Themes of Gender, Social Class, Freedom and Responsibility in the Novel Sense and Sensibility

A Time period piece like no other, Sense and Sensibility has survived generations and has been a part of gender and society studies both in high school and university. The novel is presented with two main characters in which the title of the book coincides with Marianne as sensibility, in which she cares only of her own thoughts and feelings and cares nothing for others, whereas Elinor, the elder sister, is sense and is always thinking of the feelings of other people and controls her own strong feelings.

Comparing the theories of Simone de Beauvoir of freedom, responsibility, and ambiguity through Sense and Sensibility, this essay will unravel the relationship between ideas of gender, social role and social class are heavily influenced in this in-depth novel by Jane Austen. This essay will seek to unfold how gender is affected by class. How the role of institutions such as family play a significant part on how society views someone and how one's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others. One may believe that gender and class are categorized as the same, but as in the novel Sense and Sensibility, gender and class are two different entities. In each class status, gender is divided almost the same.

The masculine gender is still portrayed as superior and the feminine gender the weaker more passive gender. The masculine gender receives more freedom, whereas the feminine gender’s freedom is based upon decisions made by the masculine gender. Jane Austin emphasizes class and gender early in her writings in chapter 2. The Dashwood sisters would need to move from their home at Norland Park in which they grew up, because their Father, Mr. Dashwood, passes this property to his only son who was conceived in his first marriage.

Even though the Dashwood sister spent most of their lives growing up in Norland Park, Mr. Dashwood thought it prudent to pass on such property to three women, instead, he felt it more appropriate to pass it onto his son, a man of strength, aggressiveness and strong gender. These attributes reveal themselves when John, the son of Mr. Dashwood concludes that the three sisters have no need for such property or help of any kind. He begins with inheriting ownership of the property and electing to pay the sisters 1000 dollars a month, but that 1000 dollars shrivels to 500 dollars and then ultimately nothing. John Dashwood is convinced by his wife Fanny Dashwood. She explains to her husband John, to think of their own son and how he would be left with no money when he grows up. The Dashwood sisters although lived an upper-class lifestyle while Mr. Dashwood was alive, simple was relegated in society classes upon his death and were left without a home. De Beauvoir states 'gender' as a construct is imposed by a patriarchal society. Fanny Dashwood is the architect of the fall of the Dashwood sisters, but John Dashwood holds primary power and predominated roles such as social privilege and control of property.

This means that the Norland park property and title are inherited by the male lineage and he would have the final say, even the house China was to extravagant for the widowed Miss. Dashwood and her daughters. The Dashwood sisters would describe themselves as 'poor.' Even though they could afford to keep three servants, and the three daughters do not work outside their home, they were actually poor according to the standards of their social class at that time and this was initiated by their gender. Gender and class are what ultimately divides these two same, but completely different families, conceived by the same man. In this time period institutions such as family, play a significant role in how people viewed you and placed you in certain classes or genders. From how the widowed Miss. Dashwood and her daughters were relegated to a lower class simply because of the death of Mr. Dashwood and their feminine gender, the institution of family can have reverse effects on the masculine gender as well.

The character John Willoughby knows all too well the institution of the family. John Willoughby was Marianne’s, first love. She fell in love with him when he graciously helped her little sister Margaret when she fell and hurt her ankle in the rain. Marianne and Willoughby started a romance in which would come to a halt when he is summoned to England by his aunt on a business proposal. It is revealed in later chapters that John Willoughby had impregnated the Colonel's 15-year-old ward, Eliza, and abandoned her and Marianne without any word or any replies from the numerous letters that would be sent by Marianne to him. Willoughby’s financially successful Aunt catches wind of this situation and demands he makes mend with Eliza and Marianne. Willoughby disagrees and does not take responsibility for his actions and thus his Aunt disowns and disinherits him. Society views this as a scandal and the institution of the family is so important that no matter your gender or class there are always situations that can impose great loss upon any gender. John’s abrupt departure to England was not that of a business proposal presented by his Aunt, but it was to search for a rich wife.

As Simone de Beauvoir stated, “One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others” and with this Willoughby learned the hard way of value and life. Willoughby would live his days married to a woman he did not love and did not want to marry and his value he placed on the feminine gender ultimately was the gender that would predict and give value back to his life. We must not confuse the present with the past. With regard to the past, no further action is possible. Author Jane Austin uses ambiguous notions to fuel the plot of her novel Sense and sensibility, but with ambiguity comes the notion highlighted by Simone de Beauvoir that one's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others. A string of hair wrapped around Edwards ring on his finger in which the youngest of the Dashwood sister reveals, he states its his sisters, but Margaret firmly remembers Willoughby doing the same to Marianne in hopes of love. Could one thing from the past be so relevant in the present? If the value of the hair could only foresee Elinor and Edward, it would foreshadow the coming marriage between the two.

Also, what is evident in the chapters 16-19 is the Palmers. When Mrs. Jennings leans over to Elinor and whispers that Mrs. Palmer is pregnant, Mr. Palmer hides his face in his newspaper and really doesn’t say much for the rest of the visit. Everyone in these chapters is persistent in keeping their own secrets away from society as if to say what happened in the past stays in the past and not in the present. Why do people devalue other people’s opinions, when ultimately other opinions can only make our self-worth and value rise? Jane Austin uses great characterization to influence ambiguous situations throughout the book. In turn, these ambiguous situations help one realize that how you treat others will only benefit your own results in life regardless of gender, class or social role. In the words of Simone De Beauvoir “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” With one of the most romantic novels written in the time of romanticism, women were still highly observed as the passive gender. Women could not be considered women unless married to a strong aggressive male.

The novel is about 3 girls finding love and friendship in Barton, but the time period piece plays relevant notions to gender, social roles and social class. From the Dashwood’s being relegated to a lower class merely based on the death of Miss. Dashwood’s husband, to Willoughby being disinherited based on his roles in deceit and making his family look bad as a higher social institution.

The women of this novel looked upon by other characters as less or lower in social class and roles merely based on the fact they are not married. They become women when they learn of love and the other gender. They become women when they get married to a man. Both Marianne and Elinor live happily in love, but it wasn’t this at the beginning. Instead, they are slowly described through actions to be weak and passive, despite their strong minds and nature. For Elinor to marry and take reins with her husband on a farm and Marianne to love twice, they are not women until they grow up and become women.