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Sense & Sensibility

(Everyman's Library)

By Jane Austen

(820)

| Paperback | 9780460879149

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Book Description

Jane Austen (1775-1817) is considered by many scholars to be the first great woman novelist. Her novels revolve around people, not events or coincidences. Miss Austen sets her novels in the upper middle class English country which was her own environment.

Her novels have increased in statureContinue

15 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

"For though a very few hours spent in the hard labor of incessant talking will despatch more subjects than can really be in common between any two rational cratures, yet with lovers it is different. Between THEM no subject is finished, no communication is even made, till it has been made at least tw ... (continue)

"For though a very few hours spent in the hard labor of incessant talking will despatch more subjects than can really be in common between any two rational cratures, yet with lovers it is different. Between THEM no subject is finished, no communication is even made, till it has been made at least twenty times over."
Di nuovo Jane, di nuovo la ‘mia psicoterapeuta preferita’. Tra le righe trovo sempre un po’ di me. Marianne è la sorella impulsiva, dice quello che le passa per la testa, non bada alle apparenze, alla buona educazione, trova che le cose quotidiane siano ‘dull’, è alla ricerca di emozioni forti altrimenti neanche ne vale la pena. Elinor, d’altro canto, è guidata dal buon senso, dalla moderazione, apprezza ed apprezzerà sempre il ‘sense’, il buon senso in se stessa e negli altri. Assistiamo quindi all’evoluzione dell’una e dell’altra ma soprattutto di Marianne che si butta tra le braccia di Willoghby, un giovane piacente guidato però, come Elinor chiarirà, solo ed esclusivamente dal suo egoismo. E così la seconda sorella Dashwood rimane scottata, si trascura fino al punto di ammalarsi, si accorge per la prima volta che lasciarsi andare alle forti passioni non è la via che porta ad una felicità genuina.
Inevitabile il confronto con ‘Pride And Prejudice’: Marianne dà giudizi affrettati, dà sfogo alla sua immaginazione, riconosce messaggi celati negli atteggiamenti altrui. D’altra parte, i personaggi principali non sono forti come Elizabeth Bennet. Il romanzo è, invece, amabilmente arricchito da una schiera di personaggi secondari che fanno non di rado sorridere: Sir John e Mrs. Jennings che cercano incessantemente la compagnia altrui perché per loro ‘stare insieme vuol dire essere intimi’ e sono terrorizzati dal rimanere soli con loro stessi. Il misogino o anche misantropo Mr. Palmer che risulterebbe antipatico se non fosse costantemente affiancato da sua moglie che lo ridicolizza interpretandone gli atteggiamenti come cordiali e socievoli. E infine Mr. John Dashwood e sua sorella Fanny che impazziscono per ogni cosa che luccica.
Decisamente piacevole, decisamente Austen!

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Unworldly Northman said on Jan 7, 2011 | Add your feedback

2 people find this helpful

A Matter of Head and Heart

Meet the Dashwood sisters. Elinor, the eldest of all three daughters, is considerate, reserved and very sensible, while Marianne, the second daughter of the Dashwoods, carries a set of characteristics completely opposite of those of her older sister. She is wildly romantic, outspoken and emotional. ... (continue)

