Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen | Summary & Analysis

Professor Kristen Over of Northeastern Illinois University provides an in-depth analysis of the plot, characters, symbols, and themes of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility.


Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility chronicles the romantic vicissitudes of the two eldest Dashwood sisters. They were recently evicted from their childhood home by the wife of their elder half-brother.

Undaunted by their reduced circumstances, the pair must navigate gossipy interlopers, caddish "gentlemen," and misunderstandings of the heart in their quest to find their mates. EIinor Dashwood nurtures reasonable hopes for clever Edward. Meanwhile, she tries to curb her little sister's passion for a less-than-honorable man.

Rivals for the men's affections and wealth try to derail a sensible but happy ending for Elinor and Marianne. Austen plots their course with penetrating insight. She leads them on a circuitous route to love and marriage punctuated by biting social critique and sparkling dialogue.

Beloved British writer Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility was written in 1811. Austen was from a family that valued writing, reading, and acting (privately) and she wrote six novels during her lifetime. Sense and Sensibility was her first to be published.

Austen’s great romance contains many enduring themes, such as head and heart, representing how people should make important decisions; trust and truth, representing the secret agendas and motivations of the Dashwoods’ social group; and working the system, representing the way women with little social power learn to get what they want and need. Important motifs include home and hearth and feckless men and greedy women.


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[Stopreadingmyusername]

This channel has saved me so many hours of reading

[Holmnielsen-]

this book is also really funny, which is somethng that gets lost in videos like these and film adaptations. Austen's sense of humor is legendary

[SevdenurK.]

After seeing the movie this video saved me going through pages of analyses, thank you so much 😇

[gladigatorrawr]

Just saw "From Prada to Nada" (surprisingly good) and wanted to see how close it was to the source material.

[alexzinoni]

Great summary and a very helpful and complete analysis. Great video! Thank you very much