What is the theme of sense and sensibility?

Answer 1

In my opinion, 'Sense and Sensibility' is mainly about the attitude towards the marriage. The sensible young people pursue for love in the beginning, and the realistic young people have to submit to the society or the family elements. The society gave no choice for the well-educated, but in possession of little fortune, girls to decide their marriage.

Answer 2

Jane Austen has several themes operating in Sense and Sensibility.

Clearly, one theme is an examination of the value of conservative decorum versus more radical social standards. Elinor abides by the standards of decorum. Marianne believes in the free expression of passions. Both are hurt in love, but we can see clearly that the author believes Elinor is right and Marianne excessive.

Morality is always an issue in Austen's novels. Both girls are inclined to be moral, but Marianne's approach leads her to be incautious without realizing it. She might have slipped in the same way Eliza Williams did, but did not, perhaps as a result of chance more than anything else.

Another theme is the overriding affection of sisters who disagree with each other on issues. Elinor and Marianne support each other through their problems. Marianne is at first unable to understand the pain Elinor is experiencing, but becomes so when she learns that Edward was engaged to Lucy Steele, and that Elinor knew this. Elinor, on the other hand, is very supportive of Marianne, even though she is critical of Marianne's approach to live.

The supportive relationship between the girls becomes important in another theme, which is growth of personality. Elinor shows steadfast maturity through the entire novel, so this is not so apparent in her, but Marianne's growth is a major theme of the book. It is achieved in large measure because of the support she receives from Elinor, which instructs her. She becomes what she should have been, which is more like Elinor.

One theme, however, is probably most important. All of Jane Austen's novels center around the question of marriage, and specifically the question of who is appropriate as a spouse. It is important to develop an understanding of a person, so that attachment is not established with someone who has bad character; Marianne should have understood Willoughby and been warned by his lack of decorum. A marriage that includes a great change in wealth is always portrayed as inadvisable, unless the couple is truly in love, Elinor marries Edward, who, though not poor, is not very wealthy, but this is acceptable because they are in love and she is inclined to be frugal. The question of whether a couple should marry when one person is much older than the other is also examined in regards Marianne's marriage to Colonel Brandon. The question of Willoughby's wisdom in marrying with Miss Grey comes up because it is based entirely on his need for money and does not take the heart into account. We see, similarly, that Lucy Steele's marriage to Robert Ferrars does not produce much happiness, for exactly the same reason.

Answer 3

the problem is money and inheritance. since the dashwood girls get no money from their father, and john dashwood inherits all of it, everything goes downhill for the dashwood girls from there.