IMPORTANT QUESTION TOPICS

1. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY-
ASSIGNMENT 2
By- APARNA R
S3 INT. MA ENGLISH

2. 1.Elinor and Marianne

3. ELINOR DASHWOOD
o Elinor is one among the two major protagonists of the novel ‘Sense and
Sensibility’, written by Jane Austen in 1811.
o She is nineteen years old and represents the term ‘Sense’ in the title of the
novel.
o Elinor is the elder of the three daughters of Henry Dashwood and Mrs.
Dashwood. Her younger sisters are Marianne and Margaret.
o Elinor possess the coolness of judgement and strength of understanding
in her behavior which often is a moral support to her mother Mrs.
Dashwood.
o She is a rational thinker and restrains her emotion even when suffering
hardships.
o She is intelligent, prudent, polite and knows how to behave properly to
others.

4. .
 She is a caring sister and often tries to comfort her sisters when they are worried.
 She always correct her sister Marianne who is less concerned about manners and
decorum.
 Even though she is in love with Edward and thinks that he is taken by Lucy, she
ignores it and put aside all her feelings in most part of the novel.
 But later she breaks into tears by the ending part of the novel on knowing that
Edward is not married to Lucy.
 The novel concludes with the marriage of the Elinor with Edward and also the
Marianne with Colonel Brandon.
 Elinor can be considered as the centre of the novel. She is a nurse, friend and
sister to Marianne and a good friend to Colonel Brandon.
 Elinor is the character who has a good relationship with all the other characters of
the novel.
 Hence we can tell that Sense and Sensibility is the story of Elinor Dashwood.

5. MARIANNE DASHWOOD
 Marianne is the second major protagonists of the novel ‘Sense and
Sensibility’ which includes her elder sister Elinor.
 She is sixteen years old and represent the term ‘Sensibility’ in the title of
the novel.
 She is the second daughter of Henry Dashwood and Mrs. Dashwood.
 She is romantic, emotional and sentimental and a free-spirited person.
 She is sensible, clever and eager in everything and does hold any
moderation in it.
 She is interested in art and literature and is very intelligent.
 She lacks restraint, prudence and politeness, unlike her elder sister Elinor.

6. .
 She falls in love easily and quickly with Willoughby and was unable to
control her emotions when he abandoned her.
 But later by she regains her sensibility and abandons childish, idealized
notion of love at first sight.
 She gradually develops her affection for Colonel Brandon and ends up
loving him and getting married.
 Throughout the novel, the significant change and development in the
character of Marianne from negative to positive is well-demonstrated.
 Marianne generally represents the oversensitive heroine of eighteenth
century.
 She symbolises the sensibility, romance, imagination, excess and
dedication to the beauty of nature in the novel.

7. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELINOR AND
MARIANNE AS DEPICTED IN THE NOVEL
 The loving- caring adorable relationship between the Dashwood sisters
is the main story-line of the novel ‘Sense and Sensibility’.
 Even though they possess contrasting features, they support each
other in the needy moments.
 Both the sisters are concerned about each other . This is evident in
Elinor’s doubt regarding Willoughby’s true self; and the worry of
Marianne on the cold behavior between Edward and Elinor during his
visit to Barton cottage.
 In the novel sense and sensibility, we can find many instant in which
Elinor cares for Marianne. She took care of Marianne day and night
without leaving her side when Marianne was seriously sick.

8. .
 Elinor always correct Marianne’s mistakes and apologizes to others on
her behalf.
 Elinor is very careful in her manners and decorum and her intimacies
with her sisters as well as mother helps them in developing good
character as well as dealing with difficult situations.
 The gradual change in the behavior and matured behavior of Marianne
can be credited to the influence of Elinor in her, to a great extent.
 Both the sisters acquire sense and sensibility but varies in the scales.
This difference in behavior is something fundamental and basic to their
own natures and is helpful to each other in one way or another.

