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Jane Austen novel SENSE AND SENSIBILITY analysis | Elinor and Marianne Dashwood (Engagements & Hair)

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Dr Octavia Cox

Dr Octavia Cox

Күн бұрын

JANE AUSTEN Sense and Sensibility analysis | Sense versus Sensibility? Is Elinor Dashwood the complete embodiment of “discreet quiet good sense”, and Marianne Dashwood the epitome of “overrefined and excessive" sensibility? Does Sense & Sensibility stage a contest between the two sisters, in which Marianne must learn the error of her ways? What does the exchange of a lock of hair symbolise in the novel? What does it mean that Willoughby has Marianne's lock of hair? What does it mean that Edward Ferrars wears a ring with a lock of hair in it? How do engagements & hair entangle? Close reading & analysis of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility.
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PASSAGES
Elinor had met his eye, and looked conscious likewise. That the hair was her own, she instantaneously felt as well satisfied as Marianne; the only difference in their conclusions was, that what Marianne considered as a free gift from her sister, Elinor was conscious must have been procured by some theft or contrivance unknown to herself. She was not in a humour, however, to regard it as an affront
she was forced to turn for comfort to the renewal of her confidence in Edward’s affection, to the remembrance of every mark of regard in look or word which fell from him while at Barton, and above all to that flattering proof of it which he constantly wore round his finger.
[Lucy Steele] I gave him a lock of my hair set in a ring Perhaps you might notice the ring when you saw him? I did, said Elinor, with a composure of voice, under which was concealed an emotion and distress beyond any thing she had ever felt before. She was mortified, shocked, confounded.
KEYWORDS
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@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 4 жыл бұрын
Do leave any comments that you have. Can you think of any other great examples of Elinor not showing great sense? Or Marianne showing very good sense?
@kristinakumpfhuber4459
@kristinakumpfhuber4459 3 жыл бұрын
I think that Marianne shows a great amount of sense in her last letter to Willoughby, in which she essentially tells him that she loves him, but seems to have begun to understand that he feels different about her, and asks for her letters and the lock of hair back. Also, Elinor displays an odd reluctance to believe Lucy at first about the engagement, simply becsuse she does not want to. Lucy's and Elinor's bits together are by far the best part of the novel. Lucy brings out a bitchy and judgemental side of Elinor I highly enjoy, because she can hide it so well
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Yes, indeed Kristina - an excellent example of Marianne's sense: she refers throughout the final letter to justification and reason: "appeared to me to justify, "not yet been able to form any reasonable apology for your behaviour", "hear your justification" (ch.29).
@rufescens
@rufescens 3 жыл бұрын
I've always taken Elinor's outburst at finding out that Lucy married the other Mr. Ferrars as a representation of the limits of her self-control. Underneath all her proper behavior was bottled up a lot of emotion. I think Austen mentions here (or is it another moment in the novel?) that Elinor finds out the difference between knowing something, and feeling it. [Actually, I've found it--it's in the beginning of that chapter, before it comes to light that Lucy married Robert: "Elinor now found the difference between the expectation of an unpleasant event, however certain the mind may be told to consider it, and certainty itself. She now found, that in spite of herself, she had always admitted a hope, while Edward remained single, that something would occur to prevent his marrying Lucy..." It's as if she's learning that despite all her efforts to act with sense and decorum, she cannot truly control her heart.] I really appreciate your analysis here! I guess this is somewhat similar to the title of Pride and Prejudice, in that on first read we may assume we know which character each term refers to, but in fact both terms, in different ways, refer both to Lizzy and to Darcy. Darcy is perceived to act in a proud manner, and is prejudiced against people of lesser means and of lower class, but Lizzy is prejudiced against him (by virtue of having been misled about his character), and is proud in a number of ways--in trusting her own interpretations of people, for instance, and in initially finding it hard to accept the criticisms of her family she's presented with. The difference for me is that I managed, after many, many readings, to figure this out regarding Pride and Prejudice, but I didn't manage to figure it out with respect to Sense and Sensibility. I guess I've always realized that Elinor had a passionate side, but before watching your video, I never considered how irrational she might be, or that Marianne might in some ways in comparison be the one with sense. This changes so much for me--thank you!
@DaisyNinjaGirl
@DaisyNinjaGirl 3 жыл бұрын
Hi, I'm new to this channel, so perhaps you've already answered this in one of your excellent videos. But I was wondering if you have any insight on one of the small details in S&S, which is why does Colonel Brandon have a sister living in Avignon? Wasn't there a war with France on, both in the 1790s when the first draft was written, and then later when it was published? The only time it relates to the plot is explaining why Brandon *has* to be present at the picnic at Whitwell that he pikes from, and the adaptations I've seen avoid the issue by conflating Delaford with Whitwell and making Brandon a neighbour. But why was Austen so precise on the point in the first place? Couldn't the sister have been living somewhere inaccessible in Britain instead?
@sarahrua9779
@sarahrua9779 3 жыл бұрын
In listening to this dissection, I kept thinking about this one scene from a kids TV show I saw. In the scene, the English class was discussing the novel S&S. The teacher asked the class "What is the most important word in this title?" And there's a discussion/argument where some students are shouting "Sense!" while others are in favor of "Sensibility!" Until one kid quitely pipes up and says "And". The most important word in the title is 'and'. Sense AND Sensibility. Logic AND emotion. Brain AND heart. And that has always been my interpretation of the novel. (Shout out to Girl Meets World for giving me the wording to describe it). The two sisters act as narrative foils of each other, and both need to learn how to balance their logical senses with their emotional sensibilities. Neither is completely beholden to one or the other, but both struggle to find the balance between the two.
@tatiananagumo1962
@tatiananagumo1962 3 жыл бұрын
I think Jane Austen wants her heroines to be as realistic as possible and in reality every person is a mixture of diffent qualities and also people are not always consistent.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Yes Tatiana, people are - to co-opt the narrative voice's description of Mr Bennet in P&P - an odd mixture of, often competing, parts.
@lesleywalllace7955
@lesleywalllace7955 3 жыл бұрын
My feeling has always been that the difference between the sisters was that Elinor hid her feelings from the public whereas Marianne displayed hers to everyone, not that Elinor did not have the same emotions as Marianne. She was able to act sensibly despite her internal feelings while Marianne wore her heart on her sleeve. Of course Elinor made mistakes about what she felt or understood about Edward, but her family and friends didn't know about them, but Marianne let all her emotions show and no-one was in any doubt at any time of what she was feeling. As Mrs Dashwood was a 'Marianne' type, it was as well for the family that Elinor could keep her common sense when all around her were overwhelmed with emotions.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Yes, Lesley - indeed, the very first introduction that we readers have to Elinor articulates just this point: "Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother, and enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generally have led to imprudence. She had an excellent heart;-her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn; and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught." (ch.1) The narrative voice does seem rather to condemn Mrs Dashwood and Marianne, and elevate Elinor, here in the opening of the novel. My point in the video was to suggest that perhaps Elinor, during the developing course of events, does not embody quite as much 'sense' as she is used to commanding, or as much as readers might think she commands (especially given comments such as this from the narrative voice at the opening of the novel, which prime us to see Elinor as sensible and Marianne as not).
@corinnewatterson5556
@corinnewatterson5556 3 жыл бұрын
@@DrOctaviaCox Yes I believe Elinor feels deeply, but she strives to be 'sensible' about how far she allows her feelings to affect her. whereas Marianne dwells on and exacerbates everything she is feeling, which is how I saw 'sensibility' to mean, encouraging the feelings and openly displaying them. Being sensible is not the same as unfeeling, as Elinor herself says to Marianne after Edward's engagement has come to light
@doveandpatch
@doveandpatch 3 жыл бұрын
@@DrOctaviaCox elinor would be insufferable if she didn't have a little sensability. As insufferable as Marianne if she was all sensability and no sense.
@millyrainford9382
@millyrainford9382 3 жыл бұрын
Absolutely - I always got the impression Austen was indicating as much praise for the notion of sensibility as sense, but limiting her criticism to an unbound display of it or not keeping it in check. Elinor reminds me of Anne Eliot in that they are both women of very good sense who subdue their feelings but the reader gains an insight into the hidden depths, perhaps in opposition to the sensibility craze of the Romantic Period which was in public view especially in art/literature. It also reminds me of Anne Eliot joining in Captain Benwick's praise of poetry but ultimately recommending a higher quota of prose in his daily reading - she appreciates the sensibility in the poetry just as much as him, but recognises where to draw the line. Both these heroines seem to be examples to the audience of the merits of having fine feelings with a dose of self-control.
@hudayusuf4964
@hudayusuf4964 2 жыл бұрын
When I look deeply on their characters I understand that Elinor has (Introvert personality) while Marianne has (Extrovert personality).
@JulianaSantos-zi7qq
@JulianaSantos-zi7qq 11 ай бұрын
I think in Sense & Sensibility she did exactly the same thing she did in Pride & Prejudice: we have to main characters representing one of the titles characteristic, but along the story we realize the main characters have a little bit of both. It's nice to see that she proves us people's behavious/feelings/actions are not "black and white", but rather grey.
