Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - A Short Summary & Review
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - A Short Summary & Review
By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures
A Rite of Fancy Book Recommendation and Review
A short summary:
Sense and Sensibility follows the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, as they navigate love, loss, and social constraint after their family’s sudden financial downturn. Elinor embodies sense, restraint, prudence, and emotional discipline, while Marianne represents sensibility, experiencing the world fully, passionately, and without filter.
As both sisters encounter romance shaped by class expectations, broken promises, and personal pride, Austen explores how differing temperaments respond to disappointment. The novel asks not which approach is “correct,” but how a balance between reason and feeling is essential to lasting happiness.
My favorite quote from the book:
Questions to ponder while reading:
My review:
This book is a quiet lesson in emotional survival.
Getting dumped is harsh, especially when you love deeply and openly, but Austen never mocks feeling. Instead, she shows how unchecked emotion can wound as much as repression can suffocate. Good sense is hard to find, especially in a world full of selfishness disguised as charm and propriety.
Like Marianne, I wear my heart on my sleeve, and Austen gently reminds readers that while vulnerability is not a flaw, it needs the steadying hand of judgment to protect it. Sense and Sensibility doesn’t ask us to abandon feeling; it asks us to learn how to live with it.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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