SUMMARY
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Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility
KITAWAKI Tokuko
Sense and Sensibility was Jane Austen’s first novel published in 1811. Its first manuscript
was entitled Elinor and Marianne, which was written as the story of two sisters in 1795. This
story was rewritten twice in the sixteen years before its publication.
Sense and Sensibility is regarded as a debate or a dialogue. Elinor Dashwood is a symbol of
sense and Marianne Dashwood is that of sensibility. Jane Austen tried to let sense and sensibility
have a dialogue through this novel. In the end of the story we are able to deepen our understanding of these two ideas. Elinor is intellectual and prudent, but she is affectionate and her feelings
are strong. Marianne is emotional and imprudent, but she is also sensible and clever. We should
not think of one as superior to the other. Both Elinor and Marianne are more or less endowed
with sense and sensibility.
Marianne’s behaviour is based on her own feelings, and she often ignores the feelings of
other people. Her slightest consideration of circumstances invites ultimately her sufferings. In
spite of Elinor’s advice to pay much attention to formal social activities, Marianne will never listen
to her and indulges herself in loving a play boy. She was betrayed by the materialist Willoughby,
who was engaged to the wealthy Miss Grey. Marianne suffers from his desertion and becomes
seriously ill. Through these sufferings she learns to thank the people around her and behave
properly.
Elinor is always thinking of the feelings of other people and controls her own strong feelings.
She is a sensible and prudent person whose behaviour is based on a correct judgement and careful observation of circumstances. She believes Edward Ferrars’s love for her, even though Lucy
Steele tells her that Edward has been engaged secretly to Lucy for four years. Knowing that Lucy
is a sly and unfaithful fiancée, Elinor grieves over Edward’s engagement. Fortunately Lucy secretly marries Robert, Edward’s younger brother, and then Edward proposes marriage to Elinor.
Elinor is the center of Sense and Sensibility. She is Marianne’s nurse, friend, and sister,
who loves and attends Marianne devotedly. Elinor is also Colonel Brandon’s friend. Without her
help Brandon would not marry Marianne. Edward loves and respects Elinor. It is only Elinor that
has a good relationship with all the characters in this novel.
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SUMMARY
Sense and Sensibility is the story of Elinor Dashwood. She is the most intellectual, faithful,
sensible, affectionate and charming heroine of all the novels of Jane Austen.