Sense and Sensibility

by Jane Austen

book data

54,236 ratings, 4.08 average rating, 2,272 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		39%
4		36%
3		17%
2		3%
1		1%

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published

April 29th 2003 (first published 1811) by Penguin Classics

binding

Paperback, 368 pages

characters

Elinor Dashwood, Marianne Dashwood

setting

The United Kingdom

isbn

0141439661 (isbn13: 9780141439662)

description

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Eli...more

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07/09/07

Eric rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in August, 2007

Hmmm, how to critique one of the most revered writers of romance literature? Now, before all of your Jane-ites get on my case for being unromantic or whatever, let me say only that unfortuantely, I read "Persuasion," Austen's last novel, and found it to be one of the best books I've ever read. Now having read "Sense and Sensibility," I will say that it truly doese feel like a first novel, as if the author was still trying to find her voice. So I've done the bookends of Aus...more

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6 comments

06/04/08

Sherri rated it:

bookshelves: 2009-read-list, fiction

Read in February, 2009

The lines of who is good and who is bad are too broadly drawn here for me to count this as my favorite. I lack the romantic leaning to feel for Marianne overly much, and Elinor's stoicism gets a little wearying. Still, this is great way to spend some time and I'd read it again without demure.

2/2/09 And reread it I did. Yes, it is apparent this was one of Austen's earlier works and the characters and the changes they go through are rather broadly drawn, but this time I'm rather am...more

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5 comments

08/05/08

Kerry rated it:

(review of isbn 0736686916)

bookshelves: about_a_woman, audiobook, chick_lit, fromthelibrary, romance

Read in August, 2008

This my first Jane Austen.

Okay, I LOVED this book. I don't even know why. It's about . . . girls who like boys! Who are jerks! Um, the end! But it was funny. But clever funny, which is my favorite kind. And I enjoyed deciphering the late 18th century prose. It made me feel smart, just to figure out what she was saying half the time!

Also I love all the wacky British society stuff. Like sending notes! And walking places! And having breakfast at other peoples' hou...more

Like this review? yes (4 people liked it)

2 comments

04/01/08

Joanna rated it:

Read in April, 2008

While Ms. Austen has given us several entirely charming and personable characters, a lot of things simply did not work for me in this novel. I, however, did very much enjoy the coterie of profoundly annoying and conniving women personified in the Jennings and Middletons Palmers and Miss Steeles, respectively. Premium!

I, perhaps, need to read more about Regency-era etiquette and protocol to understand how Mr. Ferrar's actions are to be considered honourable rather than callow and weak...more

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07/09/07

Tatiana rated it:

bookshelves: classics

recommended to Tatiana by: My older sister, hah!
recommends it for: Smug older sisters

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

SPOILER WARNING: The thing I did like about this book is that it's Jane Austen, and she always will entertain you without dragging you through any horrible ordeals. If there's a war going on, we won't hear the heart-wrenching stories of orphans, squalor, and agony. The only way we 'll know about it is that soldiers look so handsome in their uniforms and some girls flirt with them shockingly. In the end, we always know that our heroine will get married and live happily ever after. Sorry if t...more SPOILER WARNING: The thing I did like about this book is that it's Jane Austen, and she always will entertain you without dragging you through any horrible ordeals. If there's a war going on, we won't hear the heart-wrenching stories of orphans, squalor, and agony. The only way we 'll know about it is that soldiers look so handsome in their uniforms and some girls flirt with them shockingly. In the end, we always know that our heroine will get married and live happily ever after. Sorry if that spoils them for anyone.

What I *don't* like about this one is that the sensible steady Elinors of the world don't really understand the passionate impulsive Mariannes at all, and so they're quite ungracious to them. This is definitely written from the point of view of an Elinor. I suppose since so many novels are written by the Mariannes, it's only fair for the Elinors to have just ONE from their point of view, still, as a Marianne myself I think Jane got it all wrong here. To me the ending stank horrifically. The "answer" was for Marianne to become someone she wasn't and marry someone she didn't love and be content with that. It makes me choke to think of it. The suicide at the end of "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon", which the director called "the Chinese 'Sense and Sensibility'", was much truer to what the Marianne character would have done, I think. In the novel, though, she chose to do it by killing her true self and living a lie. Colonel Brandon deserved better than that, I think, and so did Marianne herself.