Meet the Dashwood sisters. Elinor, the eldest of all three daughters, is considerate, reserved and very sensible, while Marianne, the second daughter of the Dashwoods, carries a set of characteristics completely opposite of those of her older sister. She is wildly romantic, outspoken and emotional. In the pursuit of love, neither sister was successful at finding happiness by solely relying on their natural instinct, be it Elinor’s sensible reasoning or Marianne’s uninhibited passion. Marianne falls head-over-heels in love with deceitful Willoughby who, in the end, confesses that he’s never had the intention of returning her affection. At the same time, Elinor finds out that the man that she has become attached to, Edward Ferrars, was already engaged to someone else.
Early on in the story, Jane Austen established the parallel progression of both sisters’ love lives. The obvious contrast between Marianne’s and Elinor’s different ways of dealing with the pain caused by every turn of event allows readers to identify and compare the mental capacity and behaviors produced by each disposition – sense and sensibility. Austen has chosen Elinor as the person who delivers most of the important scenes in the story. It is not hard to detect that Austen favors the cool-headed and thoughtful Elinor over the romantic Marianne who is still too young and stubborn to compromise her emotions outburst for the consideration for others and circumstances. The main contrast between Elinor and Marianne codes of conduct lies in Marianne’s romantic insistence that desires be spoken, whereas Elinor requires that they be silenced. When Marianne learns that Elinor has silently suffered just as much as she has, if not more, she is ashamed by comparison with the virtues of her sister Elinor.
If we define Elinor and Marianne’s temperament with our modern-day psychology jargons, Elinor would certainly be labeled as someone with a high EQ, whereas Marrianne a not so high one. The ability of reserving one’s emotions and thoughts and directing them to an appropriate outlet at an appropriate time is a derivate action of delayed gratification which is the most important sign for high EQ. Elinor possesses exactly this ability. It is unfortunate that women in Jane Austen’s time could only bestow this power in tasks that are no more impressive than the task of searching for a good husband. However, when Elinor put her high emotional quotient to use in the matter of love, she failed miserably. Her cautiousness and emphasis on form have delayed her from getting to the truth that would have made her suffer much less by lessening her attachment to Edward Ferrars.
While reading texts from the beginning part of the book where the sisters are excitedly speculating of the verity of affection from their prospective lovers, I fondly reminded of the scenes from movie “He is just not that into you”. Throughout time, women have waited by either their window or their phone for their lovers to call. It is undeniable that women have disposed to be emotional, and they have been in the passive and submissive position during courtship for as long as time. What Jane Austen is trying to tell us with Sense and Sensibility is that neither being highly sensible and logical nor being crazily romantic and emotional guarantees the success of love. Sometimes, women have to love with their heart, just as much as with their head.

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Sandy said on May 14, 2010 | 1 feedback

2 people find this helpful

The protagonists are two young sisters living in the south of England with their family. They do not work nor study, the very dream of my life: they just spend time reading books, painting, playing piano, meeting with friends and falling in love with gentlemen.
Anyway their path is not wanting ... (continue)

The protagonists are two young sisters living in the south of England with their family. They do not work nor study, the very dream of my life: they just spend time reading books, painting, playing piano, meeting with friends and falling in love with gentlemen.
Anyway their path is not wanting in difficulties for, since their father’s death, they find themselves dealing with mean relatives and lack of money. The way to love shows itself no less troubled, and in misfortune they only find the comfort, not always discreet and suitable, of their understanding mother and some good friends.
So they often have to grow up by themselves through these obstacles, showing two different characters: Elinor is more rational and reserved, Marianne is passionate and impulsive.
The cautious, balanced approach to life turns out to be the safest guide to happiness. It has been said that this feature belongs to the character of the author. Nevertheless maybe that both sides reflect two opposing aspects of her personality and it seems to me that, at the end of the story, the passionate one appears a bit entrapped and sacrificed to convenience and an acceptable serenity.
As usual however Jane Austen never disappoints, and the final is as good to read as the preceding psychological introspection of characters, leading to success a bit sweetened, but optimistic view of life, in which elegance and propriety triumph over selfishness and calculation.
To sum up: 19th century men were no more reliable than two hundred years later ones; mothers, though sympathetic, were no less intrusive than now; good principles and well managing of emotions and impulses are always helpful in leading a happy life.

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Cheerflower said on Dec 13, 2008 | Add your feedback

davvero molto carino. mi piacerebbe leggere anche la versione integrale in italiano ;)

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ohfra said on Jan 5, 2012 | Add your feedback

Jane Austen succeeds in giving a marvellous portrait of the two sisters and their prominent features, without letting any of them prevail over the novel. The reasons of the heart and of common sense appear in the end to be complementary.

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Caris87 said on Feb 26, 2011 about the Others edition | Add your feedback

quite nice a book! love the bookworm series, coz they make the long story short which really saves my time.

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Christy said on Jun 20, 2010 | Add your feedback