Sense and Sensibility is the fourth novel I’ve read from Jane Austen, and it certainly did not disappoint. Time and time again, Jane Austen has made clear her style of subtle wit and eloquence of expression that keeps the story sharp and tightly knit. I find myself gravitating toward her books because there is so much going on indirectly as there is going on in the direct, tightly woven sequence of action and narrative. If anything, her characters are nuanced because of their subtle motivations and inner worlds which Austen portrays so vividly.
Sense and Sensibility deals with money, status, love, and of course, sense and sensibility. In a society where money and status govern the rules of love, and having been forced to move from their family estate to a cottage in rural Devonshire, sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are set in a setting where they must learn to navigate love and heartbreak, acclimatize to their new social status and class, and combine their distinctive inclinations for sense (practicality) and sensibility (emotion) in doing so.
Unsurprisingly, this book deals with a lot of money–with the influx of greedy relatives who only appear when they think there’s money to be gained, characters that prioritize money over connection and love, and the continuous, witty additions of the contrast between the values of the Dashwood family and the obsession with wealth from the people around them, which Austen does not fail to deliver.
This book is more coming of age than it is romance. I found the romance somewhat fickle and unpredictable, as if it was sacrificed in order to better develop the inner workings of Elinor and Marianne’s characters. Jane Austen has made it easy to become intimate with the female leads in this manner. As such, the approach to which the narrative is driven is more self-involved.
I wish as well as everybody else to be perfectly happy; but like everybody else it must be in my own way.
Despite this, there were some aspects of this book that I found jarring. There is a subtle shift in narrative after the first few chapters in the novel, which feels rushed and somewhat lacking in conveying character voice. It may be because the second part was so sharp, but the incongruity stood out to me. Still, I have grown to cherish this novel as much as I cherish Austen’s other works.
~4.5 stars