@marycrawford1594
@marycrawford1594 3 жыл бұрын
I have sometimes thought that when Elinor hears from Lucy Steele about her long-standing engagement to Edward, a 'sensible' person might have concluded that Edward didn't love her as she hoped, and would then have taken steps to avoid Lucy as much as possible. This is what Elizabeth Bennet would have done, I suspect. It seems almost as if Elinor glories in hearing every detail she can glean from Lucy who is endlessly twisting the knife while Elinor makes no attempt to defend herself. I know she probably just wanted to hear Edward's name being spoken, but common sense certainly didn't prevail.
@rhondac.891
@rhondac.891 3 жыл бұрын
I think her behavior is very realistic for a girl if 19: I know I would’ve wanted to know the facts
@izzyeis5752
@izzyeis5752 Жыл бұрын
i just finished reading and what i remembered from the part lucy tells her about it is that at first she's completely overwhelmed but tries to not lose her head and later she reasons about edward's feelings for her that she couldn't have been so wrong as literally everyone else around here (including his own sister fanny and the middletons) thought the same, not just her. lucy she couldn't just avoid because she didn't want to show her feelings about it to her or be rude, slighting(?) lucy or the middletons (which were all over the steele sisters) so she couldn't just say no all the time, and it would've been all the time because the steeles were there constantly. she didn't want lucy to know how that knowledge affected her so she couldn't avoid her, it would've been to obvious the way elinor's personality and manners were. everyone would've noticed it.
@Simpaulme
@Simpaulme 3 жыл бұрын
The difference between Elinor and her sister is not that Elinor has no sensibility, but that she governs herself. Whatever private satisfaction she took from Edward's ring, she never allowed her actions to compromise her in consequence - as Marianne later acknowledges.
@a.borschevsky1299
@a.borschevsky1299 4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for this! I always felt that Elinor's idea of Edward somehow stealing a lock of her hair was quite mad :)
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 4 жыл бұрын
It's my pleasure! I think that once one realises that Elinor is not actually right about everything - despite what might initially appear to be the case - then the novel as a whole becomes much more interesting.
@hayleysimoneau6407
@hayleysimoneau6407 3 жыл бұрын
I have wondered about this for years! Austen *does* tell us the hair is Lucy's, of course, but she never tells us that the 2 women have the same color hair, or even what Elinor looks like at all. I look forward to rereading (or listening, I enjoy Elizabeth Klett's recordings on librivox) with the "complex portraits" of the main characters.
@cynthiarowley719
@cynthiarowley719 3 жыл бұрын
Elinor loves Edward, as quickly and deeply as her sister Marianne loves Wilhouby, just not as loudly, but family is completely aware. She gets her hopes up easily, the hair ring example, and crashes like Marianne, but on the inside. We see Elizabeth's sense, in how she keeps it together after her father's death. We see Marianne's sense, first in how she knows her sister so well, and again when she decides it's better to live and love, than love and die. Each character exhibit both sense and sensibility 😂😂. A lock of hair is also something to touch, quite sensible. Gotta reread the hair parts.💆
@sarahmwalsh
@sarahmwalsh 3 жыл бұрын
I'm reminded of what you have said in other videos about how Austen conditions us, the readers, to think about characters in a certain way. We're told in Sense and Sensibility that Elinor is the more rational sister, the one who governs her strong feelings and has a more calm outward appearance. So it's all the more surprising when she does kind of lose that command over her emotions and come to the wild conclusion that mild-mannered, cautious, self-effacing Edward could have somehow figured out how to get a lock of her hair without her knowing about it!
@nibbleniks2320
@nibbleniks2320 3 жыл бұрын
I've wondered why Brandon didn't look to Mrs. Dashwood as they were close in age and she is depicted as beautiful and similar to Marianne in temperament. As others mention, insightful and enlightening. Thank you!
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
My pleasure!
@ruthfeiertag
@ruthfeiertag 3 жыл бұрын
Now there’s an interesting question.
@_Tree_of_Life_
@_Tree_of_Life_ 3 жыл бұрын
Because women over 30 are basically dead! 😂😭
@sanguisbonum6814
@sanguisbonum6814 3 жыл бұрын
Most likely because Mrs. Brandon was over child-bearing age.
@sarasamaletdin4574
@sarasamaletdin4574 3 жыл бұрын
And Marianne reminded him of the Eliza (I think that was the name?) he had loved.
@ellie698
@ellie698 2 жыл бұрын
I love this format, the visuals focusing on the text. No distractions. No padding. Well edited and well paced. Perfect.
@lizziebkennedy7505
@lizziebkennedy7505 3 жыл бұрын
Is there some ironic comfort in seeing the great heroines of literature 'delude' themselves about boys and love, just as we still do, and to have a woman such as Austen, with what is surely a limited life in the world, depict it in so apt snd incisive a way? This close reading is just awesome. 🙏
@daenathedreamy9053
@daenathedreamy9053 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you very much for this fresh and enlightening analysis! I always thought the novel was about balance. Marianne learns from Elinor and vice versa. I believe sense can exist despite immediate feelings. All of us feel, otherwise we would not be human, but robots. I think the difference between sense and sensibility is how one outwardly reacts to feelings. When Elinor learns about Lucy‘s engagement her whole world breaks apart, a part of her has died and she grieves deeply. However, outwardly, she still behaves properly towards Lucy (even becoming her confidante) and towards Edward. Sense, in my opinion, is to hold on for a moment, breathe, analyze and reflect the situation as objectively as possible, even with empathy towards people who might have wronged you to understand why they did it (we‘re all humans and make mistakes). Elinor managed this. Marianne does not when she throws tantrums (behaving like a child; sense is responsibility and being an adult) and decides to stay in bed and mope. Their mother is not sensible when she behaves like an irresponsible child chasing after fairytale castles in the clouds rather than looking for a home they could actually pay for. Elinor also feels the loss of their home and the degradation of their new status. She only reacts to it differently. I think Marianne has to (and did) learn reflection and self-control from Elinor and Elinor has to (she did when she broke down and confided in her sister) learn from Marianne to let loose her emotions in a controlled and safe environment. Repressing emotions can only lead to mental illness. Balance is the key!
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your kind words Daena. Yes, balance is always the key in Austen!
@joannawagstaffe1190
@joannawagstaffe1190 4 жыл бұрын
Really helpful to focus on such a specific topic to illustrate/challenge the broader generally accepted theme - thank you.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 4 жыл бұрын
Good - I'm really glad it was helpful! Often I find it can really help to focus in on particular details (in this case something 'trivial' seeming, such as hair) to elucidate larger, broader themes. It can be useful to unpick novels' overall themes by honing in on specific (and so more tangible) examples.
@kristinakumpfhuber4459
@kristinakumpfhuber4459 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for this extremely illuminating analysis of one of my favourite novels. Could you please do something similar for the letters in sense and sensibility? I would be curious to hear your take on Marianne's final, somewhat confrontational and assertive letter to Willoughby.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Great idea! The letters in Sense and Sensibility are really interesting - especially that Marianne's to Willoughby are evidence of her sincerity, whereas Willoughby's comparable letter (actually composed by his future wife) is evidence of his insincerity.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
P. S. Thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you find them illuminating.
@mckster56
@mckster56 2 жыл бұрын
What I love about her books are the way she can convey super funny things with her subtle use of language. Sometimes I just break out loud in laughter with something she says
@anneboleyn3913
@anneboleyn3913 3 жыл бұрын
I always likes Marianne most in this book and never thought her to be way to overemotional the way other people viewed her. glad i am not alone
@rhondac.891
@rhondac.891 3 жыл бұрын
I felt this way the first time I read it as a teen, but as a young adult on a second read I found her to be how others view her. Maybe I should read it a 3rd time
@anneboleyn3913
@anneboleyn3913 3 жыл бұрын
@@rhondac.891 I find Jane austens book well worth reading more then twice, even IF you never change opinions 😁
@mariaa.3761
@mariaa.3761 3 жыл бұрын
I love this! Thank you for revealing these nuances. Austen was a genius.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
My pleasure. She was indeed! Octavia
@HRJohn1944
@HRJohn1944 3 жыл бұрын
I really am loving these videos. But two points: a) Marianne and Willoughby are NOT engaged. In Ch 29 " (Elinor) ' .....think what you would have suffered if ....your engagement had been carried on for months......' "'Engagement!' cried Marianne, ' there has been no engagement.' "'No engagement?' "'No, he is not so unworthy as you believe him. He has broken no faith with me' "'But he told you he loved you?' "'Yes - no - never absolutely. It was every day implied, but never profoundly declared" b) Willoughby's long apology to Elinor - why is she (sensible? Elinor) taken in by this? When speaking of Brandon's ward: " (I) cannot leave you to suppose that I have nothing to urge - that because she was injured she was irreproachable...the violence of her passions, the weakness of her understanding...." When speaking of his letter to Marianne: " -what do you think of my wife's style of letter-writing?" KJV is what comes to mind: "'Hast thou eaten of the tree..' And the man replied :The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gavest me of the tree...'" We men wouldn't go astray if it were not for you b****y women! Come on, Willoughby is a loathsome love-rat who takes no responsibility for the child he has fathered (presumably, that can be left to Col Brandon - it was the girl's fault anyway), who wants to take no responsibility for a letter which he has written and signed because we wanted to marry £50,000 (so it was his wife's fault for not letting him seduce anybody he fancied). Or it was the fault of any other woman of fortune who didn't immediately throw herself at him, so that he could pay off his debts and live comfortably.