9. 2.COMPARE AND CONTRAST COLONEL
BRANDON AND WILLOUGHBY
 COLONEL BRANDON  JOHN WILLOUGHBY

10. COLONEL BRANDON
 Colonel Brandon is one of the male lead characters of Jane Austen’s
Sense and Sensibility.
 He is a retired officer and close friend of Sir John Middleton who is
introduced to the Dashwoods as well as to the storyline during a party in
the Barton Park.
 He is thirty-five years old bachelor and is a quiet and reserved person.
 In the first impression, he appears to be rather dull to insensitive eye, but
actually there is a lot running through his inner self. This feature is initially
appreciated by Elinor but later as the novel progresses his true self is
revealed.
 He admires Marianne who is sixteen years younger than him. But she
dislikes him due to his nature as well as the huge age-gap.

11. .
 His character is an ultimate combination of feeling and logic. He can be
considered as the only real grownup so far from the characters of the
novel.
 He has the most significant emotional breakdown to deal with and he
handles it with admirable maturity.
 He is a good friend of Elinor and is kind, righteous and polite towards the
Dashwoods throughout the novel. He behaves compassionately to
Marianne when she was hurt by Willoughby.
 He is very kind-hearted and his generosity is revealed when he gives his
property in Delaford to Edward who is disinherited by his mother.
 Marianne grows fond of Brandon by the end of the novel and they end up
getting married and living happily.
 When Willoughby abandons the daughter of Eliza( younger Eliza),
Brandon is the person who takes care of her.

12. JOHN WILLOUGHBY
 John Willoughby is another important male lead of the novel and can be
considered as the antagonist of the novel.
 He is described as a handsome, young man with a small estate and also
has expectations of inheriting his aunt’s large estate.
 He is a charming gentleman who is in love with Marianne, another major
character of the novel. He appears as a romantic hero who rescues
Marianne and carries her home.
 He has charming voice and courtly manners. They have similar interests in
art and literature as well as similar emotional sensibility.
 He plays a decisive role in the personal development of Marianne. She
initially consider him to be sweet and romantic but later his true face of a
mean and insensitive person is revealed.

13. .  He acts tactfully to Marianne who sincerely loved him and ultimately deceive her
leaving to London and marrying a wealthy woman Miss Grey.
 His true nature is evident as he always used to mock on Colonel Brandon who
admired Marianne.
 Due to his charming and morally shallow nature and he finds pleasure in
interacting with women. Hence it is one of his habit of seducing women and later
abandoning them.
 Later when he knows about the sickness of Marianne, he comes to see her and
explains about the reason for abandoning Marianne. He apologize for hurting
Marianne unintentionally, regrets his foolish behavior and tells that he really loves
Marianne.
 His ambiguous behavior is evident throughout the novel.

14. COMPARISON BETWEEN COLONEL
BRANDON AND WILLOUGHBY
COLONEL BRANDON
 He initially is not so rich but
later he becomes wealthy due
to his hard work and
intelligence.
 Brandon lacks personal
charisma and his outer persona
is dull and unattractive.
 Brandon is thirty-five years old
and is an old bachelor.
JOHN WILLOUGHBY
 He initially is rich but later spoils
all his wealth, gets disinherited
and had to marry a wealthy
woman for his monetary benefit.
 Willoughby possess a charming
and morally shallow outer
persona that attract women.
 Willoughby is in his mid-twenties
which seems perfect for many
admiring women including
Marianne.

15. . COLONEL BRANDON
 He is a faithful and helpful friend to
Elinor and an eligible bachelor and
noble man according to Mrs.
Jennings and Mrs. Dashwood.
 Colonel Brandon is a generous
person and helps the needy ones
like Edward Ferrars when he got
disinherited.
 Even though Brandon is a
gentleman and sincerely loves
Marianne, She hates him.
 His true caring nature is realised by
all the end of the novel.
JOHN WILLOUGHBY
 Willoughby appears sweet and
romantic from outside but is a
woman admirer who cheats women
for his personal benefits.
 He is greedy and only values money
more than anything, even
Marianne’s sincere love towards
him.
 Willoughby uses his false face and
captivated Marianne who misjudge
him being a loyal person.
 His deceptive nature is recognised
by the end of the novel.

