SUMMARY －139－

Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility

KITAWAKI Tokuko

Sense and Sensibility was Jane Austen’s first novel published in 1811. Its first manuscript was entitled Elinor and Marianne, which was written as the story of two sisters in 1795. This story was rewritten twice in the sixteen years before its publication. Sense and Sensibility is regarded as a debate or a dialogue. Elinor Dashwood is a symbol of sense and Marianne Dashwood is that of sensibility. Jane Austen tried to let sense and sensibility have a dialogue through this novel. In the end of the story we are able to deepen our understand- ing of these two ideas. Elinor is intellectual and prudent, but she is affectionate and her feelings are strong. Marianne is emotional and imprudent, but she is also sensible and clever. We should not think of one as superior to the other. Both Elinor and Marianne are more or less endowed with sense and sensibility. Marianne’s behaviour is based on her own feelings, and she often ignores the feelings of other people. Her slightest consideration of circumstances invites ultimately her sufferings. In spite of Elinor’s advice to pay much attention to formal social activities, Marianne will never listen to her and indulges herself in loving a play boy. She was betrayed by the materialist Willoughby, who was engaged to the wealthy Miss Grey. Marianne suffers from his desertion and becomes seriously ill. Through these sufferings she learns to thank the people around her and behave properly. Elinor is always thinking of the feelings of other people and controls her own strong feelings. She is a sensible and prudent person whose behaviour is based on a correct judgement and care- ful observation of circumstances. She believes Edward Ferrars’s love for her, even though Lucy Steele tells her that Edward has been engaged secretly to Lucy for four years. Knowing that Lucy is a sly and unfaithful fiancée, Elinor grieves over Edward’s engagement. Fortunately Lucy secret- ly marries Robert, Edward’s younger brother, and then Edward proposes marriage to Elinor. Elinor is the center of Sense and Sensibility. She is Marianne’s nurse, friend, and sister, who loves and attends Marianne devotedly. Elinor is also Colonel Brandon’s friend. Without her help Brandon would not marry Marianne. Edward loves and respects Elinor. It is only Elinor that has a good relationship with all the characters in this novel. －140－ SUMMARY

Sense and Sensibility is the story of Elinor Dashwood. She is the most intellectual, faithful, sensible, affectionate and charming heroine of all the novels of Jane Austen.