@vorkosigrrl6047
@vorkosigrrl6047 2 жыл бұрын
I agree with you 100%! I absolutely can’t understand why the whole world forgives Willoughby in the end, and pities him rather than reviling him. He puts the blame for the pregnancy on a 15 YEAR OLD GIRL. She probably didn’t understand the mechanics of the sexual act that got her pregnant, since there was no such thing as sex education in those days. He was the adult in that situation and should have been able to step away. But he just didn’t care enough about anything except his own wishes to think beyond the moment. After that whole episode, he admits that he was just trifling with Marianne. Would he have gone down the same road with her, if he hadn’t fallen in love with her? Then, after knowing he’s broken Marianne’s heart, he blames and berates his wife for the letter she dictated. At that point, he could have declined, she could have broken the engagement, and he could have asked Marianne to take him back. If he had any integrity. Which he doesn’t. Instead, he intrudes on Elinor at a time when she really has no energy to give him, demands her attention, insists on a self justification which certainly doesn’t convince me, and asks throughout, “Do you think better of me now? How about now? Now?” It’s all about how people view him, not about anyone else’s welfare. He’s a weak rat of a person. The fact that he is forgiven by all (to some degree) makes it hard for me to like this book in the end. I was glad that in the 1995 movie, at least, that whole scene between Elinor and Willoughby is left out.
@CaptainAhorn
@CaptainAhorn 3 жыл бұрын
That’s a good example which I hadn’t really considered before. Another (broader) example is Elinor’s readiness to “acquit him of all misconduct, beyond allowing himself to become contracted before his judgment was properly formed.” I’m not qualified to say what was or was not allowed conduct at the time. However Edward does not appear, through much of the novel, to deal very straightforwardly with the situation and with Elinor. Of course we find out there is a reason for that, and he shows himself to be a man of his word even under great duress, but I think it’s fair to say that his conduct raised a reasonable expectation on her part that he knew he would be unable to fulfill. At the same time, Marianne is going through a similar situation with Willoughby, who raised expectations he chose not to fulfill. Elinor/the narrator internally admits the similarities of their situations, though Mariannes’s situation is considerably worsened by her own sensibility and the underlying sordid facts of Willoughby’s character. Perhaps Elinor really does love Edward romantically, and perhaps to some extent she sees him as the best option she’s likely to have. But she still seems “delighted to forgive him” even when his conduct seems (to me at least) to lie in a grey area. Also regarding Elinor and Col. Brandon - within the novel it is repeatedly speculated/hinted by other characters that Elinor should marry Col. Brandon. And in a few instances I read her reaction as not at all indisposed to the idea, except that she has deduced (correctly) that Brandon only has eyes for her sister. On one occasion she even sounds overtly favorable to it, when she reproves Marianne and Willoughby for mocking him and says “sense will always have its attractions to me, even in a man over thirty.” I’m not trying to write Elinor/Brandon fanfiction, but I think it’s a worthwhile speculation regarding Elinor’s character to ask - if Brandon’s affections had not been constantly directed toward her sister, would Elinor’s affections have been constant toward Edward?
@lorifrank430
@lorifrank430 3 жыл бұрын
Thats a good point....Brandon may make googly eyes at Marianne but even their brother sees potential in her match with him (even tho its based on selfish reasons). Brandon seems the one person in the novel Elinor can converse about the truth in situations with
@CaptainAhorn
@CaptainAhorn 3 жыл бұрын
@@lorifrank430 Even beyond that, I wonder if Austen was setting up this relationship as a “red herring” throughout the book to make the plot twists seem even “twistier.” Throughout the book, there are multiple instances that can be read as attraction between Brandon and Elinor - “in his company alone she took pleasure...they always conversed intimately”...etc. Then near the end, all overt signs point to Edward marrying Lucy and Marianne going insane or dying. The potential attraction between Brandon and Elinor perhaps makes it more believable to the reader that the bittersweet ending will happen - Marianne dead, Edward married to the grasping Lucy, and Brandon and Elinor finding their only comfort in each other. But then, ta-da, the happy ending!
@ludmilamaiolini6811
@ludmilamaiolini6811 Жыл бұрын
That would have been a far better couple than the ones we got. At least their relationship had some development…
@CaptainAhorn
@CaptainAhorn Жыл бұрын
@@ludmilamaiolini6811 I disagree. I think the main problem is that Austen was immature as a writer and S&S has problems as a novel, iMO partly because it was written as an “epistolary novel” first. The scenes exist which would flesh out the relationship between Brandon and Marianne, but they remain sketches only. For example, after Marianne is jilted and before she becomes sick, she and Brandon are actually together quite a lot, but their interactions are basically dealt with in one or two sentences. There’s room for a talented writer to re-work the novel.
@ludmilamaiolini6811
@ludmilamaiolini6811 Жыл бұрын
@@CaptainAhorn I think Austen took told a lot about the romantic relationships, but showed very little.
@bebly9797
@bebly9797 4 жыл бұрын
I am not convinced that elinor projects her own feelings to marianne. The passage that you read with elinor's thoughts actually comes after we have seen both reactions of marianne and edward: "Marianne spoke inconsiderately what she really felt - but when she saw how much she had pained Edward, her own vexation at her want of thought could not be surpassed by his. He coloured very deeply, and giving a momentary glance at Elinor, replied, 'Yes, it is my sister's hair. The setting always casts a different shade on it, you know'. It seems to me that marianne's reaction happens before, so it's indipendent from her sister's. it's strange but the ones who are talking and reacting to one another are marianne and edward; elinor is like an audience who reacts a bit later, when the scene in front of her has already happened. Love these videos❤
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
I agree that Elinor’s projection of her feelings on to Marianne come after Marianne has reacted to her own question (the moment you quote). So, we learn of Marianne’s response to her question to Edward (whether or not the ring includes Fanny’s hair) that “Marianne spoke inconsiderately what she really felt-but when she saw how much she had pained Edward, her own vexation at her want of thought could not be surpassed by his” (ch.18). And the narrative voice then moves to Elinor’s response to both Marianne and Edward, “Elinor had met his eye, and looked conscious likewise. That the hair was her own, she instantaneously felt as well satisfied as Marianne” - this is the moment where I think that Elinor is projecting her own feelings on to Marianne. The narrative voice has told us absolutely nothing about Marianne thinking that the hair is Elinor’s. It seems to me that Elinor is interpreting Marianne’s “vexation” (which the narrative tells us is because of Marianne’s recognition of her “want of thought”) through Elinor’s own lens. It is convenient for Elinor to project that Marianne “instantaneously felt as well satisfied” as herself, despite having no evidence that this is actually what Marianne had “felt”, because it adds support to her (frankly slightly mad) supposition that the hair must be hers.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you be bly, I’m very glad you are enjoying my videos!
@O-Demi
@O-Demi Жыл бұрын
I think not only Marianne had to gain more sense as in realizing that there are rules to follow and that every action had consequences but Elinor also had to gain more sensibility as in learning how to express her feelings. Marianne mentions, for example, that Elinor never shares her feelings with her, so it was impossible for her to understand what her sister was going through. And that moment also reminded me of what Charlotte Lucas had to say about Jane showing more affection towards Bingley so that he definitely understands her heart.
@cathryncampbell8555
@cathryncampbell8555 3 жыл бұрын
I keep thinking of Alexander Pope's "Rape of the Lock," in which a lover steals a lock of hair from a lady. Pope's poem is salacious & suggestive in its allusion, but it was a popular work which illustrated how popular it was to collect snippets of hair from Regency lords & ladies.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Absolutely Cathryn! If you're interested about the allusions between the novel and Pope's poem, then you might find this article illuminating: www.jasna.org/persuasions/printed/number20/bristow.pdf
@cathryncampbell8555
@cathryncampbell8555 3 жыл бұрын
@@DrOctaviaCox Thank you! I read Catherine Bristow's article & found it illuminating. I did *not* know that Austen revered Alexander Pope....
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
I think Pope's concision may well have appealed to her - especially given how intricately wrought her own works are. And his humour too! Octavia
@strll3048
@strll3048 3 жыл бұрын
Incredible insight. Especially the concluding observations took me completely by surprise. It seems to me that Elinor is still distinguished by Sense in reference to her outward reactions and behavior despite the Sensibility within her inner self. Thank you for this.
@ruthfeiertag
@ruthfeiertag 3 жыл бұрын
In regards to Elinor’s feeling mortified when Lucy reveals the hair is hers: I think we see in Elinor some of the same pride in her own perspicacity that you discuss as belonging to Emma Woodhouse. When she finds out the ring does not contain her hair, Elinor is embarrassed that she thought she was so smart. It would be interesting to look at soriral pairs in Austen’s novels: Elinor and Marianne, Jane and Elizabeth, Kitty and Lydia, the Musgraves. And then there are the brother-sister relationships: Charlotte with the brothers who fear having to take care of her, Henry and his sister in _NA_, Darcy and Georgiana, the Bertram siblings.
