Story summary
Sense and Sensibility summary
When their father dies and their half-brother takes the family home, two very different sisters start over in a Devon cottage and face love and loss in their own ways.
Sense and Sensibility follows Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who lose their home at Norland Park when their father dies and the estate passes to their half-brother John and his wife Fanny. With their mother and little sister Margaret, they move to Barton Cottage in Devonshire, a gift from a kind cousin, Sir John Middleton.
Elinor is composed and practical, while Marianne feels everything openly. The story follows the sisters through country parties, a winter in London and a dangerous illness, and asks which way of loving serves a person best. It will suit readers who enjoy Regency romance, sibling stories and plots driven by manners, money and secrets.
Main characters
The plot
Spoilers from here on, including the ending.
Leaving Norland
On his deathbed Henry Dashwood asks his son John to look after his stepmother and half-sisters. Fanny talks John down from a generous gift to almost nothing, and the Dashwoods are left with five hundred pounds a year between them. Elinor grows fond of Fanny’s brother Edward Ferrars, and Fanny makes it clear that their mother expects a grander match for him. Mrs. Dashwood accepts Sir John Middleton’s offer of Barton Cottage.
Barton and Willoughby
At Barton Park, Sir John, Lady Middleton and the gossiping Mrs. Jennings welcome the family. Marianne dismisses the serious Colonel Brandon as too old for love. When she twists her ankle in a storm, the dashing John Willoughby carries her home. He shares her love of poetry and music, and they become inseparable, with everyone assuming an engagement. Then Brandon is called away to London, and Willoughby leaves suddenly, saying his cousin Mrs. Smith has sent him on business.
Lucy’s secret
Edward visits Barton, subdued and reserved, wearing a ring with a lock of hair. Soon after, the Steele sisters arrive, and Lucy tells Elinor that she has been secretly engaged to Edward for four years. Elinor promises to keep the secret and bears it alone.
London
Mrs. Jennings takes Elinor and Marianne to London. Marianne writes to Willoughby, who answers with a card and silence. At a ball he is cold and accompanied by the heiress Miss Grey, and his letter confirms that he is to marry her. Colonel Brandon tells Elinor that Willoughby seduced and abandoned his ward Eliza. When Anne Steele reveals Lucy’s engagement, Mrs. Ferrars disinherits Edward, who will not break his word. Brandon offers him the living of Delaford.
Cleveland
Traveling home with the Palmers, the sisters stop at Cleveland. Marianne walks in the damp gardens and falls gravely ill. Brandon rides through a storm to fetch Mrs. Dashwood. That night Willoughby arrives, confesses he loved Marianne and says he sold his happiness for money. At dawn the fever breaks. Marianne is saved.
Home again
Back at Barton, Marianne decides to govern her feelings. A servant reports that Mr. Ferrars is married to Miss Lucy Steele. Edward arrives, and it turns out Lucy married his brother Robert, who now has the estate. Edward tells Elinor he has loved her from their first hour at Norland, and she says her heart has been his from the same hour.
Delaford
Edward takes the living at Delaford. Over the following seasons Marianne comes to love Colonel Brandon’s steadfast goodness. The sisters are married in a double wedding at Delaford, with sense and sensibility joined in the family.
Themes
- Sense and sensibility
- Elinor governs her feelings and Marianne follows hers. The story tests both approaches and lets each learn from the other, so that Marianne grows steadier and Elinor is finally free to say what she feels.
- Money and security
- The Dashwoods lose their home because of an inheritance law and a half-brother’s greed. Willoughby sells himself for fifty thousand pounds, and Lucy turns from Edward to Robert when the estate changes hands.
- Honor and promises
- Edward keeps his word to Lucy even at the cost of his fortune, and Elinor keeps Lucy’s secret at the cost of her peace. The story honors both while also showing how heavy a promise can be.
- Appearances and character
- Willoughby is charming and Colonel Brandon is grave, and the first turns out to be shallow while the second is true. The story keeps asking readers to look past manner to what a person actually does.
Questions about Sense and Sensibility
- How does Sense and Sensibility end?
- Edward is free after Lucy marries his brother Robert, and he proposes to Elinor. Marianne comes to love Colonel Brandon, and the sisters marry in a double wedding at Delaford.
- Who does Elinor Dashwood marry?
- Elinor marries Edward Ferrars, the gentle man she has loved since Norland. He takes the living at Delaford, which Colonel Brandon offered him.
- Who does Marianne Dashwood marry?
- Marianne marries Colonel Brandon. She first thought him too old and dull, but after Willoughby’s betrayal and her illness she learns to value his loyalty and kindness.
- Why did Willoughby leave Marianne?
- He wanted money. Mrs. Smith, his rich cousin, sent him away, and he married Miss Sophia Grey for her fifty thousand pounds. He later tells Elinor that he regrets it.
- Where and when is Sense and Sensibility set?
- The story takes place in England in the Regency era. The Dashwoods move from Norland Park in Sussex to Barton Cottage in Devonshire, then spend a winter in London and a stay at Cleveland, before settling near Delaford.