romance going on.
I will, of course, read more from Jane Austen in the future, and perhaps I will give this another read at a later date to see if I enjoy it more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexism
Minor: Death