@irishlady5051
@irishlady5051 2 жыл бұрын
Great suggestion!!
@alfredosolari7597
@alfredosolari7597 8 ай бұрын
Thank you very much indeed. Very clear professional explanation.
@celloguy
@celloguy 2 ай бұрын
Beautiful little detail this. Thanks for pointing it out.
@Marielusi
@Marielusi 3 жыл бұрын
For Elinor feeling strongly, to worry or think irrationally doesn't put away with the SENSE. I think in the book ACTING sensibly was the important thing. Of course Elinor is no robot, but she doesn't carry her feelings outside as Marianne does. Both the sisters have both sides in them, they just choose one side more often.
@Ggianni10
@Ggianni10 Жыл бұрын
Totally appreciate the hair analysis. What a great way to demonstrate that even the most composed of people suffer from delusional thinking when romantically crushing on someone😂. However I don’t think the book presents Elinor as “sensible” at all in the way you suggested at the end. The narration is often describing the turmoil that Elinor experiences, And her self awareness of it. The sort of pep talks that she gives herself is rather difficult to perform in pressure situations and not something one is typically born with. My view on the title is that Sensibility is what we are all born with and sense is the shell of maturity that tempers sensibility. It seems very unlikely that Austen would Subtly suggest that sense and sensibility are polarities that need to be balanced, yet at the same time, Overtly asserting that Elinor is the role model of the sisters. The former being perhaps the most popular take i see on internet discussions. I think the polarity/balance view of the title comes from the widespread misunderstanding that emotional health means one must express emotions in a way that is visible to others, which is plainly false. There is a type of calm acknowledgment (as suggested in mindfulness meditation practices) that can be just as cathartic if not more, than conventional (reactionary) methods of catharsis (eg Marianne’s expressiveness)
@user-un3po3jb4l
@user-un3po3jb4l 3 жыл бұрын
Dear @Dr Octavia Cox, it was wonderful to discover your channel as I loved my literary analysis in college and uni. After graduation I remember how lonely I felt with a book when I didn't have to write any essays or discuss characters. So here we are again discussing and analysing. Yay! It's a great revelation that indeed both sisters show sence and sensibility at different times. Marianne showed great sence when she married the colonel. She realised that he is loving, caring, accepting of her and rich and didn't wait any longer for another Mr Willoughby. She even said that had Willoughby married for love and not money he would soon be discontent implying that love would wear off but money wouldn't. As fas as Elinor I have to say that I was greatly influenced by Emma Thompson's depiction of the character. Emma made a very mature and wise Elinor who looked very sure of herself as if she had a university degree and a paying job. Would be good to have another film of Sence and Sensibility where Elinor is shown misleading herself about affections of Edward. If you talk to BBC - give them the idea:-) And separately, it's nice to see you in the videos as well, not only the pages. Anna
@Colin91809
@Colin91809 3 жыл бұрын
i love your jane austen videos, sense and sensibility is my favorite austen novel
@daniellekail9911
@daniellekail9911 3 жыл бұрын
It's Margret who puts this idea of secret hair exchange in Eleanor's head. Though Eleanor gave Margret good advice as to jumping to conclusions, she does not take the good advice herself.
@kiyahforever
@kiyahforever Жыл бұрын
I always read the novel believing that there is folly in an overabundance of sense and sensibility, not either or. Loved this!
@elizabethnichols2284
@elizabethnichols2284 2 жыл бұрын
I've been packing our home for a move, and your videos have made the task much more pleasant! It's so nice to think and revisit these much loved texts. Thank you!
@brians5348
@brians5348 3 жыл бұрын
In my opinion that example is very thin evidence. One must look at the behaviours of both over the course of the novel.
@nidhird
@nidhird 3 жыл бұрын
I think there are some similarities between the characters of Elinor and Jane fairfax from EMMA. Both are sensible and intelligent and a bit introverted and stuck in impoverished circumstances. Both think and act a little foolishly and hastily where romantic love is concerned (although Elinor only thinks foolishly). Jane shows a great deal of strength and composure in bearing her circumstances but shows a moment of weakness in entering into a secret engagement with frank Churchill and suffers as a consequence because lying and deceit were completely out of character for her.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
They're too really interesting characters to compare - Elinor Dashwood & Jane Fairfax. And of course, neither feels able to tell their family about their turmoil either.
@nastyaissor7825
@nastyaissor7825 3 жыл бұрын
I just love the character of Jane Fairfax, she is very interesting! I would love to hear analysis on her some day.
@michaelwoodhams7866
@michaelwoodhams7866 3 жыл бұрын
Perhaps you could consider a video about Margaret Dashwood? Is there more to her than a plot device to indiscreetly drop a comment about a "Mr F" while otherwise being kept as much as possible out of sight?
@nolagirl7082
@nolagirl7082 2 жыл бұрын
I’ve recently gotten into watching these Jane Austen videos on KZfaq. You, Ellie Dashwood etc.. I had never watched any of these movies (or read the books),but since listening to all of the great information on these channels, including yours, I finally watched pride and prejudice and sense and sensibility. But I have to say, there’s so many things that you referred to in the book that is not in the movie. Both movies leave out a lot of information. I’m going to have to read these two books now. I’m a little scared though because I’m so bad with strong English accents and big words that I don’t understand. Old words from the aristocracy etc. I literally had to watch those movies several times just to be able to follow along. I’m worried if I try to read the books, I will be so lost! I’m sure both books have really big fancy words, and lots of old words from the 1800’s
@lalaholland5929
@lalaholland5929 3 жыл бұрын
Also another time Elinor is wrong & judgemental is when talking to Colinel Brandon makes a comment that Marianne should fall flat on her face to be taught a lesson. Brandon responds by telling her that is wrong and about his ward.
@orlamckeown4917
@orlamckeown4917 3 жыл бұрын
Very much enjoying the Austen series of analyses, for which many thanks. One thing I enjoy about JA is her depiction of nuance. Elinor would be too insufferable if she did not display a little sensibility amongst all that buttoned up sense of hers, which is most admirable in character, but the presence of her imaginings on this topic render her far more likeable. I have long wondered at the reason for her attraction to Edward, who seems to be to be a bit of a "blimp", an honourable blimp perhaps in his attitude to his engagement to Lucy but not quite so honourable in indulging himself with Elinor's company when he must have been aware she was developing affections for him. Self indulgent of him, or just unperceptive? One wonders how happy the union would have been long term. My conclusion is probably that Edward would be a somewhat dull life companion, but I am looking at it with modern eyes as a woman with independent choices available to me. Perhaps a character analysis of Edward might be interesting? Also, JA as feminist, eg her comments on travel restrictions, restrictions generally imposed upon young and indeed not so young women, the need for marriage if a female was to attain any sort of independence from parents and have the (albeit dependent) running of their own household etc. Sitting in lockdown in Ireland at present, so this series is a delightful indulgence from reality. For this reason I have happily watched all adds by way of a small thank you .
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Absolutely, Orla - I agree about JA's use of nuance. Austen herself wrote about heroines that "Pictures of perfection, as you know, make me sick and wicked" (letter to Fanny Knight, 23 March 1816) - so she too had had enough of insufferable depictions of 'perfect' women. Hmmmm, yes - that's a good question about Edward. Both he and Elinor share a slightly sardonic appreciation of practical concerns (especially compared to Marianne): Elinor & Marianne (ch.16): “Dear, dear Norland,” said Elinor, “probably looks much as it always does at this time of the year. The woods and walks thickly covered with dead leaves.” “Oh,” cried Marianne, “with what transporting sensation have I formerly seen them fall! How have I delighted, as I walked, to see them driven in showers about me by the wind! What feelings have they, the season, the air altogether inspired! Now there is no one to regard them. They are seen only as a nuisance, swept hastily off, and driven as much as possible from the sight.” “It is not every one,” said Elinor, “who has your passion for dead leaves.” Edward & Marianne (ch.18): “It is very true,” said Marianne, “that admiration of landscape scenery is become a mere jargon. Every body pretends to feel and tries to describe with the taste and elegance of him who first defined what picturesque beauty was. I detest jargon of every kind, and sometimes I have kept my feelings to myself, because I could find no language to describe them in but what was worn and hackneyed out of all sense and meaning.” “I am convinced,” said Edward, “that you really feel all the delight in a fine prospect which you profess to feel. But, in return, your sister must allow me to feel no more than I profess. I like a fine prospect, but not on picturesque principles. I do not like crooked, twisted, blasted trees. I admire them much more if they are tall, straight, and flourishing. I do not like ruined, tattered cottages. I am not fond of nettles or thistles, or heath blossoms. I have more pleasure in a snug farm-house than a watch-tower-and a troop of tidy, happy villagers please me better than the finest banditti in the world.” Marianne looked with amazement at Edward, with compassion at her sister. Elinor only laughed. But this hardly seems to be "foundation enough for wedded love" (MP ch.48). Something to ponder further... And thank you very much indeed for your support. It is much appreciated.
@tammysmith7262
@tammysmith7262 3 жыл бұрын
Your videos are so good, Dr. Cox; you explain so well some of the subtler aspects of Jane Austen's novels. I never caught that, that Eleanor felt just as much as Marianne, only she was able to conceal it better. Sometimes I think I watch the movies made on her books, where they don't have time to get in all the wonderful details, and so I miss a lot. I did have a request, that you might look at the relationship between Mr. Elliot and Mrs. Clay in Persuasion. Why did she end up going off with him at the end?!