16. 3.
IMPORTANCE
OF WEALTH
AND
CHARACTER
IN SENSE AND
SENSIBILITY
.

17. IMPORTANCE OF WEALTH IN SENSE
AND SENSIBILITY
 Wealth is one of the major theme discussed by Austen in the novel ‘Sense
and Sensibility'. It is the most important theme such it also influence other
themes like love and marriage.
 In the novel, we come across both positive as well as negative impact of
wealth in each character. Through the novel, the connection between love,
marriage and money is well-evident.
 Hence we can tell that Austen’s intention was to exhibit the misuse of
wealth in her time.
 The initial plot of Sense and Sensibility portrays how lack of money affects
the lives of the Dashwood sisters- Elinor and Marianne.

18. .
 Since women during nineteenth century had no right on property, they had
to depend on their husbands for a good living. Hence when money came
into consideration, love was less importance to them, which is evident
from the novel.
 This law of inheritance is evident through the character John Dashwood as
he was the heir of Norland and the Dashwood sisters and their mother had
to depend on him for some benefits. But the greedy behavior of his wife
Fanny let the Dashwoods in trouble.
 The connection between wealth and social status is also illustrated in the
novel in the case of Mrs. Ferrars who wants her elder son Edward Ferrars
to marry a wealthy women. And when she finds that he is engaged to Lucy
Steele, who is poor and socially inferior she angrily disinherits Edward.
 The different point of view of the major protagonists of the novel, Elinor
and Marianne regarding Money is revealed while engaging in conversation
with Edward Ferrars. When Elinor values money over love Marianne
thinks otherwise.

19. .
 Even though Elinor and Marianne are worthy, likable and are of good
standard, those features are not considered by the society, rather their
primary interest is on wealth and social connection which they lack.
 The marriages for wealth was not only because of greed but also they
thought that in practical sense money matters than love. This is visible in
the case of Willoughby as he wished more of a lavish life than his love for
Marianne and as a result he married the wealthy Miss Grey.
 Also in the case of Lucy Steele who was selfish and loved Edward’s
money and social status more than. Hence when he got disinherited, she
left him and married his wealthy brother Robert Ferrars even without
bothering their engagement held before four years.
 The different attitude toward wealth is only present in the case of Colonel
Brandon who is not at all concerned about wealth and social status. He
married Marianne without caring about it.
 Jane has well-exhibited the attitude of the society regarding wealth during
her period, in the novel.

20. IMPORTANCE OF CHARACTER IN
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
 Character is another main theme discussed in the novel. Even the use of
the major characters i.e., sense and sensibility as the title of the novel
implies its major role in the story-line.
 The major protagonists of the novel, Elinor and Marianne represents
sense and sensibility respectively.
 The nature of each character in the novel is precisely pointed out by
Austen in the novel beforehand as it is crucial to understand the
characters as they are involved in their motives, actions and desires.
 Elinor is exemplified as sense in the novel. She is a rational thinker, and
values reason and restraint. She is not easily carried by emotions unlike
her sister Marianne.

21. .
 Marianne exemplifies sensibility in the novel. Emotion has a great role in
her character. She values on feelings like love, happiness, despair to a
great extent.
 The cause of excessive sensibility is demonstrated in the novel. Due to
such a behavior, Marianne is led to dangerous extremes of emotion and
hysteria.
 Meanwhile the good sense of Elinor is appreciated in the novel.
 But by the end of the novel the sense of Marianne and sensibility of Elinor
helped them achieve their happiness. i.e., Elinor expressed her strong
feeling of love for Edward and Marianne abandons her idealized notion on
love and gradually pursued to love Colonel Brandon.

22. .
 Hence we can tell that sense and sensibility are not the opposite of their
character but complimentary parts.
 In certain parts of the novel, the true self of certain character were difficult
to evaluate. One vital example among them is John Willoughby. Marianne
misinterpreted him as a noble person but his true self was revealed after
he abandoned Marianne to marry the wealthy Miss Grey. We were able to
gradually understand his nature after learning it from Colonel Brandon.
 Jane Austen was able to perfectly depict the characters in the novel. Even
though the characters were not entirely known, readers to relate the
characters’ inner nature with their actions and behavior.

