Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility

Author

Jane Austen

Publisher

Minumsa | Published 2006-03-25

Category

Novel

Book description

In a BBC UK survey of the greatest writers of the past thousand years, after Shakespeare...

A novel that expanded Jane Austen's short debut work <Elinor and Marianne>, Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen's 'debut work,' and there is a record that at the time she earned royalties amounting to 160 pounds from this novel (through a second printing). Actually, while reading from the start it did give a certain feeling of 'flowing along,' but it was hard to feel it was very entertaining, and in fact while reading I felt more bored, dull, and a little stifled than entertained. The first reason is that I instantly noticed the subjects the title 'Sense and Sensibility' refers to are the heroines 'Elinor' and 'Marianne,' and the second is that I felt a severe skepticism or stuffiness toward the group (or community) called 'high society.' It's truly a shame that the distinctive image of 'high society' I felt when reading 'Anna Karenina' still appears in other books too (actually, I admit this is also the most realistic part), but I think it's most important to accept it as a story that appears in most European books.

Elinor's sensible love means a love based on 'respect,' and Marianne's emotional love means a love based on sharing her own feelings and thoughts. Passionate and highly sensitive, Marianne is overjoyed that her beloved Willoughby has thoughts and hobbies similar to her own, so there's so much they can share. As Willoughby keeps visiting the two sisters' home for a while, the two have a courtship that looks like it will lead to marriage, but in the end Willoughby moves away (and at the same time meets a new woman), and as the two stop contacting each other at all, the courtship effectively ends. Later, when Elinor and Marianne go to London for a visit, they exchange letters, and while exchanging letters Marianne cries her eyes out every single day, and Elinor plays well the role of an 'older sister' who looks after, worries about, and helps her younger sibling. You could say Elinor cares for Marianne with the warm heart she possesses. (It's a clichéd expression, but the old ways are best. And these days I really miss the old ways.)

'Edward,' whom Elinor loves, also seems somehow not to fit well with Elinor. At first he expresses himself to some degree and his conversations with Elinor go reasonably well, but after the sisters move, there is almost no exchange between the two of them. By this point, doubts arise about whether Edward really likes Elinor, and only when you reach the ending do you realize that doubt was mistaken, which is where I realized that Edward needed a very long time to open his 'heart,' and at the same time you could say that Elinor, in a way, persistently waited by 'respecting' the other person. The marriage culture of 'Europe' at the time usually concluded with the man visiting the woman's house to propose, and the series of steps leading up to that proceeded as follows: the man, while engaging in social activities, would, when he found a woman he liked, visit her house several times to grow closer, and if their intentions matched, they would make it public. One distinctive point is that exchanging 'letters' was one of the methods tacitly used only for a marriage partner, but regrettably, even though Marianne and Willoughby did so, they ended up not marrying. The biggest reason is that Willoughby, following his mother's wishes, marries the daughter of a wealthy family. Marianne's family was not that wealthy and their estate was rather small, but the woman Willoughby chose as his marriage partner was quite rich. Elinor ends up marrying Edward in the end, and well... since it's Elinor, of 'sensibility's' Marianne and 'sense's' Elinor, who achieved marriage with the person she wanted, in a way the author has all but given the win to 'sense.'

But I have no desire to raise my hand for either one. I only want to say that in living one's life, a cold head and a warm heart are both needed at the same time. If a person always thinks only rationally in love, it will be full of irrationality everywhere. Because reason refers to the 'logic' and 'rationality' one thinks of. Judging an object by some set of values is prone to error, and there's a high chance that judgment is wrong, especially in human relationships. I see emotion as regulating that 'irrationality.' Emotion is required because it needs the kind of breathing room to understand, empathize with, and care for the other person's feelings. The attitude of holding out your palm to the other person and saying you can do it together, even when you yourself are struggling, could be called 'emotion.' Neither the warm heart nor the cold head should be removed. Perhaps what the author intended was simply to set the two side by side and talk about them.

But this is simply the story of when love is given and received between two people, and people always want to receive as much as they have given. Of course, with religious love it's not so. But that's possible because within it you can confirm the sight of others rejoicing as they receive your love. In the process of communicating and obtaining joy by acting to convey that you love someone, and that your money is being used for a reasonable investment (organizations like World Vision or UNICEF disclose their usage records, making donors aware that their money is turned into very transparently provided funds), even there, if I've given a certain amount of love, I want to receive it too. The cause of the desire for reciprocity lies precisely in 'reason.' Because one must know for oneself that one's actions are justified. Because one wants to grow that certainty not only through one's own conviction but through the actions of others. Because of the fear of losing, because of the fear of being left alone.

I'm writing, but the lingering uneasiness is probably because of what happened this time. I should take a little time and think it over step by step. Just because I see it doesn't mean I want to act right away.