@marlenelieb5935
@marlenelieb5935 4 ай бұрын
I always read it not as one sister being "sense" and one being "sensibility" but as one sister prising "sense" in herself a well as others and trying to be driven by sense while the other prices "sensibility" and seeks the according qualities.
@marissawhite8140
@marissawhite8140 3 жыл бұрын
I didn’t catch that the first time around! Great analysis
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you! Much appreciated. Octavia
@happynesiscatching
@happynesiscatching 3 жыл бұрын
I would love to take a closer look at the engagement of Frederick and Lucy, or just Lucy as a character. I've always found her fascinating.
@dorotejajurgaityte1305
@dorotejajurgaityte1305 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for this analysis! Sense and sensibility for me was always the least favourite novel of Jane Austen's because of seemingly simple message and now you challenged that! It will be very interesting to reread it with this new perspective in mind!
@strngenchantedgirl
@strngenchantedgirl 3 жыл бұрын
I’ve always felt that both sisters needed to moderate themselves. That they both almost lost out on love because of the extremes of their behavior. That Marianne needed to temper herself and be less emotional. But Elinor needs to be more open about her feelings.
@bsmb2017
@bsmb2017 3 жыл бұрын
I think it is interesting how people interpret the title of this novel. Perhaps Miss Austen titled it as such to see how different people interpreted the sisters. There seems to be two kinds of people in the novel. Those who show their emotions (Marriann and Mrs Jennings )and those who keep them in check (Elinor and Col Brandon). Both sisters were courted by men with secrets and both were deceived.
@christinae30
@christinae30 3 жыл бұрын
Interesting! I have also fallen in the trap Austen laid out in the first chapter, that Elinor is the only sensible in the family! When I find the book in the bookshelves I have to reread it! 🤓
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Austen does like to spring a trap on her readers!
@briteddy9759
@briteddy9759 3 жыл бұрын
This was a rather Interesting observation. I had not noticed how Eleanor fools herself into thinking it was her hair, nor had I caught the thought it might be the hair of a great uncle. I totally agree this is showing sensibility on Eleanor’s part. I think this is what makes Jane Austen so enduring. Her chapters are not flat. There is both good and bad in them all, they are both foolish and wise. It is just like in real life. Mr. Willowby is a selfish womanizer, but he is not without feelings. He is certainly not someone you would want your daughter involved with. The same goes for Eleanor. If she was presented as someone perfect, I think we readers would come to dislike her. Now, a question on the probability of having the hair of your great uncle set in a ring: are you serious? Would they really do that? I can see doing that with the love of your life, your child and possibly a sibling, but great uncle! Wouldn’t Edward’s mother be a better candidate? I enjoyed your observations. Great video.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
In the case of Elinor and Marianne, their great uncle had been the patriarch of the family, which I suppose makes a difference. We're told that Marianne wears a necklace with his portrait: "Marianne wore his picture round her neck ... the miniature of our great uncle" (ch.12). And it is Elinor who jokes about Willoughby having "the hair of some great uncle of _his_ [emphasis in S&S]" (ch.12). Times were different, clearly!
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
And thanks for the compliment. Much appreciated! Octavia
@happydays3678
@happydays3678 Жыл бұрын
What a surprise! I have to say, I have never interpreted Sense and Sensibility as described in the introduction. It's interesting to learn how differently we each see the world, including the world of books. I think we tend to see and believe what we choose.
@melissarey2973
@melissarey2973 3 ай бұрын
I took the title not to represent contrasting characters in the novel, but as characteristics existing within all people. Colonel Brandon is demonstrably a very sensible man, but it is clear he feels very deeply. Elinor is usually the measured, logical one among the dashwoods. But as Dr. Cox points out, Elinor reacts to circumstances emotionally as well. In the opening description of the dashwoods, Margaret is said to not have as much of Marianne's sense. Austen acknowledging here that Marianne is sensible. Some of her enthusiastic delivery might hide it - like challenging Nancy about the pin poking the little girl. It's founded on logic, though the way we tend to read it seems like an emotional outburst. Though she seems to spend a lot of energy on senseless conjecture, we can see Mrs Jennings sense about Charlotte's baby, Marianne needing to rest, or Willoughby selling his horses to pay his debts - these ideas exist within the same person who gets up to all of Mrs Jennings other antics. The title Pride & Prejudice is the same. Maybe even more blatantly so. We see both characteristics in many of the characters of that novel. Mary Bennet - good grief!
@mairimccloud2274
@mairimccloud2274 3 жыл бұрын
I feel a great sympathy with Elinor, because I try to pretend that things are good when they're not, and I don't show my true feelings very easily. Though I am assuming that such behavior was more expected and admired in women of the Regency era. I grew up admiring that in Elinor, but I now think the openness and honesty of Marianne is more admirable, and more sensible, because it *is* honest and real.
@Anna-mc3ll
@Anna-mc3ll 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you very much for this truly interesting and clarifying explanation!
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
It's my pleasure. I'm glad it was helpful.
@bethanyperry5337
@bethanyperry5337 2 жыл бұрын
Delighted to find this episode that I’d somehow missed. But the lesson s of course timeless
@LusiaEyre
@LusiaEyre 2 жыл бұрын
I think Marianne's underlying sense is even better shown by how the hair gave her a reason to have faith in Willoughby, trust his affection but not deluded her to think herself engaged. She knew very well she was not engaged and makes it clear to Elinor : "He broke no faith with me" It's Marianne's displays of emotion that are juxtaposed to Elinor's. She gets carried away by feelings so may seem silly at times and make questionable decisions (like going with W to Allenham to look at rooms) but she's not generally less smart which is also stated at the very beginning of the novel. Elinor comes across as smarter because she can govern her feelings better and because most of her assumptions are only in her head and heart they don't seem so jarring. We all lie to ourselves sometimes. Elinor felt just as much as Marianne but surrounded by emotional sisters and Mother she took upon herself to be the steady one and comfort others in her own grief. I feel kinship with Elinor on that level. I never caused trouble or stepped out of the line because I was surrounded by people who were less in tune with those around them. I wanted to be one thing no one has to worry about. I doesn't mean I didn't want to party all night and be impulse, etc.
@shirahmalkacohen5017
@shirahmalkacohen5017 3 жыл бұрын
I think that this perception of the two sisters is even being more amplified recenlty. You can see it in the Emma Thompson movie adaptation, which, while a great film, considerably ages up Elinor making her seem even more composed and rational than Marianne, while in the novel, there is no great age difference between them and Elinor is still very young and somewaht naïve. Also - I wonder if you are interested in making a video about the compatability of Austen's couples? That is, if the heroines do in fact end up with a match that is good for them or not. For example, there is a lot that can be said against Edward as a good match for Elinor (he hides things, he is not decisive, etc.). Personally, I always felt sorry for Fanny in Mannsfield Park for ending up with Edmund - I find him quite the worst of Aunsten's heroes. What do you think?
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Yes, Elinor and Marianne are younger in the novel than they are often presented as being in film and telly adaptations. In the novel, Eleanor is "nineteen" (ch.1), and Marianne is "not seventeen" (ch.3) but is older than "sixteen and a half" (ch.10) [the very fact that Marianne still thinks of herself in 1/2 ages shows her youth!]. In the 1995 film version, Emma Thompson was 35. This does - as you suggest - change the dynamics, and puts Elinor in the dreaded 'old maid' territory.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
I too find Edmund difficult. In fact, I find it hard to think of a single thing that I like about him. I suppose the only thing that can be said in favour of their union (in novelistic terms) is that it is Fanny's greatest wish.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Oooh, that's an interesting question. I shall add it to my list of questions to ponder. Thanks for the suggestion!
@shirahmalkacohen5017
@shirahmalkacohen5017 3 жыл бұрын
@@DrOctaviaCox Yes, that is right, which is why it always makes rather uncomfortable. Especially since I think Edmund has inherited his father's dictatorial tendencies. And I also feel really bad for Fanny since she doesn't actually have many options - Henry Crawford isn't a great choice either...
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Fanny adores Edmund, but Edmund ignores Fanny and her feelings repeatedly throughout _Mansfield Park_ (e.g. the horse episode) - not a great sign...
@cl5470
@cl5470 2 жыл бұрын
When I was young I always liked and related to Maryanne more, but as a woman in my late 30's. I have come to appreciate the wisdom in Elinor's reserve. I think it's best to fall somewhere in the middle of the two sisters. I now see the inclusion of the youngest Dashwood sister, Margaret, as a glimmer of hope that Austen left for the reader that the youngest Dashwood girl will get it just right and spare herself the heartache her sisters experienced. Margaret is shown to be straightforward, such as when she is openly affectionate towards Edward Ferrars and tells him she wants to spend time with him. Yet she also shows reserve in the way she seeks privacy while mourning her father and the loss of her childhood home.
@bethanydelleman4459
@bethanydelleman4459 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your videos, I've been watching them all. I am doing a book club of Sense and Sensibility right now and I thought Elinor was being very irrational when she thought the hair was hers. Was Edward sneaking around with scissors? In my mind it would be kind of creepy if the hair was indeed Elinor's, it makes Edward into a stalker or someone who takes a token of affection instead of being given it.
