Context for Sense and Sensibility (AO3)

Fordyce’s Sermons to Young Women (1766)

Fordyce instructs women to be dutiful, submissive and modest in dress and behaviour

A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)

Mary Woollstonecraft

A strong critic to the work of Fordyce.

Attacked the prevailing view of docile, decorative femininity, and instead laid out the principles of emancipation: an equal education for girls and boys, an end to prejudice, and for women to become defined by their profession, not their partner.

Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787)

Mary Wollstonecraft

Wollstonecraft argued that women within the gentry/aristocracy were ill-prepared for the world. Also she said that upper class women’s education focused on developing ‘feeling’ rather than ‘understanding’ leaving them vulnerable to excessive sensibility.

Concept of private and public places in the regency era

There were limited opportunities for a man and a woman to speak privately without being subject to severe scrutiny.

Dancing with a partner numerous times indicated that you were interested.

It was like a surveillance state.

What was the ‘cult’ of sensibility developed in the 18th century?

Novels like ‘A Sentimental Journey’ (1768) by Laurence Sterne were extremely popular.

In these novels, the beauty of nature and a (perhaps over-) sensitivity to human suffering are shown to have a generally beneficial effect.

What was Sense and Sensibility meant to be when Austen first started writing it?

It was supposed to be an epistolary novel called ‘Elinor and Marriane’ in 1795. It was then redrafted as Sense and Sensibility in 1797.

When was Sense and Sensibility published?

1811

What type of novels did Austen satirise in her novel ‘Plan of a Novel’ written in 1815-1816?

The over-dramatic novels of her era which portrayed a perfect heroine with no nuance or complexity.

How could you describe Austen’s style of writing novels?

Social Realism

The Female Instructor (1811)

Conduct manual for women that covered courtship and marriage.

It encouraged women to engage with men who were interested in them and demonstrates how within Austen’s society it was frowned upon to reject advances. Men were in control of the courtship process.

Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice (1813)

In Pride and Prejudice Charlotte Lucas marries Mr Collins not out of love but economic and societal necessity.

The alternative to marriage… ‘loneliness and poverty’ (Janet Todd)

What narrative technique does Austen use?

Free indirect speech

What is Primogeniture?

Primogeniture is an inheritance system where the eldest child, typically the eldest son, inherits the entire estate, title, and assets upon a parent's death.

What does Pseudo gentry mean? Give an example of this in the novel

"Pseudo-gentry" refers to a social class of upper-professional families who lived like the landed gentry but lacked inherited landed wealth.

The Dashwoods fall into this category after the death of Henry Dashwood. Characters such as Sir John Middleton can be seen as landed gentry.

Under which pseudonym did Austen publish ‘Sense and Sensibility’? Which character in the novel does this reflect?

It was merely credited as ‘By a Lady’

This reflects the character of Elinor who was guided by sense. Austen cared for her reputation.

What was Austen’s life like financially?

Austen’s father, when he retired from his job as a clergyman went to live in Bath with his family. They were living on about £650 a year and only had a couple of servants.

What was the 19th century law ‘The law of breach of promise’?

When a man has proposed marriage, he cannot legally back out of it but a woman can.

Why was Romance made difficult by Georgian societal expectations?

Love was often not stated but implied by certain actions and engagement appeared to be de facto truth e.g. the unchaperoned carriage ride of Willoughby and Marriane

Why was marriage the only tangible aspiration for a Georgian woman? What was the married Women’s property act (1870)?

Women were reliant on men for financial security.

The Married Women's Property Act 1870 was a statute that allowed married women to legally own and control their own wages and earnings, rather than automatically passing them to their husbands.

Why was marriage important in terms of legacy?

Marriage was heavily used to maintain, or increase social class, with family reputation being essential for maintaining status among peers. This was further secured through children.