Not all Willoughbys turn out to be bad hats, in other words. The answer, in my opinion, was for her to find a good Willoughby.

Thinking about this novel has made me revisit the silly simpering flirty flighty girls that Jane is always showing us we DON'T want to be like. The mother and the sisters, for instance, in Pride and Prejudice. I think Jane paints them as though they aren't real people at all, as though their thoughts and dreams are somehow those of lesser beings. I think there's a great deal to question there, and perhaps the lack of understanding on Jane's part is as much the problem as the girls' behavior. Sense and Sensibility shows that struggle directly, as we're given a much fuller portrait of Marianne's personality than we ever are of the Bennett younger sisters. (less)

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06/12/07

Kelly rated it:

bookshelves: brit-lit, favorites, fiction

Read in January, 2001

recommends it for: Austen fans, women

Ah, the third member of the Holy Trinity of Austen. Also deservedly so. This is my intellectual favorite of the Austens. By that, I'm not calling it "intellectual" I'm just saying that taking emotional attachment to other books out of it, this is my objective favorite Austen. I actually believe that the story of the women is better than Pride and Prejudice. Go on, shoot me for that one. I've taken it before for that. The romance might be better, more tight, more like one would idealist...more Ah, the third member of the Holy Trinity of Austen. Also deservedly so. This is my intellectual favorite of the Austens. By that, I'm not calling it "intellectual" I'm just saying that taking emotional attachment to other books out of it, this is my objective favorite Austen. I actually believe that the story of the women is better than Pride and Prejudice. Go on, shoot me for that one. I've taken it before for that. The romance might be better, more tight, more like one would idealistically want in Pride and Prejudice, but the ones here are more realistic and would have a better chance of lasting in real life. Colonel Brandon and Marianne are one of my favorite flawed couples of any piece of literature. This book finds faith in romances that are less than perfect, heroes who don't act like heroes (Colonel Brandon wins over the romantic figure of Willoughby in the end), and heroines who are at times geniunely ridiculous in the things they choose to do. Not because Austen writes them ridiculously. All women do things like that, and these girls find their way to love anyway. And not with the people conventional plotlines or even gothic strangeness would normally put them with either. By all rights, Eleanor and Colonel Brandon should make a quietly sensible couple, if one thinks about it. But that's not how this ends. There's enough romance left in it for some poetry to how the story ends. None of the men are one or even two dimensional, either. They don't merely serve as the means to the narcissitic heroine's end. No cardboard Prince Charmings with one ridiculous flaw here. They're very believable. I've always thought one of the strengths of Austen is that she writes novels that are undoubtably marketed to women, but men can still see themselves in her heroes if they read them.

The movie is my favorite Jane Austen movie, as a side note. And one of my favorites in general. I've been watching it since I was about 13. It's beautiful. So is the soundtrack. Emma Thompson's performance alone is worth the viewing. Ang Lee.. before he switched over to gay cowboys. Yes, he did period pieces. Who would have known, right?(less)

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11 comments

06/04/08

Akemi rated it:

Read in June, 2008

Despite the fact that I spent the last semester reading Victorian novels, I somehow felt the compulsion to finish this. I started it in January, but it got pushed aside for schoolwork.

I enjoyed it, but I don't think I'd rank it up there with Emma or Pride and Prejudice. Though, I haven't read P&P very recently, so I guess I'd have to re-read that to really compare. The storyline is rather similar, so it would be interesting to have a direct comparison. My experience with S&S might ...more Despite the fact that I spent the last semester reading Victorian novels, I somehow felt the compulsion to finish this. I started it in January, but it got pushed aside for schoolwork.

