Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility is a sharply detailed portraiture of the decorum surrounding courtship and the importance of marriage for women in early-nineteenth-century upper-class English society.  The story revolves around Elinor and Marianne Dashwood who, as members of the upper class, cannot "work" for a living and must therefore make a suitable marriage to ensure their livelihood. Elinor is a sensible, rational creature, while her younger sister, Marianne, is wildly romantic—a characteristic that offers Austen plenty of scope for both satire and compassion.