Sense & Sensibility, written by Jane Austen, is a novel centered around the Dashwood sisters, Marianne and Elinor and their romance story. Along the way, we explore social class and what it means to each person and how it can shape one’s actions. We explore social climbers, those who strive for a higher social class. Along with this, the topic of marriage is explored. We learn about the complexities and obstacles when it comes to love and marriage and the antagonists in love. We also explore the role of a lady during the Regency era and what it’s like being a female during that time. We also explore the cause and impact of greed and the costs it comes with. So without further ado, let’s join the Dashwood sisters on their journey through navigating love, life, and elf discovery.
One’s social class and social status is what society judges them upon when it comes to wealth and how respectable you are. In Sense and Sensibility, social class is an important aspect in the novel as different people take different actions and have different views on it. In Sense and Sensibility, it is evident that there are wealthy characters and those who have less fortune. John Dashwood is the richest amongst all. His annual income is between £5,000 - £6,000 annually, that is, $350,000 - $420,000 today. His wife, Fanny, inherited £10,000 from her mother, which is equivalent to $70,000 today. The John Dashwood’s’ family income would be between $353,500 and $403,500 annually today, making them a wealthy family. Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters, however, are amongst the less fortunate. After Mr. Dashwood’s death, John Dashwood is left to take care of his father’s widow (Mrs. Dashwood) and his three half sisters. However, under the influence of his wife Fanny, he eventually leaves them with a £50 annual salary, in other words $3,500 each to live on, resulting in them being in the lower social class. Colonel Brandon and John Willoughby also aren’t the richest. However, they aren’t poor either, resulting in them being in the middle class. Your annual income is typically what determines your social status. Social status is something society at the time highly valued and is what people judged you upon and your social status can also determine how people treat you and how much respect you receive from others.
Due to the fact that social classes are what society judges people upon, many individuals are motivated to strive and become more wealthy and change their social class. These people are referred to as social climbers. Mrs. Dashwood is someone who is driven by her desire for social status. In some instances, she is willing to sacrifice her own daughter's happiness for a higher social class. However, Colonel Brandon and Edward Ferras’s actions differ greatly from expectations from society as their actions are driven more with integrity and nobility, showcasing that it is important to stay true to one’s values and principals and that true happiness and fulfillment doesn’t have to come from how wealthy you are and your social status. However, the ever so sly Lucy Steele, is less like Colonel Brandon and her fiance Edward Ferras, but more like Mrs. Dashwood. She is someone who strives for higher social rankings constantly, often causing pain to others. She strategically pursues a relationship with Edward Ferras despite his lack of fortune in hopes of a higher social class. Sometimes in life, you are what you are for the rest of your life. If you were born poor you stay poor. If you were born rich, you stay rich. That is referred to as social immobility. However, sometimes despite being born poor, you become rich, and vice versa. This is referred to as social mobility and those to attempt to change their social status are referred to as social climbers. Everyone has different views on the importance of social status/class, therefore taking different actions towards it.
Love and marriage are complicated topics and there are many complexities and social expectations revolving around it. Love isn’t always as pure as it seems as there are antagonists in love, hidden behind the void. Gold diggers are toxic people you should stay away from when seeking a romantic partner. Gold diggers, although often women, can be men too. Gold diggers refers to those who strive for materialistic relationships, based on money, not romantic feelings. John Willoughby in Sense & Sensibility is an example of such a person. When we are in love, we must take into account sense and sensibility in matters of the heart. When you fall in love, you may be so deep in love that you look past the flaws of your loved one. When Marianne falls in love with John Willoughby, she falls in love with him so deeply that she fails to see the flaws in him. Willoughby really did love Marianne. He had genuine feelings for her and was ready to marry her. However, upon meeting someone even richer, he abandoned Marianne in a heartbeat to pursue his goal of becoming wealthy. Love can also in a way be competitive, and can form a love triangle. Edward and Elinor, and Elinor loves Edward. It may seem perfect and ideal, but Edward is already engaged to Lucy Steele. Lucy then takes advantage of this and breaks the news to Elinor, causing her to be heartbroken. So despite Elinor and Edward seeming like a couple and seeming happy, underneath the surface it isn’t as pure as it seems. Love comes with many complexities and obstacles that can result in many different outcomes.