23. 4.DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOVE AND
MARRIAGE IN SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

24. DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOVE IN SENSE
AND SENSIBILITY
 In the novel ‘Sense and Sensibility’, love is an important aspect discussed
in the plot. We can find different dramatic varieties of love in it ranging
from euphoric love to life-threatening love.
 Most of the characters in the novel are concerned in the engagement,
possible matches and marriage, etc. and hence it is the subject of much of
their conversations
 Hence, love can be considered as the central importance of the novel as
the plot of the novel also deals with the major protagonists- Elinor and
Marianne falling in love and attempting to marry the men they love.
 But this theme of love is a lot affected by the other themes of wealth,
social status, society, etc.

25. .
 Mainly, there are two types of love discussed in the novel. Firstly, the
innocent, glorious, innocent and heart-pounding love That occurs in
younger ages when people are excited over romantic adventures.
Secondly, the more cautious, thoughtful, intense growth of emotions, when
people are more older and wiser.
 The first type of love, above mentioned, resembles the love relationship
between Marianne and Willoughby whereas second type resembles
relationship between Elinor and Edward.
 Also, the evolution of the love from first type to the second in the case of
Marianne is indirectly credited to the betrayal of the greedy Willoughby to
marry a more wealthy woman.
 The love plot in the novel can be literally related to the old fairy tale i.e.,
when the heroines of the tale are in a hopeless situation after getting
casted out of home and two charming princes comes for their rescue.

26. .
 The presence of the characters Sir John Middleton and his mother-in-law
Mrs. Jennings make the theme even more effective as they are the
matchmakers of the novel who help the Dashwoods find the love of their
life.
 The presence of attractive lead men in the novel like Edward Ferrars,
Colonel Brandon and John Willoughby make love story more worthy.
 The win of sincere love over fake love is illustrated in the novel when
Marianne realizes the goodness of Colonel Brandon, eventually love him
and they get married. Meanwhile, the betrayer Willoughby is disappointed
over the true love of Brandon for Marianne and blames himself for his
foolishness.
 With Marianne realizing the true love of Brandon and the blossoming of
the slow-accelerated love of Elinor between Edward, the love story comes
to a beautiful end.

27. DIFFERENT TYPES OF MARRIAGE IN
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
 The plot of Sense and Sensibility also deals with the aspect of marriage.
When the novel begins the major protagonists, Elinor and Marianne are
unmarried young girls but as the novel concludes both of hem are settled
with marriage.
 Also in most part of the novel, we can see the characters having
conversations about marriage, engagement, etc. The connection between
marriage, wealth and love is evident in the novel.
 Th main two types of marriages discussed in the novel are love marriages
and marriage of convenience.
 In the case of Mrs. Dashwood, she wants her daughters Elinor and
Marianne to find their life mate on their own. She doesn’t want to compel
them to get married and doesn’t have any demands.

28. .
 Whereas in the case of Mrs. Ferrars it is very different. She want her elder
son Edward Ferrars to marry the well-fortuned and rich Miss Morton, who
has a good social status too. She forces him in marry her as she is
bothered about their rise in social status after the alliance. When she
learns that Edward is engaged with Lucy Steele who is poor and socially
inferior, she disinherits him.
 Another type of marriage is in the case of John Willoughby. He abandon
Marianne who sincerely loved him to marry Miss Grey who is wealthy just
for his greed in money. Even though he loved her, he gave more
importance to wealth.
 Similar is the case of Lucy Steele. When she learns that Edward Ferrars
got disinherited, she abandoned him to marry his wealthy younger brother
Robert Ferrars. She didn’t cared about her engagement with Edward
before four years and only valued his wealth rather than him.