I enjoyed it, but I don't think I'd rank it up there with Emma or Pride and Prejudice. Though, I haven't read P&P very recently, so I guess I'd have to re-read that to really compare. The storyline is rather similar, so it would be interesting to have a direct comparison. My experience with S&S might also have been marred by the fact that I read it over such a long period of time. I can't quite identify what makes Emma better than this. The quality of the prose in Emma just seemed better; I found myself becoming bored in parts of S&S and had trouble following which middle-aged interfering rich lady was which, while every character in Emma is immediately identifiable and hilarious. The secondary characters are definitely way inferior to those in Emma. As I said, I had trouble differentiating Lady Middleton from Mrs. Jennings from whomever else, whereas I will (hopefully) always remember Miss Bates or Mr. Collins.

There is plenty of Austen's typical biting sarcasm, which I enjoyed thoroughly:

"Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition."

Can't find anymore at the moment, but it's pretty much everywhere.

I guess my boredom arose from lack of juice behind the individual characters, other than...Elinor. Marianne is more dramatic, but doesn't really have much of a (believable) personality behind the drama- I mean, seriously, would she really have settled for Colonel Brandon? Alan Rickman, perhaps, but not Austen's Colonel Brandon. There's even a section Elinor speculates as to why Marianne would fall for him- it was almost as if Austen was mocking her own conclusion, acknowledging that she was just trying to tie up loose ends even if they didn't make sense.

Oh, one more thing: I thought Austen's lack of sympathy is an amusing contrast to Eliot's in Middlemarch. Eliot always relates to her own characters and tries to at least prevent the reader from judging them, whereas Austen purposefully punishes her evil characters and rewards the good ones. Willoughby never reforms his ways and is represented to the end as a cad, while Lucy Steele and the Ferrars (other than Edward) suffer a similar fate:

"They (Lucy and Robert Ferrars) settled in town, received very liberal assistance from Mrs. Ferrars, were on the best terms imaginable with the Dashwoods; and setting aside the jealousies and ill will continually subsisting between Fanny and Lucy, in which their husbands of course took a part, as well as the frequent domestic disagreements between Robert and Lucy themselves, nothing could exceed the harmony in which they all lived together."

I think I would have gotten on better with Austen than Eliot, though I love both their writing.(less)

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03/14/08

Holly rated it:

Read in January, 2000

I also re-read this for Professor Miller's Faking It class. Spoiler-esque?

“But I thought it was right, Elinor … to be guided wholly by the opinion of other people. I thought our judgments were given us merely to be subservient to those of our neighbors. This has always been your doctrine, I am sure” (92). As Elinor, in her perfectly sisterly-sharp voice, explains to Marianne, her advice has always been about modifying exterior behavior to smooth over social situations, neve...more I also re-read this for Professor Miller's Faking It class. Spoiler-esque?

“But I thought it was right, Elinor … to be guided wholly by the opinion of other people. I thought our judgments were given us merely to be subservient to those of our neighbors. This has always been your doctrine, I am sure” (92). As Elinor, in her perfectly sisterly-sharp voice, explains to Marianne, her advice has always been about modifying exterior behavior to smooth over social situations, never about altering the interior. One of the reasons Elinor has less to learn is because she already knows that there is an interior and exterior to everyone, and that pretending there isn’t is self-deluded hypocrisy. Marianne wants to believe that everyone is a unified being – the exterior is a reflection of the interior being and thus there is no difference between them. Altering external behavior means altering one’s internal self and thus suppressing or destroying whatever unique self exists. According to this theory, wit, a clever method of establishing distance and distracting people from inner depths, would therefore reflect a mocking, cold, distant, ruthless and fake inner being. On the contrary, sharing and dramatizing all of one’s problems does not create deeper, truer relationships, as evidenced by Marianne. The love of her life loves money more than he loves her, and was admittedly faking he loved her when they first met. Her constant emoting keeps people at a distance, and Marianne can’t see her own sister’s suffering because she’s consumed with her own.

