After finishing "Pride And Prejudice" I went straight on to reading "Sense And Sensibility" which is another famous and loved work from Austen. Having seen the movie version of the book I once again had an idea of the story and the characters before reading it. However, like with "Pride And Prejudice" every character and scene in "Sense And Sensibility" were discoursed much deeper and more throughly in the text which is always thrilling and quite common when comparing a movie to a book. But when talking about Austen it is safe to say that you get so much more than just few extra glipses to someone's thoughts. You get an intense front frow seat of an individual person's emotional, social and personal life which was even more apparent to me when reading "Sense And Sensibility".
"SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" BY JANE AUSTEN
"Sense And Sensibility" is a story about a Dashwood family, Elinor, Marianne, Margareth and Msr. Dashwood, that are faced with bad fortune when their father dies leaving almoust everything to their half brother and his rude, greedy wife Fanny Dashwood. This means that the Dashwood women have to move up to a small cottage in Barton which they manage to rent from a kind and warm hearted Sir John and his wife Lady Middleton. In Barton Dashwoods are tending to live a simple and quiet live withing the means granted to them by late their late father which are unfortunatle considerably small. While in Barton their happy, serene home life turns upside down for two reasons: Marianne, the second oldest sister with intense emotional life, meets the love of her life a handsom Willoubhy who's affections for Marianne are, however, unclear and Elinor, the sensiable older sister, discovers something scandalous about a man she's in love with. With these led downs many more secrets are to be revealed during the girls' trip to London which seems to make the possibilites of marriage an ever distant wish for the Dashwood girls. Luckyly in the end, although through great suffering, fortune finally smiles on Dashwood girls and their mother with a marriage of both Marianne and Elinor.
As it is expressed in the back cover of the book "Sense And Sensibility" is first and foremost a good old love story with romance, hearthacke, drama as well as misfortune and overflowing emotion that is kept alive to the last moments of the story. But my opinion "Sense And Sensibility" is most of all a story of sisterly affection and a caring love for one's sibling that is praised on every page of the book from Elinors efforts to constantly safe Marianne from further sorrow and Marianne's excitement in everything that might be good for Elinor's heart. For this, it seems perhaps silly of them to even think about marring since these two girls would be fine without a husband but not without each other. However, considering their poor financial state and their old mother a marriage is, as excpected in the 18th century, one of the only solutions for women to get by. Still, as much as I did enjoy the happy ending with two marrieges and love in the air, somewhere in my heart I find myself wishing for a different end. An end where the Dashwood women decide to stick with each other in their little cottage in Barton and live their days painting and playing piano content with being poor but free. But well, I guess it is easy for a 21st century woman to say and had it been me in the place of Dashwood women in the 18th century England I probably would have done the same.
Another thing that I have to praise Austen for again is her invinsible talent of creating absolutely brilliant characters. From the oposite spirits of Elinor and Marianne to hilariously kindhearted Mrs Jenkings and her ever cheerful daughtel Mrs Palmer together with her perculiarly indifferent but still a gentleman husband Mr Palmer. Not forgetting the mellow but always caring Collonel Brandon as well as the dispicable John Dashwoods and annoying Steel sisters. Needless to say that it is impossible to include all the wonderful characters in this one short post but what can be said about all of them is that they made the perhaps even ordinary love story into an interesting, hilarious, real and unique read which you cannot help but to smile at and thank Austen for such realistic yet romantic english love story.
Have you read "Sense And Sensibility"?
Do you like love stories?
Thank you so much for reading!
Siiri
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