Sense and Sensibility

An inheritance at Norland Park leaves the Dashwood family with sharply unequal prospects. A wealthy son gains security, while his father’s widow and three daughters must depend on a much smaller fortune and a promise of help. Within this unsettled household, Elinor uses careful judgment to steady her mother, while Marianne gives herself fully to grief and enthusiasm. Austen introduces the sisters through their responses to the same loss, making differences in temperament part of the practical business of family life.

Visits and conversations bring affection into close contact with money. Willoughby receives a warm welcome at the family’s cottage, and talk of possible marriages turns repeatedly to income, property and useful connections. Elinor listens as her brother praises generosity while explaining the demands on his own substantial means. The novel offers readers closely observed family exchanges, dry humor and a way to examine how people justify their choices when duty, comfort and personal feeling compete.