@claudiacoracini9460
@claudiacoracini9460 3 ай бұрын
I think that the point of the novel is that they started off as the embodiment of Sense and sensibility but that in the end they ended up in the opposite of it , with Marianne marrying actually for sense and Eleanor entirely by sensibility.
@GrumpyYank26
@GrumpyYank26 3 жыл бұрын
After listening to your wonderful talk I started thinking that it is a false dichotomy. E and M both have both sense and sensibility. I see E as controlled and M as impulsive (a little adhd perhaps?). Or maybe the difference lies in the different qualities of their physicality? But even that would be a dichotomous set up. Maybe they are both whirling passionate humans, one of whom is still, the other jumping about. I dont know. Thx!
@xochilguevara3429
@xochilguevara3429 2 ай бұрын
So interesting 😮
@beatrixscudeler
@beatrixscudeler 3 жыл бұрын
Very interesting! Thank you for your insights, I'm working on a video on Sense and Sensibility and this was very helpful!
@moiragoldsmith7052
@moiragoldsmith7052 3 жыл бұрын
Jane Austen must have wanted to infer what we all know when love encapsulates our hearts, ie. our entire bodily chemistry changes when we fall in love.... thus making us invincible, indefatigably hopeful and non sensical. Hahahah. Thank you... I am thoroughly enjoying our little 'chats'.
@katdenning6535
@katdenning6535 3 жыл бұрын
I feel like all of the characters are masking sense with sensibility and vise versa. Edward and Brandon are another pair of oddities that seem full of both. Serious Brandon with his over attachment to the Gothic tale of Eliza and illogical attachment to Marianne partly due to that story he’s spun himself into a hero out of, for example. He’s meant to be seen as the stodgy older gentleman but his pursuit of Marianne is full of sensibility. Edward is the opposite, with his serious self-rationalizations for his wildly illogical behaviors.
@daenathedreamy9053
@daenathedreamy9053 3 жыл бұрын
Dear Dr. Cox, Could you possibly also make a video about the pairings in Sense & Sensibility? Tell us what you think of them? The short answer would surely be "If they love each other and are happy, everything is perfectly fine.". I'm asking from a reader's perspective, though. I personally had mixed feelings after finishing S&S. With Harry Potter, many fans dislike the pairing of Hermione and Ron stating that they are not equal in their partnership and that Hermione deserves a true partner who can interact with her also on an intellectual level. My mixed feelings ran like this: Why didn't Elinor and Colonel Brandon become a couple? Despite their age differences they are equals in intellect and mind. Being equals they could have formed a true partnership. (This is what I like about Jane Eyre. Despite their difference in age and status they both concede to be equals in mind and soul in the marriage proposal scene.) Marianne and Brandon tend towards the trope of pretty young girl and older wiser father-figure husband. Marianne has many accomplishments and plays music like no other, but is she an equal to Brandon? Not in the way Elinor could be, I think. Thus, I felt unsatisfied. Does Marianne deserve Brandon? Does not Brandon deserve something more? A true equal partner and not a quasi-child-wife he has to care for and to whom he is superior? Would he at some point be sick of Marianne and yearn for a deep conversation with an intellectual equal? Edward is a good and honest, hard-working person, but in my opinion not as intelligent as Elinor, not her equal in mind. Marianne also represents raw goodness. However, compared to Brandon and Elinor they (Edward & Marianne) somehow feel like "simpler", more unreflecting people to me. Edward, when he first meets the sisters, is playful and outgoing (playing with Margaret, etc.) and is much more like Marianne than Elinor in character. The question is, would Marianne have better been married to Edward and Elinor to Brandon? If they don't love each other, obviously not, but as an experiment of thought. All four have good lives: Marianne is pampered and adored and only with Brandon's money can she indulge freely in her music. Being married to Edward she would not have those resources. Brandon can pamper and be a guiding father-figure to her like he liked to be to the women of his past. Edward has in Elinor a perfectly capable clergy-man's wife. Marianne would not do as well with all the work and lesser funds a marriage to Edward implies. Could you find more arguments for why the couples are perfect as they are, so that my mind may rest in peace on this issue? Where from the text do I get the idea that Elinor is more intelligent than Marianne? Do only I feel like this or do also other people think so? By the way, after reading all of Austen's major works, my book group had a poll about our favourite male Austen hero and Brandon won the poll even over Darcy.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Re Elinor and Marianne's intelligence - The narrative voice tells us in the opening chapter that they are equally "sensible" but not equally "prudent": "Marianne’s abilities were, in many respects, quite equal to Elinor’s. She was sensible and clever; but eager in everything: her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation. She was generous, amiable, interesting: she was everything but prudent." (ch.1). I take this to mean that they are of equal intelligence.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Austen floats the possibility of Elinor and Brandon but quickly dismisses it (John Dashwood wants it very much! - "I am glad of it. He seems a most gentlemanlike man; and I think, Elinor, I may congratulate you on the prospect of a very respectable establishment in life" (ch.33).
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
I wonder if Austen is challenging us to interrogate our own wish-fulfilment fantasies about the ends of novels?
@daenathedreamy9053
@daenathedreamy9053 3 жыл бұрын
@@DrOctaviaCox That’s totally what’s happened to me and the reason why I asked the question 😅 A huge THANK YOU for taking the time and answering my questions!
@christinae30
@christinae30 3 жыл бұрын
I think, that maybe, Austen had the "harsh realities" of life very clear in her mind: That the place one gets through a certain marriage is almost as important as the person you marry. I think Elinor found their restricted economy a, almost fun, challenge. Marianne would probably have managed the household with Edward, but always felt that something was missing. And I think one reason why Brandon and Elinor get along so well is that there is no spark between them, so they can have the laid back acceptance we have for our friends (at least compared to lovers). Maybe also Edward is less decisive, and younger at heart, than Brandon; and with that comes a more open mind that takes thinngs more as they are, and thereby he can appreciate Elinor's all sides, and maybe she feels more free and herself with him. OR maybe wishful thinking, I have a soft spot for Edward...
@NickMarsh-ke6kq
@NickMarsh-ke6kq 2 ай бұрын
A very interesting view. Of course Jane Austen is a very subtle writer and it is dangerous to underestimate her complexity. However, here, unusually, I am not convinced by your conclusion. Elinor has every right to believe that Edward is in love with her, in spite of the mistake about the hair. (She is not meant at all to be unfeeling and unemotional and the mistake is quite natural in a person in love.) In fact Edward is in love with her in spite of his potentially disastrous prior engagement to Lucy Steele. My view is that Elinor’s “sense” lies not in lack of emotion or lack of a lover’s natural tendency to self deception but to the control she exercises over her deep emotion in contrast to Marianne’s fashionable hysteria. That is shown in the present case by the composure which she forces herself to exhibit on receipt of Lucy’s devastating revelation. Incidentally, a very interesting video could be made discussing which of Jane Austen’s heroine’s or other characters suffers most cruelly. Is it Elinor suffering in silence when she believes that no relationship with Edward is possible after all? Is it Marianne and her unrestrained and life-threatening. reaction to Willoughby’s caddish and selfish treatment of her? Is it Elizabeth Bennet when she realises too late, she thinks, that she actually loves Darcy? Is it Ann Eliot when she is forced to meet Capt. Wentworth again socially, still loving him, but believing that her own ill advised refusal of years ago has ended any possibility of happiness for ever? Is it Emma, for the comparatively short time after she simultaneously realises that she loves Mr Kniightley and that her own meddling actions may mean that it is the unsuitable Harriet who will marry him and the final happy (for her) resolution? Is it Fanny Price watching from afar, invisibly, Edmund’s potentially disastrous dalliance with the amoral Mary? My heart in fact goes out most of all to Jane Fairfax and her long drawn out apparently futile engagement to Frank Churchill while all the while forced in silence to each his play acting flirtations with Emma. Jane Austen has been accused of cruelty. In general I disagree but if there is any cruelty in the novels it is that inflicted on Jane Fairfax - but again even she is made happy in the end. Why some people are apparently not dazzled by Miss Austen I will never understand.
@missioncardiac7599
@missioncardiac7599 3 жыл бұрын
I have recently come across your channel and gone through some of your videos. Loving them. So this comment is now for a nine month old video! But I hope you read it. An interesting subversion of of the the obvious interpretation of the the title and the sisters. Of course our divine Jane is far to subtle to allow overly simplistic interpretations. But I am not sure that one can easily flip the sense and sensibility to Marianne and Elinor respectively. Elinor's feelings and conclusions may indeed may have been irrational and based on sensibility but I think the main point is how she acted (and the same with her sister). Elinor acted with sense, while Marianne allowed her actions to be guided by sensibility. Of course this oversimplification can also be critiqued. But as evidence, milud, I present Marianne's own admission in chapter 46: [Elinor]“Do you compare your conduct with his?” [Marianne]“No. I compare it with what it ought to have been; I compare it with yours.” As regards subverting the title's association with the characters, I feel a stronger case can be made that Elizabeth was the one with pride, and Darcy with prejudice!