29. .
 Elinor and Marianne were the only characters who married just for the
sake of love. Marianne abandoned her old notion about love, thereby
developing love towards Colonel Brandon who sincerely loved her and
marrying him.
 Also, even though Edward got disinherited from his mother, Elinor was not
ready to let down her love for Edward. They slow-accelerated love
blossomed with ultimate fulfilment with them realizing their love for each
other and hence got married each other.
 Hence we can find different types of marriage like love marriage, marriage
for wealth or marriage of convenience in the novel.

30. 5.USE OF IRONY IN SENSE AND
SENSIBILITY
 Irony is a literary device in situation where there is a contrast between
expectation and reality. The novel ‘Sense and Sensibility’ is rich in irony
with both humour and tragedy.
 The skill of Jane Austen in using irony is evident from many of her works
 Irony is mainly of three types- dramatic irony, situational irony and verbal
irony. Sense and sensibility is rich in all these forms of irony.
 Dramatic irony is when the character is unaware about something that the
audience knows. It is also known as tragic irony.

31. .
 Situational irony is when the situation is opposite of what is expected to
happen. Verbal irony is when speaker means something very different
from what he/she is saying.
 Irony can be considered as humour with deeper meaning. Jane Austen
uses irony as a means of moral and social satire. Her irony ranges from
gentle to severe ones.
 Irony helps Jane to maintain a thematic balance in the novel. Some of the
important ironies in the novel are as follows.
 One important situational irony occurs in the case of Marianne and
Colonel Brandon. Marianne initially was not interested in Brandon as he
was too old for her to marry him and his dull nature seemed too boring for
her..

32. .
 She continued to reject his proposal as she found no match with him. But
after Willoughby abandoned her, the situation forced her to accept
Brandon as her life-partner.
 Another irony is in the case of Elinor and Edward. Edward’s sister Fanny
Dashwood kept on trying to prevent the marriage between them and her
initiatives for it was evident since the beginning of the novel. But ironically,
by the end of the novel, the situation came favourable to Edward and
Elinor, such that they got married.

33. .
 Another irony is in the case of John Dashwood and John Middleton. Even
though John Dashwood was not their own brother to Elinor and Marianne,
he was their nominal brother. He was requested by their father Henry
Dashwood to support his sisters after his death. But he was prevented by
his wife to do such favours and behaved undutiful. Whereas in the case of
John Middleton, he was not their brother by birth and just an acquaintance
but he behaved like a brother to the Dashwood sisters, provided them
Barton Cottage and was friendly and brotherly.

34. .
 An irony in the behavior of John Dashwood is that he decided to give his
half- sisters three thousand pounds each according to his father’s request.
But he was prevented by his wife Fanny telling that they are stealing their
sons fortune by doing favours to his half-sisters. The irony is in the
difference in John’s intention and final decision.
 Another irony occurs between Colonel Brandon, Elinor and Mrs. Jennings.
When Brandon was discussing with Elinor about offering his Delaford
estate to Edward Ferrars, Mrs. Jennings overheard the conversation and
misunderstood it as Brandon proposing to Elinor.

35. .
 There are lot of irony in the case of the Steele sisters. They had great
talent in flattery and this was demonstrated to Lady Middleton too. Even
though her children were very naughty and troublesome, the Steele sisters
told her that they are the nicest children in the world and admired them.
 Their skill in flattery is so amazing that they even softened Mrs. Ferrars,
who was a stern and harsh women and she was impressed by the sisters.
 A great plot twist occurs in the novel with the irony of Robert Ferrars's
marriage to Lucy Steele. He was concerned about the prestige of the
family and pleaded to Lucy to withdraw her claim on marrying Edward. But
Lucy cunningly trapped him to be her husband.

36. .
 The irony begins when they eloped to get married without the knowledge
of Mrs. Ferrars. Everyone including the readers were surprised to know
about it. Here occurs a situational irony.
 An irony in the behavior of Colonel Brandon is that even though he
appears dull, boring and emotionless, he is a person of good virtue,
manners and is an eligible gentleman. Even when Marianne gets
abandoned by Willoughby, he takes good care of her. His sincere love for
her is evident as he marries her without bothering about her wealth or
social status.
 Jane Austen’s mastery in using irony is well-evident from this novel.