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Jane Austen wrote the first draft of the novel in the form of a novel-in-letters (epistolary form) perhaps as early as 1795 when she was about 19 years old, or 1797, at age 21, and is said to have given it the title Elinor and Marianne. She later changed the form to a narrative and the title to Sense and Sensibility.
Sense and Sensibility is a 1995 period drama film directed by Ang Lee and based on Jane Austen's 1811 novel. Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay and stars as Elinor Dashwood, while Kate Winslet plays Elinor's younger sister Marianne.
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Sense and Sensibility, novel by Jane Austen that was published anonymously in three volumes in 1811 and that became a classic. The satirical, comic work offers a vivid depiction of 19th-century middle-class life as it follows the romantic relationships of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood.
Sense and Sensibility tells the story of the impoverished Dashwood family, focusing on the sisters Elinor and Marianne, personifications of good sense (common sense) and sensibility (emotionality), respectively. They become destitute upon the death of their father, who leaves his home, Norland Park, to their half brother, John. Although instructed to take care of his sisters, John is dissuaded of his duty by his greedy wife, Fanny. The family—which, in addition to Elinor and Marianne, includes their mother and a younger sister—moves to Barton Cottage in Devonshire. There the open and enthusiastic Marianne meets Colonel Brandon, a staid and settled bachelor 20 years her senior. Although he expresses an interest in Marianne, she discourages his attention and instead becomes infatuated with the attractive John Willoughby, who seems to be a romantic lover but is in reality an unscrupulous fortune hunter. He deserts Marianne for an heiress, and she eventually makes a sensible marriage with Colonel Brandon.
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During this time, Marianne’s elder sister, the prudent and discreet Elinor, and Edward Ferrars, Fanny’s brother, have formed an attachment. However, she is outwardly reserved about her affections, especially after learning that he has been secretly engaged to Lucy Steele for several years. Although Edward loves Elinor, he is determined to honour his commitment to Lucy. When the engagement is revealed, Edward is disowned, and Colonel Brandon offers him a living as a clergyman. Later Elinor is told that Mr. Ferrars has married. Believing that the Mr. Ferrars in question is Edward, she is both shocked and relieved to discover that Lucy has wed Edward’s brother, Robert. Edward arrives at Barton Cottage and proposes to Elinor, who accepts.
The novel had a long period of gestation. Austen began writing it about 1795, and she initially titled it Elinor and Marianne. She significantly revised it in 1809. It was her first published novel, and she paid to have it published. Sense and Sensibility contained what would become Austen’s trademark features: insightful observation, astute characterization, and dazzling wit. There has long been debate whether Austen favoured one quality over the other—sense or sensibility—or whether she favored an equal dose of both as the best recipe for life.
Sense and Sensibility was a success upon publication, and it later was adapted for film, stage, and television. Among the most notable adaptations is the 1995 movie, which was directed by Ang Lee and starred Emma Thompson (Elinor), who won an Academy Award for her adapted screenplay; Kate Winslet (Marianne); Hugh Grant (Edward Ferrars); and Alan Rickman (Colonel Brandon). A critical and commercial success, the movie spurred a resurgence of interest in Austen’s novels.
The earliest of her novels, Sense and Sensibility is a reaction to Jane Austen’s youthful reading. The cult of sensibility, which was prevalent in the literature of that time, argued that to have overpowering feelings was a sign of superior character.
Sense and Sensibility: Directed by Ang Lee. With James Fleet, Tom Wilkinson, Harriet Walter, Kate Winslet. Rich Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his second wife and her three daughters poor by the rules of inheritance. The two eldest daughters are the title opposites.
- (127K)
- Drama, Romance
- Ang Lee
- 1996-01-26
The anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816) were modest successes, but they brought her little fame in her lifetime.
Based on notes left by her sister, Jane Austen’s first draft of Sense and Sensibility, titled “Elinor and Marianne,” was written as early as 1795 when she was about 19 years old, probably in epistolary form (a novel-in-letters).
