Author: Jane Austen
Narrator: Chloe Boyle
Publisher FrontPage Publishing
Genre: Historical Fiction, Classics
First published October 30, 1811
Book description (from AnyPlay): Marianne Dashwood wears her heart o her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behavior leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love - and is threatened loss- the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.
Review:
Austen is a master of writing characters, we get fleshed-out characters, with flaws and acting on their own agenda. It feels very realistic. The idea is there the sisters, are portrayed as supportive and united. Yet they do not trust each other with the excuse of keeping a promise of confidence with other people. When Marianne finds out the true character of Willoughby, she decides to keep quiet and not share her knowledge; allowing her family to continue to dig their own graves by spreading the idea of an engagement between Elinor and Willoughby.
The exploration of the society of the time is good, but the romance just makes it go down in my opinion. There are no real feelings between any of the couples. They fall helplessly in love after one afternoon, after laying eyes on one another and then the upcoming interactions - the man shows no real interest or worse disdain for the lady in question. With that attitude, she is still hopelessly pinning after him. When the truth comes out that he was already engaged to another girl in "secret" how convenient, he continues to meet ladies and encourage them to consider themselves engaged to him but all in secret. He even uses the same excuse, his mother would not allow their engagement so it cannot be officially announced.
It's all about money, why else would you marry someone? So the fact that he does not have a good enough annuity means that you will stay unwed for however long its necessary until that is increased to a good enough sum. The low income meant that you had a small house, 2-3 servants, oh life was full of limitations. It does look kind of funny as we are looking at it judgementally because we see it through contemporary lenses.
And this is the problem with society, attaining money and keeping it, unfortunately, becomes the main signifier for someone’s worth. That is the life they had to live in and adapt to it they must. If the rules are not followed a social pariah with no prospects was the fate of women. Also, marriage was the only aspiration a woman could have. Especially as they were a family of women alone. At the start of the novel, their stepbrother decides to bypass his late father's wishes of providing (economically) for the Dashwood sister and mother. After all, providing a good enough amount of money for them to live comfortably can only cause hindrance to their well-being. Makes sense right? John Dashwood is a weak, greedy mind who lets his wife control him, or more likely he waits for her to point out the one idea he already has but if he waits for her to say it, he can always blame it on her. He is a greedy person making excuses, oh but they feel like such good people because they decide to give them their "support" to the Dashwoods, the support comes in conditions, and the least interaction with them the better. Austen, as per usual, is razor-sharp with her wit here. There are so many ironic moments involving fortune hunters and extremely greedy (and selfish) relatives who only appear when they think there’s something to gain from their supposed loved ones. Everybody is so obsessed with money, more so than I’ve seen in any other of her works. She always satirizes the elites, though here most of them seem to seek the same thing with no regard for others.
Members of the elite society are depicted as useless, selfish people. Their money comes solely from inheritance and after getting it, they seem to have no idea on how to get more. Their knowledge of economics seems to be exclusive to how to spend it.
The romances here were more fickle and self-involved compared to her other novels. It’s one of the rare cases in fiction such as this where I was unaware of who would actually end up with whom. The couples were not following their heart but the ones that ended together were the ones more convenient to their future, but I mean who has more money and actually asks for my hand in marriage?
This was one of the most unsatisfactory endings I have come across. But I still couldn't put down the book, so it's a big serving of mixed feelings.
Challenges covered:
Classics
Reread
Comments