An Analysis of Marriage View of Sense and Sensibility

【Abstract】Jane Austen （1775-1817） was an excellent representative of female literature. Her first published work sense and sensibility contained her feminist consciousness and her marriage view. The plot of this novel was revolved around Elinor Dashwood and Marianne Dashwood's choice of love and marriage. After Elinor and Marianne suffered from setbacks of love， finally they found their true love.

【Key words】marriage view; love; sense; feminist

In Sense and Sensibility， Austen reveals customs and trends in British capitalist society-the woman regards marriage as the economic security ， and Austen also portray two female characters who are against traditional trends， because they pursue their own love and marriage according to their own wills.

Elinor is a person who is rational， kind-hearted and patient. In addition， she is good at controlling her feelings. Because she often hides her emotion， and she lets her intellect guides her behavior.

Edward Ferrars is a polite， calm and reserved handsome young man. He admires Elinor but he does not express his love to her， because before he meets Elinor， he has engaged with Lucy Steele. However， this engagement has been kept as the secret for Edwards family is against it.However， Edwards sister Fanny has discovered her brothers affection towards Elinor， so she tells Elinors mother that her family will not allow Edward to marry with poor Elinor. The marriage view of Fanny is the traditional value， because she thinks that the basis of marriage is fortune. After hearing these harsh words， Mrs. Dashwood decides to leave their home to prevent Elinor from being hurt by Fanny.

After Elinor moves to Barton cottage， Edward pays a visit， but he seems unhappy so that Elinor is suspicious about Edwards emotion towards her. Until Elinor knows about Lucy Steele， she is told that Lucy and Edward have been engaged for four years. At first， Elinor is surprise and feels hurtful but soon she calms down and she does not believe what Lucy has told her. She feels that she is deceived by Edward and she feels pity for herself. And she considers Lucy is lack of education and she is even poor than herself so that Edward will not marry Lucy.

But to her surprise， Edward insists to marry Lucy， therefore he is disinherited by her mother. Dramatically， Lucy writes a letter to Edward and asks to break their engagement， because she decides to marry Edwards wealthy brother. Lucy is a typical representative of her time， for she regards marriage as the economic security. Contrast to her， Elinor has her own judgement and reason on love and marriage. So Elinor is the symbol of feminist， who speaks for her own happiness.

Elinors sister Marianne is different from her personality. Marianne is a girl who is intelligent， talent， sensible and also emotional. Unlike her sister Elinor， she expresses her opinions and feelings immediately. Therefore， Marianne always let her sense guides her behavior.

Marianne is eager for a passionate and romantic young man. And Willoughby meets all her requirements. Nevertheless， one day Willoughby leaves for London because his aunt asks him to do so. And Marianne is lost in sorrow and she could not control her emotion. Later on， Elinor and Marianne are invited by Mrs. Jennings to visit London. When Marianne sees Willoughby at a dance party， she is wild with joy， but Willoughby is indifferent towards her. She feels disappointed. Again， she writes letter to him and asks him to give her the reason why he is indifferent. Willoughby returns back three letters which are written by Marianne together with her hair， and he informs her that he is engaged with a woman. Therefore， Marianne feels despair and she thinks that others slander her reputation so that Willoughby misunderstands her. She could not sleep and all she thinks of is Willoughby. After Marianne heard that Willoughby marry to a women who has a large fortune， she ignores her health and finally she catches a severe cold and her life is in danger. Finally， Marianne changes her view on love and marriage from sensibility to sense. And she chooses Colonel， because he always takes good care of her and he loves her deeply.

In conclusion， in sense and sensibility， there are two types of marriage views. One believes that marriage bases on money. The representatives are Fanny， Lucy and Willoughby， for they are deeply influenced by the class and society in their time. Another view is that marriage is on the basis of love. The representatives are Elinor and Marianne. They are on the behalf of feminist， because they have their own judgement， intellect and reason. Therefore， Austen embodies her feminist consciousness as well as criticism on society in these characters.

References：

[1]Todd，Janet.The Cambridge Introduction to Jane Austen[M].Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press，2008.

[2]王桂琴.論簡·奧斯汀敘事策略的轉變[J].長江大學學報，2004（4）.

作者簡介：張媛媛（1992.10.18-），女，回族，新疆烏魯木齊人，中央民族大學外國語學院，2013級本科生，英語語言文學專業。