Sense and Sensibility - Converge Anonymous

"To His Royal Highness The Prince Regent, This work is, by his Royal Highness's Permission, most respectfully dedicated, by His Royal Highness's dutiful and obedient humble servant, the author" (Austen, Emma ii).

The preceding is the dedication of Jane Austen's 1815 novel, Emma, to the Prince of Wales- at his humble suggestion. While Austen was critical of the Prince's lifestyle, she entertained his wishes- craftily weaving a satirically superfluous commitment of Emma to him (Austen "Letter"). This example is quite indicative of Austen's writing style: subtle and witty, as well as her opinion of high society: superficial. When applying these contentions to Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility, one can derive an entirely new appreciation of her character depiction, particularly of Marianne Dashwood, Ms. Sensibility.

Austen portrays a world in which the rich become slightly less rich and all happiness rests in the arms of a man. Perhaps ironically, Austen uses the very few, and relatively undeveloped, male characters to define her two main characters: Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. The women's interaction with these men at different times intensifies their satirically, and almost...