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Perhaps, as with Elinor and Marianne both navigating sense and sensibility, Elizabeth and Darcy are also both navigating the two (prejudice and pride)?
@missioncardiac7599
@missioncardiac7599 3 жыл бұрын
@@DrOctaviaCox Thanks for the prompt reply. And after having sorted out these nagging dichotomies maybe we can attack the the really thorny issue: who went red and who went white when Darcy met Wickham in Elizabeth's presence??
@windangel7720
@windangel7720 3 жыл бұрын
I like your interpretations very much. There are so many ways to relate the title and the meanings of the words to Marianne and Elinor. I think I've asked before and I'd like to request this again. Would you please do an analysis of Lucy Steele?I am really not sure how to interpret her- is she truly making friends with Elinor, or has she figured out Edward's affection for her and is trying to protect her status as Edward's future bride? And how does she end up with Robert, Edward's brother so suddenly? It has always confused me.
@marywest2896
@marywest2896 3 жыл бұрын
i think Jane was trying to show that each of these"feelings/behaviors" just isn't all or nothing, that everyone can feel each or show each of sense and sensibility. in my language, being honest with oneself and deluding oneself . at least in the example you showed. maybe in the day the general thought was all in with sense or sensibility, like you couldn't be a bit of both and Jane was showing that even the most level headed person can delude herself if she wants something so much. what do you think? or am I deluding myself?? lol just discovered your channel and now have seen 4 of your videos, very enjoyable.
@leannemedhurst9662
@leannemedhurst9662 2 жыл бұрын
It was always been my take that each girl had to learn to be more like each other in order to be truly happy. Marianne needed to get her head out of the clouds and appreciate the gentleman who has been there the who time. Elinor needed to get the hell out of her own way and just admit that she loved edward.
@denisematos2335
@denisematos2335 2 жыл бұрын
I dont agree with. Something puzzles me in Sense and sensibility and It is that the sister's destiny happens by chance, It is not Elinor's Sense or Marianne's sensibility the cause of their (mis)fortunes. Willoughby wanted to marry Marianne, and Elinor almost doesnt get married to Edward. But one thing for me is Very clear, they need each other, for the most beautiful part of the story is when Marianne is ill and Elinor prays for her recover. Sense or sensibility? None of them will grant happiness. It is somewhere deeper.
@emilyshmelimy
@emilyshmelimy 3 жыл бұрын
The question I have about sense and sensibility is how did Lucy Steele get Robert Ferrars to marry her? Did his mom disown him when they got married? Did he keep his inheritance?
@tracys169
@tracys169 3 жыл бұрын
That's my confusion too. Lucy Steele marrying Robert Ferrars, the new heir, and that his family actually accepted this and even preferred Robert-Lucy compared to Edward-Elinor. While I can see Lucy Steele and Robert Ferrars liking each other (as they seem as sneaky/snakey as the other), I'm surprised that the family who just disowned Edward due to Lucy Steele was suddenly fine with him marrying her.
@jmarie9997
@jmarie9997 3 жыл бұрын
@@tracys169 I think Mrs Ferrars settled money on Robert irrevocably? Once she couldn't take it back, Lucy was safe in chasing him.
@nicholasmarsh5567
@nicholasmarsh5567 2 жыл бұрын
Very interesting as usual. But this time I don’t. It’s true that Elinor fools herself over the ring. But it’s not surprising in view of Edward’s marked liking for her. And in believing Edward to be in love with her she is of course quite correct. The point of the novel, or at least the reference in the title, is (in my view) is that Elinor feels just as deeply as Marianne - and indeed in the novel also suffers very deeply - but she tries harder to keep her natural emotion in check, and, though suffering, does not give way to such an extent as to make her ill. Dr Cox makes reference to the revelation by Lucy Steele of her engagement to Edward. As Dr Cox points out Elinor is profoundly shocked and distressed. But the crucial points is that she does not faint away or scream or allow in any way Lucy to see how she feels. She acts in a “sensible” way.
@hojiscott733
@hojiscott733 3 жыл бұрын
I've taken it to be both, Sense as well as Sensibility. The girls and their mother (who can be very illogical about money) have lessons for each other. Little Margaret seemed to hVe the best combination.
@XeaRae
@XeaRae 3 жыл бұрын
I wish to argue the second point. Text says Eleanor felt satisfied. She did not feel that Edward took her hair. That is a thought. A wishful thinking and not the most rational thinking, but still thinking none the less. Feeling was satisfaction. I do agree in two instances Marianne showed herself more grounded in sense and reality than her sister.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for your comment XeaRae. I think we shall have to agree to disagree on Elinor's reaction to Edward's hair-ring. The text reads: "...what Marianne considered as a free gift from her sister, Elinor was conscious must have been procured by some theft or contrivance unknown to herself. She was not in a humour, however, to regard it as an affront, and affecting to take no notice of what passed, by instantly talking of something else, *she internally resolved henceforward to catch every opportunity of eyeing the hair and of satisfying herself, beyond all doubt, that it was exactly the shade of her own* ." (S&S ch.18) I take this to mean that she seeks to "satisfy" her conviction that the hair is "her own". Elinor is presented, it seems to me, as only _appearing_ to be rational (& even thinking of herself as rational) - she "internally resolved" to find evidence "beyond all doubt, that it was exactly the shade of her own". But the diction here, it seems to me, undermines any apparent objectivity: if you think you can prove something "beyond all doubt", then you must already be convinced that it is true. (And, furthermore, her proposed evidence-gathering technique is for her, herself, to look at the hair as often as possible - rather a subjective technique.) Elinor wants to confirm her own hope & belief that Edward took her hair.
@BoninBrighton
@BoninBrighton 2 жыл бұрын
@@DrOctaviaCox Elinor is forensic and scientific in her approach rather than ‘sensing’ if it’s her own hair. She’s applying sense in the face of an improbable possibility.
@nyckolaus
@nyckolaus Жыл бұрын
brilliant
@cheerio3847
@cheerio3847 3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for pointing out something I thought was odd - I remember wondering how someone could snip off hair without being found out unless they creep up while you are sleeping... which just made Edward seem creepy stalker odd to me! I recall being glad to know it was Lucy's cuz then he wasn't creepy guy, but I never made the mental jump back to wonder why she assumed it had to be her hair. For the title, I thought it was because Elinor had too much sense and not enough sensibility and Marianne the reverse. Interesting to see the hidden clues of Elinor showing too much internal sensibility. It's like their internal and external were at odds with themselves, showing one thing while really feeling and thinking the other. Interesting point Austin was subtly showing.
@Zukhane
@Zukhane 3 жыл бұрын
I really love your videos, so first of all thank you so much. It is really inspiring. 😍 On account of Sense vs Sensibility I had a thought while reading Elinor's and Mrs. Dashwood's discussion about whether an engagement had taken place between Willoughby and Marianne. It seems to me, that Jane Austen is showing there how the reader him/herself must apply both sensibility (= in identifying motives, empathically observing behaviour and wishing the best for the characters and listen to intuition- something I think Elinor seems to be really good at most of the time) AND also sense (= in questioning characters, the reader's own wishful thinking, and most of all looking closely at the "syllables" of what is actually said in the text, where things look suspicious.) The book seems in part to be a manual for the reader as well, how to read/understand and enjoy the stories. What do you think?
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
I think that's a very apt way to put it. Exactly - the reader too should engage both their sense and sensibility in interpreting the novel. And thank you for watching. I'm glad that you find my videos inspiring!
@calsantos9695
@calsantos9695 2 жыл бұрын
My theory is that they were in fact sense and sensibility but that in the end it all switched and the one with the fence display a great amount of sensibility and the one with sensibility displayed a great day off since
@TheGeoDaddy
@TheGeoDaddy Жыл бұрын
Probably mentioned below - but I read the novel as a swap - Marianne falls into romantic love but marries out of practicality while Elinor ends up - romantically - marrying a good man but penniless (or just poundless) perhaps the novelist’s idea that neither is preferred but both must be given time to play out….
@adrianseguras.9659
@adrianseguras.9659 3 жыл бұрын
It would make sense that in the coarse, kind of rough and cruel English society of the early 19th century, that the novel would be assumed as a praise to good sense and a critique to excess sensibility. But. it never seemed to me that way... I did watch the Ang Lee movie before I tried the novel but, in both cases, my gathering of the novel's notions was that, it took a combination of both things in order to make a happy, successful life; wheras Marianne was melodramatic in excess, Elinor was in excess prudish and self-righteous
@sheilalopez3983
@sheilalopez3983 Жыл бұрын
I Always thought that the Sensibility part meant they were using their "emotional sense" of being. .
@AChen-bk2uw
@AChen-bk2uw 3 жыл бұрын
You mentioned that there are many other examples in addition to hair, what might those be?
