Sense and Sensibility

Austen’s novel draws a distinction between the cult of sensibility—a social and literary movement of her time that lauded being ruled by one’s emotions—and real feeling, which constitutes sensitivity to others’ emotions in addition to one’s own. While Marianne is aligned explicitly with sensibility, Elinor disdains overt displays of emotion, preferring to seek out concrete evidence and respond accordingly.

From the outset, Marianne allows her emotions to dictate her actions despite being “sensible and clever” (5). Mrs. Dashwood’s encouragement of Marianne’s sensibility mirrors the fashionable attitude of the Romantic period, where people who were overcome by emotion were seen as more instinctive, sensitive and appealing. Given that getting carried away is the opposite of the rationality required in the male institutions of public life during Austen's time, sensibility is an especially feminine trait. Thus, Marianne’s sensibility would make her seem even more feminine, and so more attractive to men.

Still, Marianne’s self-involved emotional world causes her to transgress the societal expectations for young ladies of late 18th-century England. She neglects her appearance and the obsequious manners required for social influence in the throes of heartbreak, and she takes solitary walks to indulge her feelings even further. Austen does not celebrate this kind of independence; instead, she frames Marianne's attitude and actions as selfish and even foolish. Marianne’s neglect of social duty, especially towards the accommodating Mrs. Jennings, puts an overdue burden on Elinor to make up for her sister’s social shortcomings. Moreover, in the throes of her own depression, Marianne has no room to observe how her sister may be suffering, and thus shows a lack of feeling towards her. Austen describes Marianne’s near-fatal pilgrimage to the “most distant parts” of the Cleveland grounds “where the trees were the oldest, and the grass was the longest and wettest” in mocking, dismissive tones, also elaborating on the “still greater imprudence of sitting in her wet shoes and stockings” (343). Here, Austen shows that Marianne’s neglect of the frail reality of her body on this adventure to reminisce about her old crush is not noble, but silly. Marianne’s propensity to be out of concert with the laws of nature and prioritize her whims over sensible action is destructive, both to herself and to the others who care about her. Austen thus critiques her society’s unabashed celebration of sensibility in young ladies by showing that this whimsical presentation of feeling sacrifices the ability to truly feel and be compassionate.

Austen’s critique of sensibility is also shown in her exposition of its insincerity. Both Lucy Steele and Willoughby profess that they would be perfectly content to marry the loves of their lives without money. However, their actions reveal a rational calculation of how they can socially and financially advance through marriage. While the cult of sensibility professes a disdain for material comfort and society, none of the characters in the novel marry without the latter, indicating that they consider it indispensable.

While Elinor, who is in many respects Marianne’s opposite, is not given over to the cult of sensibility, Austen indicates from the outset “she had an excellent heart;—her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them” (6). In Austen’s time, the organ of the heart referred to one’s conscience and Elinor’s “excellent heart” indicates her kindness and the fact that her actions align with her values. However, her ability to “govern” her feelings rather than be governed by them, means that she can function by society’s rigid moral codes and even step back and get an objective view of a situation. Rather than using her feelings to withdraw into herself, she uses them to be compassionate towards others and intuit their true character. While she suffers for her lack of ability to confide in others and is cramped by societal expectations such as propriety and secret-keeping, she maintains independence of thought and feeling. Austen adopts Elinor’s perspective, narrates events from her perspective using free indirect discourse, suggesting that Austen espouses Elinor’s attitude and opinions more than those of her more emotional sister.

While Marianne’s self-involved sensibility attracts Willoughby and Colonel Brandon, Elinor’s apparently more social manner and muted feeling encourages them to confide in her. While the suitors are effusive with Marianne, they are more sincere with Elinor. It is from their confessions to Elinor that we learn their story and sympathize with them, rather than from their behavior to Marianne. A similar process occurs in Marianne’s exchanges with Edward, which seem livelier and more revealing of his tastes and attitudes than the ones he has with Elinor. Thus, Austen presents the more rational institution of disinterested friendship as a better foundation for reaching truth than romance, with its grand gestures and emotional instability. This again shows Austen’s preference for grounded connection over romantic whims.