Maybe there is no unique inner self; it’s all just behavior. If there is a core being, it’s a selfish neurotic paranoid creature, and only our outward behavioral choices make any difference. This is why Edward has to do the right thing, so he won’t be Willoughby. It’s also why Austen has to make him poor and contrive the bizarre Lucy and Robert ending. Elinor can’t have him if he leaves Lucy in ‘the wrong way,’ because then she will be Lucy. Miss Lucy Steele is poor, smart, desperate and single. She’s the money-grabbing seductress Edward’s family has accused Elinor of being. Lucy’s vindictive cruelty, biting wit and direct opposition to Elinor (and Austen’s cleverness in describing their encounters) result in few people ever truly seeing how they are both, at core, desperate terrified women trying to survive their performances.
(less)

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02/04/08

Erin rated it:

Read in March, 2008

When Ang Lee's version of the movie came out, which Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay for, I read that she said it was the most difficult Austen book to adapt. And I can see why. It was Austen's first book, and it's quite densely written. Not a lot of dialogue, so screenwriters had to make it up as they went along. Overall I liked it, but some things didn't work for me: Col. Brandon's young ward just HAPPENED to get knocked up by Willoughby of all people? Really?? And I've read that many ...more When Ang Lee's version of the movie came out, which Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay for, I read that she said it was the most difficult Austen book to adapt. And I can see why. It was Austen's first book, and it's quite densely written. Not a lot of dialogue, so screenwriters had to make it up as they went along. Overall I liked it, but some things didn't work for me: Col. Brandon's young ward just HAPPENED to get knocked up by Willoughby of all people? Really?? And I've read that many people had problems with Marianne marrying Brandon. I can see why Willoughby was a poor choice for her--he's a selfish bastard and they're a lot alike in their temperments--and I love Brandon probably because of the way Alan Rickman played him (I love me some Alan Rickman--the definition of an ugly-sexy man!), but to end a book where they get married on literally the last page because Marianne has toned herself down and has learned to "appreciate" Brandon, when she didn't really give a crap about him most of the book, merely seems like she's settling for him. Which to Austen I'm sure is a good trait, but to the reader...it sells Brandon short. But he loves her, so I guess everyone's happy. And it's too convenient that Lucy Steele just happened to flatter Robert Ferrars into marrying her when he didn't seem to even think she was attractive, but they're both so awesomely repulsive that I can let it fly. When Austen hates her characters (and there are many in this story she can barely tolerate), she REALLY hates them. It's so great! Pride and Prejudice was definitely an improvement, but you can see the budding talents of Austen from this.

And by the way...PBS has a new version of S&S starting this Sunday that i was able to...procure earlier (let's just leave it at that), and it's really great. More faithful to the book than the Ang Lee version, and well cast (although Willoughby looks like a snake in the grass from the moment you meet him, but that's alright with me).

Ok--this is my official break from the Jane Austen oeuvre!!(less)

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10/03/07

Ann rated it:

(review of isbn 0785788816)

bookshelves: classics, romance

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: Jane Austen fans/those looking for a classic to read

I’ve finally finished it! It’s a little sad to admit that, despite it’s being – I believe – the shortest of the Jane Austen books I’ve read, I do think it’s taken me the longest to read. However, the extended reading time should not reflect the quality of the book, but instead simply my own lack of fortitude.<g> It is also, I think, partly because I already knew what happened, as I have seen – and loved – the movie with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet (which, if anyone ...more

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09/02/07

Ukrainer rated it:

Read in April, 2008

In anticipation of Masterpiece’s adaptation on Sunday, I reread Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. I hadn’t read the book in over ten years and had forgotten many of the details, but I liked it as much today as I did then.

Elinor and Marianne Dashwood each deal with the joys and heartaches of young love: Elinor is the more sedate of the two sisters, and Marianne the more passionate. Naturally, as an emotionless automaton, I always relate more with Elinor who loves quietly and ...more

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01/09/09

Erin rated it:

(review of isbn 0486290492)

Read in February, 2009

I would like to rank this higher than Pride & Prejudice, because I enjoyed it more, but I just can't bring myself to give it a 4. So consider it a 3.5 for now. I may change my mind later, as I did with Wuthering Heights (which I recently upgraded to a 4 based on the long-term impression it has left on me.) Although I appreciate Jane Austen for what it is and find that it raises interesting questions and topics of discussion and analysis, I find that her work lacks the depth of character and over...more

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03/22/09

Ayu Palar rated it:

(review of isbn 0140620427)

bookshelves: austen, classics

Read in March, 2009

recommended to Ayu by: Sherien, Mitzie

This might be shameful for an English literature student like me, but yup, this is the first Austen’s novel I read. For me personally, I still prefer Charlotte Bronte’s works, however now I understand why many people become such huge fans of Miss Austen. Her female characters are remarkable for their era. They’re oppresed but somehow they have their own ways to struggle. I gave three stars for Sense and Sensibility not because it’s so-so, but because I think it’s quite flat compared to...more

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01/04/09

Samantha rated it:

Read in January, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

My expectations of this book were greatly tainted by the 1995 movie and by the opinions of it from the book The Jane Austen Book Club. And honestly I took very little from the reading that I didn't already think/have.

