Question

Explain whether Austen's Sense and Sensibility ultimately comes down on the side of uncontrolled passion or on the side of restraint and practicality. Your answer should be at least 250 words.

Answer 1

Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility cannot be fairly said to come down on either the side of uncontrolled passion or on the side of restraint and practicality.  In fact, the novel analyzes and considers the benefits and deficits of both attitudes and dispositions.  Ultimately, the novel calls for a fair and equal balance between both "sense" and "sensibility."  Austen advocates for people to acknowledge and be in touch with their passions (or "senses") and not to fully restrain or repress such, but to also maintain their own dignity and self-control.  

Answer 2

    Jane Austen's novel "Sense and Sensibility" cannot be fairly said to come down on either the side of uncontrolled passion or on the side of restraint and practicality.  In fact, the novel analyzes and considers the benefits and deficits of both attitudes and dispositions.  Ultimately, the novel calls for a fair and equal balance between both "sense" and "sensibility."  Austen advocates for people to acknowledge and be in touch with their passions (or "senses") and not to fully restrain or repress such, but to also maintain their own dignity and self-control.  

    To have strictly Sense one is constricted to conceal their feelings completely and to have strictly sensibility, one is only moved by emotion instead of a realistic view. Jane Austen made fun of both traits when they were by themselves and ultimately showed that a balance of both in moderation was the best outcome. 

    Marianne was strictly guided by her emotions and an unrealistic view of her engagement with Willoughby. But Elinor concealed her feelings too much and rather analyzed love in a most logical sense. However, love is not something that you can over analyze and it is also something that you cannot put neatly into a box. Love can too often capture one and push them to make decisions based on the feelings (sensibility) rather than to think things through and move accordingly. Yet, if one holds too strengently to reason love may very well pass them by and their heart might never know the joy of its presence.