Sense and Sensibility

<p><em>Sense and Sensibility</em> by Jane Austen follows the lives of the Dashwood sisters Elinor and Marianne after their family loses much of its fortune. Elinor embodies sense with her rationality and restraint while Marianne represents sensibility being guided by passion and emotion.</p><p>Both sisters face struggles in love: Elinor quietly endures her unspoken attachment to Edward Ferrars who is bound by a secret engagement while Marianne falls deeply for the charming but unreliable John Willoughby only to be heartbroken. Over time Marianne learns the value of balance between reason and feeling while Elinor's patience and integrity are rewarded when obstacles to her relationship with Edward are resolved.</p><p>The novel explores themes of love marriage social expectations and the importance of tempering emotion with reason.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>