This blog is a part of our academic learning. During the study of Sense and Sensibility novel, we don't just read and interpret this novel, but we also do many interesting activities because of our professor. So, I'm thankful to her (my professor) for making this novel study memorable. Here, I will also share my own experience.
Introduction :
Sense and Sensibility was one of the greatest novel in English literature. This novel was written by the famous writer Jane Austen during Romanticism and was published in 1811. This novel shows women's situation in society and the importance of inheritance during that era.
(This image has been taken from Google.)
Main Characters :
In this novel, there are many characters, but the main characters are:
- Elinor
- Marianne
Short Summary :
The novel begins with the introduction of the Dashwood family at Norland Park, Sussex, where Henry Dashwood lives on the property of his uncle. Henry Dashwood has three daughters by his current wife and a son from his prior marriage. During his last breaths, Mr. Henry Dashwood tells his son, John Dashwood, to take care of his stepmother and sisters. John Dashwood also makes a plan for them, but his wife Fanny diverts his decision. After receiving the letter from Mrs. Dashwood's relative, Mr. John Middleton, Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters (Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret) go to live at Barton Cottage, Devonshire, on the property of Mr. John Middleton. Here, they meet many relatives of the Middleton's and others such as Willoughby, Colonel Brandon, Mrs. Jennings (mother of Lady Middleton), Lucy Steele, etc. There are many confusions among all of them about love. Many stories or relationships with others are revealed one after another as the story moves ahead. At first, Marianne takes Willoughby as a good-hearted and loving person, but at last, she knows everything about him. Elinor loves Edward Ferrars (brother of Fanny), and at last, they both marry each other.
Title of the Novel :
Elinor thinks from sense, and Marianne thinks from sensibility, so the name of the novel is Sense and Sensibility. People's thinking processes are different. Some think by heart and become emotional, but some people think rationally, think deeper, see both sides, and make decisions from the mind. So, we should think from both the head and the heart.
My Experience :
In the first reading, I thought that this novel was mainly about two sisters, their different thinking processes, love, and marriage. But as we studied deeply and I understood more, I realized that this novel is not just about two sisters but about women's position in society, how inheritance affects important life decisions, how people can betray others, and it is also about nature, Romanticism, etc.
I like Elinor's character because she does not make decisions by becoming emotional; she makes decisions using her mind, and she has the ability to see the character from both sides. She represents sense—using reason, logic, and self-control—in the novel, while her sister represents sensibility—emotions, feelings, and sensitivity. By understanding this novel, we get the idea that only by using sense or sensibility, life can't be happy, but by mixing both sense and sensibility, we can live a happy and meaningful life. This novel also shows that we should stay away from Willoughby-type persons.
As I mentioned above, we do many activities during the study of this novel. They are below:
Email Writing :
First of all, I made an email cover for my letter. Then, I wrote an email to my sir and the entire team who became helpful and guidance for my success. I'm thankful to my ma'am because through this activity, I had a chance to thank them in a unique way.
Walk Into Nature :
We went to Gautmeshwar as a part of this activity. First, we visited the Mahadev temple. Then, we started our task by observing, interpreting, and feeling what was around us. We deeply observed nature, trees, leaves, the sky, birds, mountains, etc. There were many activities for all of us. We chose our interesting activity from the list and started to complete it. My partner and I made a tree on the card. At last, we ate together and enjoyed a lot.
In our regular life, we go to such places many times but stay away from looking at them in a different way. We just look at nature and enjoy it, but we can't interpret and feel it deeply. But through this activity, we didn't just visit the temple; we also took it deeply by heart and expressed our emotions through an interesting activity.
Blog Writing :
As I said above, this blog is also a part of our task. I don't have the best skills in blog writing, although I am writing and making my best effort. Through blog writing, we can share our experience, what we understand, and how deeply we interpret the story. I must say that this is necessary because by only studying, we can't express our ideas, and we don't have an idea of how much we have learnt. I'm thankful to ma'am for giving this task and making us complete it strictly.
Conclusion :
Sense and Sensibility is one of the famous novels. I really enjoyed studying this novel. We can take a moral lesson in our life from this novel: if we want to live a happy and meaningful life, we should think using both sense and sensibility. With a mix of reason and emotion, life becomes different from others.