Sense and Sensibility is the story of the Dashwood girls who's father has died, leaving their livelihood to their half brother, who then does not take care of them as intended. The two eldest daughters, Elinor and Marianne then pursue love and marriage in their very diff...more

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12/01/08

Jason rated it:

(review of isbn 0451525892)

Sense and Sensibility
By Jane Austen
1811
Finished: November 3rd, 2008

I am a big fan of Jane Austen. I first read “Pride and Prejudice” last year, and was blown away by her characters and story. I was also impressed with the readability of her writing though. I typically have difficulty reading anything pre-1900, but she is just as good today as she was almost two-hundred years ago.
I had seen the 1995 movie “Sense and Sensibility” starring Emma Thomas a...more

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06/17/08

Michelle rated it:

bookshelves: favorites, i-own

Read in June, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Ta-Da! I finished reading today, while my little daughter and her friends trashed the house and chased the two year old. So, okay, Sense and Sensibility is a great classic, so it deserves five stars, right? I'm thinking it should, but I keep holding these classics up to Jane Eyre and simply can't find a way to make Jane Austen measure up. I promise I'm not being a snob. Really. See, reading Austen is a bit of a letdown for me, in that having only read these two books of hers (Sense and Sens...more Ta-Da! I finished reading today, while my little daughter and her friends trashed the house and chased the two year old. So, okay, Sense and Sensibility is a great classic, so it deserves five stars, right? I'm thinking it should, but I keep holding these classics up to Jane Eyre and simply can't find a way to make Jane Austen measure up. I promise I'm not being a snob. Really. See, reading Austen is a bit of a letdown for me, in that having only read these two books of hers (Sense and Sensibility most recently, and last month Pride and Prejudice), I simply cannot relate to these characters as well as I want to. Yes, I understand that the furtherance of a woman's position was mostly attained by marrying upward and that Austen was spearing the practice, but I cannot forgive the device of tossing out someone's monetary worth every page. I sincerely got sickened every time I read of Edward being worth two thousand pounds and Elinor only one and how they couldn't possibly live on that interest plus the living endowed by Colonel Brandon. See what I mean, you just quit reading it too, before the end of the sentence!!!
I enjoyed the plot twists and turns. I enjoyed Marianne's sudden (and greatly anticipated) maturation. I really applauded the ending; the right finally came through; it's gratifying and refreshing after having read some real junk modern stuff where the bad guy wins. I was perplexed at the timing; perhaps my frequent interruptions in reading made me miss the time line, so forgive my idiocy. I would never let my teenage daughters go so far from me with a somewhat total stranger for 2 months, just so that I could redecorate their bedrooms in peace. Mrs. Jennings was justified in the end as a sweet and loving mother-type and yet I was siding with Marianne the entire time despising Mrs. Jennings' lack of tact and class.
Blech. I sound like a critic, which I find abhorrent. I gave it four stars because it really was well-played, it dug deep and exposed many different character types and lambasted social practices of the times. Perhaps it would've earned five stars if I hadn't actually been poor myself, which prejudiced me against the rich snobbery of the widow and her still rather rich girls.(less)

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03/28/08

Sarah Tarullo rated it:

Read in January, 2008

S and S was not as well written as Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion, nonetheless, Austen gives the reader much to think about. I was struck how Elinor epitomizes the ideal character of sense, wit, prudence, and reason of the Age of reason and how Marianne epitomizes the Romantic “Spontaneous overflow of emotion and celebration of nature.” It is as though Austen is looking backwards and forwards at the literary themes and ideals, portraying each, and evaluating each. Sense triumphs over sens...more S and S was not as well written as Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion, nonetheless, Austen gives the reader much to think about. I was struck how Elinor epitomizes the ideal character of sense, wit, prudence, and reason of the Age of reason and how Marianne epitomizes the Romantic “Spontaneous overflow of emotion and celebration of nature.” It is as though Austen is looking backwards and forwards at the literary themes and ideals, portraying each, and evaluating each. Sense triumphs over sensibility. And Marianne’s unrestrained overflow of emotion within a fallen world nearly drives her to an early grave. It is only as Marianne adopts some sensibility, moves beyond her own sorrow, admits Willoubey’s foibles, and considers other that she survives. I find Willoubey the most intriguing and fully fleshed of Austen’s young male characters. Who wouldn’t fall madly in love with him. I would. His spirit, love of literature and music, impulsiveness, hearty boyishness, not to mention handsome appearance make him sound like a timeless Don Juan Byronic hero. And like the Byronic hero he lacks a moral compass/ integrity, he fails to halter his passions and repent his wrongs. So Marianne realizes she could not truly be happy with him ultimately. Yet like Elinor, I found myself wishing things were not as they were when he passionately declares the love he had for Marianne and the regret he feels for his choices, yet sympathy only goes so far with his lack of full repentance. How a character responds to seeing their tragic flaw and whether they change or not seems to be a common theme of Austen’s. Willoubey and Miss Crawford (Mansfield Park) form two of Austen’s most charming characters, equal to Elizabeth Bennet, but unlike Elizabeth, W and Miss C. fail to repent. Marianne, to a lesser extent Edward Ferris, and of course Elizabeth, Darcy, Emma all face the horror of their flaw and endeavor to change. There is a sense of hope and Christian grace with their change. (less)

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02/15/08

Elizabeth rated it:

bookshelves: austen-and-friends, classics-women, earlier, nineteenth-century, reading-group

Read in January, 2006

Elinor Dashwood, like Fanny Price (Mansfield Park) and Anne Eliot (Persuasion), is too good for her own good. She loses the man she loves (for a while) and must support everyone else in their silliness, selfishness, illness, poverty, pettiness, and cowardly cruelty (I'm looking at you Mrs. John Dashwood). As much as I would like to be strong, calm, and able to handle all of that, I would probably have run screaming, or crying, long before the end of the book. But, Elinor, like Austen's other goo...more

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08/30/07

Ian rated it:

(review of isbn 039397751X)

Read in January, 1998

Like so much of Austen, this book examines a profoundly modern struggle for mature ethical life relative to social structures. Marianne's confusions--of dramatic intensity with emotional integrity, of blind conformity with principled compromise--are still with us, and too often we view others and ourselves as aestheticized or politicized specimens rather than surprising creatures demanding both remonstration and humble love. Elinor’s impulses towards the world are, like Austen’s, reformist, ...more

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08/19/07

Inder rated it:

bookshelves: 1001-books, 19th-century, england, fiction

Read in November, 2006

When I first read this as a teenager, I thought that Marianne and Elinor were stereotypes, almost contrived as opposites - the practical one and the sensitive one. Elinor was staid and boring. Marianne, with her histrionics, was just annoying.

On rereading S&S recently, I felt that it was so much deeper than that. Marianne and Elinor are quite different, like most sisters, but not as different as they appear - both are VERY sensitive girls, they just deal with emotions differently.
...more

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Which is your favorite Jane Austen novel?

Pride and Prejudice

144 votes, 56.3%

Sense and Sensibility

31 votes, 12.1%

Persuasion

28 votes, 10.9%

Emma

21 votes, 8.2%

Mansfield Park

11 votes, 4.3%

Northanger Abbey

19 votes, 7.4%

Lady Susan

1 vote, 0.4%

Sanditon

0 votes, 0.0%

The Watsons

0 votes, 0.0%

None; I am a creepy JUVENILIA fan!

1 vote, 0.4%

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"Mrs. Jennings was a widow, with an ample jointure. She had only two daughters, both of whom she had lived to see respectably married, and she had now therefore nothing to do but to marry all the rest of the world." More quotes...