@braingrunt5499
@braingrunt5499 3 жыл бұрын
I don't think you are entirely wrong, but I think your critique leads one to miss the point. I don't think sensibility is viewed as bad. If I recall correctly sensibility is considered necessary and there are good expressions of it. The point of the book is DEFINITELY not that Elinor lacks sensibility. If so the moral is weak sauce. The point is that in spite of both sisters being strongly affected by sensibility (both are mad in love and suffer greatly from it), one of the sisters has subordinated her feelings to propriety, duty etc, and behaves in a manner which is far more controlled according to the "sense" of the time. As such she maintains more dignity than Marianne until the very end. It could also be argued that Elinor's heart has chosen far more sensibly-not in terms of availability, but certainly in terms of character. Edward has been stupid but is very very good. Elinor has not been entirely blinded by surface-level charm or wit or feeling. Be it Shakespeare or what have you. Even in her sensibility she is showing sense. But to your point, even her sensible sensibility would have led her into extra pain and embarrassment had she let it run amok, Marianne-style. But she did not. And that's the point. In the end Marianne's sensibility also becomes subordinate to sense. Her heart chooses a very good man who is less fun than Willoughby, but is twice the man and loves her in a dependable way. This is the point, if you ask me. All sensibility has to be subordinate to sense and Elinor is the hero of that virtue. While Marianne is the cautionary tale of unsubordinated sensibility, like Romeo and Juliet. Thankfully Jane Austen did not write a tragedy but lets Marianne redeem herself.
@annelyle5474
@annelyle5474 3 жыл бұрын
Your videos have made me reconsider my opinion of S&S, which has perhaps been over-coloured by the Ang Lee movie - annoyingly wet Edward Ferrars, and a Colonel Brandon who (not withstanding he's played by the late, great Alan Rickman, whom I adore) is rather too old and stuffy. I'm going to re-watch the BBC version soon, bearing your comments (and the Andrew Davies interviews) in mind!
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Always happy to bring people back to Austen!
@sarasamaletdin4574
@sarasamaletdin4574 3 жыл бұрын
Emma Thompson is my main issue with that adaptation. Too old and wet blanket and stuffy if anyone. She is a good actress but Elinor isn’t meant to be unappealing even if she is the “sense”, for the most of the time. I really liked Edward and Brandon there and certainly Marianne. Willoughby was a bit too boring and not charming enough but he was fine.
@Therika7
@Therika7 3 жыл бұрын
The ring depicted in the video - where does it come from? Is it a real ring from a museum?
@judeannethecandorchannel2153
@judeannethecandorchannel2153 3 жыл бұрын
WOW. EXCELLENT analysis. Are you familiar with Austen scholar Tony Tanner??
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Yes, I know Tanner's work. He has lots of really good insights. Some of his observations are, I think, deliberately provocative (for example, his comment about _Pride and Prejudice_ that "during a decade in which Napoleon was effectively engaging, if not transforming, Europe, Jane Austen composed a novel in which the most important events are the facts that a young man changes his manners and a young lady changes her mind").
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Thank you. I'm very happy you think so. Octavia
@judeannethecandorchannel2153
@judeannethecandorchannel2153 3 жыл бұрын
@@DrOctaviaCox Tony Tanner, whom I **absolutely love** does say that, but he introduces that comment and then immediately follows it by saying that though this **could** make the novel seem trivial--it really isn't. Moreover he compares her level of insight to Sigmund Freud! I mean I'm no big fan of Freud, but that's still a huge compliment. He also compares her work to important philosophers like David Hume...!!
@judeannethecandorchannel2153
@judeannethecandorchannel2153 3 жыл бұрын
@@DrOctaviaCox 🌟💥🙋🏼‍♀️🥰🙋🏼‍♀️💥🌟
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Oh absolutely - I think, as I said, Tanner is being deliberately provocative. Any why not (after all, Austen herself is deliberatively provocative!)? It is a criticism that _is_ levelled at Austen (that she doesn't pay enough attention to the ongoing war). Unfairly, I think. Austen herself makes a joke of this idea in her letter to Cassandra just after _P&P_ was published (4th February 1813): "The work is rather too light, and bright, and sparkling; it wants shade; it wants to be stretched out here and there with a long chapter of sense, if it could be had; if not, of *solemn specious nonsense* , about something unconnected with the story; an essay on writing, a critique on Walter Scott, or *the history of Buonaparté* , or anything that would form a contrast, and bring the reader with increased delight to the playfulness and epigrammatism of the general style".
@brooke_reiverrose2949
@brooke_reiverrose2949 3 жыл бұрын
Always felt the same about PandP. We are set up to consider Darcy the proud one, but overall they both act with pride and prejudice.
@dougfries7759
@dougfries7759 3 жыл бұрын
I have a question, I hope that's ok. When Edward was disowned by his mother and he visited Barton cottage did he have any income at all ?
@staciroberts5779
@staciroberts5779 3 жыл бұрын
Well done! I have often wondered about the definitions of Sense and Sensibility and if they mean the same today as they did in Austen’s time. Sense has several definitions: one (of course) common sense (Elinor) and another is the verb - perceived by a sense, or experiencing what is around us (seems more like Marianne as her delight in nature). Sensibility: appreciate and respond to complex emotional or aesthetic influences - which both sisters do, just in different ways. As Sensibility is derived from Sensible, it (sensibility) can also be associated with a definition that is more cerebral as in “Modern Sensibility” (def: an understanding or ability to decide what is good or valuable) In this light, I wonder if Austen is having a bit of a joke on her readers: that both sisters are Sense and both sisters are Sensibility... What are your thoughts?
@jrpipik
@jrpipik 3 жыл бұрын
Love makes fools of us all, big and little.
@kellyalves756
@kellyalves756 2 жыл бұрын
There’s one scene in the book that always clarified to me why I identify with Elinor- one in which one of the insufferable relatives makes some dismissive remark about a sketch that Elinor made, and while she blows it off, Marianne is so affronted on Elinor’s behalf that she practically has a fainting fit and requires fanning and hand- holding.
@sharonstevek.6797
@sharonstevek.6797 3 жыл бұрын
Do you think Sense and Sensibility is the deepest, most psychological Jane Austin's novel. Her characters seem more affected and serious than other characters. You may have spoken on this in other vloggs but I came to know your vlogs only recently.
@helenl8690
@helenl8690 3 жыл бұрын
Hi and thanks for your channel and interesting topics. I've just re-read sense and sensibility and I always wonder why Robert Ferris marries Lucy Steele...some reasoning is given in the book but it seems lacking to me. Is there something I'm missing?
@p_nk7279
@p_nk7279 3 жыл бұрын
We also see that Elinor needs to move a bit more toward Sensibility - express emotions once in a while, don’t let life pass you by, etc.!!!!
@Marielusi
@Marielusi 3 жыл бұрын
Exactly. I always related a lot to her but recognized that Elinor does stand in her own way to happiness by locking all her emotions inside.
@annashaull1443
@annashaull1443 Ай бұрын
Hello! Have a question related to this, and was wondering if you had any insight -- in the scene where Edward visits Barton cottage, why does he not just tell Elinor about his engagement to Lucy? Do you think he meant to and just lost his nerve? I can't think of any reason why he could not have told her. He must have known he could trust her to keep a secret. It seems like Lucy was actually kinder to Elinor than Edward was, because Lucy just told her what was going on! Is there any mention of this later in the book, like do either Elinor or Edward mention at any point, that he should have just told her about it when he visited?
@annashaull1443
@annashaull1443 Ай бұрын
p.s. maybe this relates to why Austen chose to make Edward a really shy character, because his failure to communicate creates the suspense in the novel
@benedictcowell6547
@benedictcowell6547 Жыл бұрын
Set against your very interesting insight, for which I am grateful, the comparative responses of Elinor and Marianne when their respective men depart. Marianne abandons herself to feeling, does not sleep, isolates herself and in effect indulges her feelings to the distress of her family. Elinor on the contrary sets out her art materials and does not display 'Sensibility' A similar stoicism is manifest when their respective men's other attachments are made public. The case Jane Austen is making, surely, is not that the two sister feel differently but their behaviour in coping is different, and whilst Elinor behaves to the point of self destruction Elinor's ethical credo is more resilient to the point of acute loneliness. The argument for Elinor is that reason guides her behaviour not her feelings whilst Marianne indulges herselt to the point of absurdity
@soxbox71
@soxbox71 3 жыл бұрын
I think the contrast that Austen makes between sense and sensibility is not that one has sense and the other sensibility, but that they both have romantic sensibilities. The difference is that Elinor displays the discretion to control the outward displays of emotion. She does have intense feelings (she is her mother's daughter after all) she has the sense to control herself. Marianne may more easily be led to give in to her emotions and where they want to lead her; Elinor is cautious and restrains her conduct despite her emotions. Marianne lacks the wisdom or desire to so restrict her conduct. Jane Bennet is similar to Marianne Dashwood. She feels deeply, but is not given to outward displays of emotions.
@nidhird
@nidhird 3 жыл бұрын
The idea of Edward resorting to theft or contrivance of any sort is preposterous as he is described as shy,timid and a true gentleman and Elinor is well aware of his character. And the idea of him wearing his sister’s hair in a ring (though strange,as they are not close) is still more likely and believable. But Elinor deludes herself in believing it to be hers which only shows confirmation bias as she wants to believe in his regard for herself.
@DrOctaviaCox
@DrOctaviaCox 3 жыл бұрын
Well exactly, the idea is preposterous, and that’s precisely the point (it seems to me) - Austen is challenging readers to realise that Elinor’s thinking is clearly lacking in the ‘sense’ she is supposed to embody.
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