Understanding Sense and Sensibility Through the Lens of Jane Austen's Life Madisen Marie Johnson 11th Grade

Although she only lived to forty-one years of age and published a mere six works, Jane Austen was one of the most profound authors of the nineteenth century. Her first published work, penned when she was but nineteen years old, was Sense and Sensibility: a dramatic rollercoaster of a story about two very different sisters and their journey through life and love. By looking at Jane Austen’s life, it is apparent that her personal life heavily influenced Sense and Sensibility in the context of the Dashwoods, other characters in the novel, varying situations they encounter, and the setting of her story, as well as being aided by her family. Society in her day helped Austen shape her own views on women as well as her own social commentary that she used in her novels.

The main characters in Sense and Sensibility, the Dashwood women, are similar to many people in Jane Austen’s life, and many of the situations her characters face stem from experiences she had in her own life. For example, her great-grandmother was faced with a situation, not unlike Mrs. Dashwood’s: she was evicted from her home after her husband’s death by a close relative and was forced to take up teaching and other odd jobs in order to support her children and send...