Marriage is another complicated topic that can have many complexities and obstacles on the way and can greatly impact and change someone’s life. Marriage, especially in the Regency era, is used as a tool for social climbers to improve their social class and their wealth. Despite John Willoughby actually having feelings for Marianne, his love for her was actually driven by his desire to improve his social class and his wealth. Lucy Steele is another character that uses marriage as a tool for improving her social class. After calling off her engagement with Edward, she marries his brother Robert instead and still remains wealthy. Marriage is an important and useful tool to social climbers in many ways, for marriage comes with many benefits and can impact and change someone’s life greatly.
A rich man would want a beautiful wife, but even the prettiest girl in the world would be in the need of a husband in order to survive. Single men of a large fortune wouldn’t be judged that much by society. The man himself would want a wife that would give him a son to inherit his fortune. However, a single woman in society, no matter how beautiful she is, would be expected to marry. This quote is ironic because it shows rich men wanting a wife when a woman at that time needed a husband much more for financial stability. Back in the Regency era, women sought men as someone who could support them financially and provide them with a stable house. It was part of their role in life to have a successful marriage and have kids. Women were expected to do so and those who didn’t were constantly being bugged. However, at the same time, women were also easily abandoned when it came to love in the Regency era. Women had high expectations during the Regency era when it came to love and marriage.
True love and materialistic love are two different types/forms of love that different people view differently. True love is love completely based on feelings and relationships, while materialistic love is love more based on materials and money. During the Regency era, many people were in materialistic relationships, relationships built/centered on wealth, social status, and materials. However, unlike many others of the time, Marianne believed in true love. She values emotional connection in her relationships, and is critical of materialistic re. Marianne's love theory is closely tied to the concept of sensibility, as suggested in the title of the novel, which emphasizes the importance of emotions and feelings in love and relationships. Marianne is sensible, when she believes that love should be based on feelings, not money, wealth, and social status. Someone can be rich now, but they may be bankrupt in the future. If that happens, will you still love that person when they have no money and social status? Love is not about material possessions, but about the connection between two hearts.
Truth is one of the key components in a healthy relationship, for those who hide the truth can cause heartbreaks. Telling the truth in the aspect of love can be a lot of different things. It can range from admitting your wrongs and what you do to coming clean about cheating and “two-sided” dating. In Sense & Sensibility, Edward Ferras, demonstrates this through his actions. Edward is engaged to Lucy. Being engaged is the step right before marriage. However, despite being engaged, he fell in love with Elinor and made love with her, ignoring the fact that he is engaged. This essentially means he cheated on Lucy. As a cheater, he didn’t even “perform” it well, due to the fact that everyone noticed what he was doing. This eventually resulted in Elinor’s heartbreak. In relationships, it is important to tell the truth earlier than later. It is also important to know if the person you are in a relationship with is secretly in another relationship. When in love, you should make it clear who you like and stay loyal. If you start a relationship being the other woman, you will never be the only woman.
Greed is something that can change someone and can impact one’s relationship. Money can result in someone being greedy and wanting more. John Dashwood and Fanny Dashwood despite being rich already, want more, and are greedy for more money. At first, John Dashwood agreed to give his sisters a good amount of money to live on. However, under the influence of his wife Fanny, he reduced their “allowance” by a lot. This shows how greedy John and his wife are. Due to his own desire to become more wealthy, he decides to limit the money he gives to his sisters, money that they depend on to live. John and Fanny even go up to the point where they believe that they are the ones that are generous and aren’t being benefited. John’s greed also causes him to break his promise to his father, his father’s deathbed promise. Greed is something that can influence one’s decisions and actions greatly, often causing harm or unhappiness to others.
Through the lives of the Dashwood sisters, we join them on their journey and learn about many different important aspects of life. We learn about social class and its impact on individuals. We explore the topic of marriage and how that can change someone’s life. We also see how life is for women during that time and the expectations put on them. Through Sense & Sensibility, we learn many lessons through Marianne and Elinor’s journey through love, life, and self discovery.
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