Elinor Dashwood

Paper Summary:

This paper provides an in-depth critique of Elinor Dashwood, one of the two sisters in Jane Austen's novel "Sense and Sensibility". The author investigates Elinor's decisions and relationships -- including her marriage -- through the lens of her defining character traits: self-control and a sense of propriety.

From the Paper:

"The character of Elinor teaches one much about human nature. For one thing, Elinor demonstrates, by force of her good example, that a person should take into account the various societal obligations and expectations placed upon himself or herself. Secondly, she just as pointedly shows how those obligations can be manipulated to suit one's own desires, even when those desire conflict with the obligations. Elinor's force of will is admirable. This will is never broken in Sense and Sensibility. One of the societal expectations for Marianne and Elinor is, as nineteenth century women, to get married. Here again, Elinor's will is rewarded. Indeed, Marianne is characterized as "born to an extraordinary fate. She was born to discover the falsehood of her own opinions" (Austen 388). Elinor, for her part, has no false opinions that she must become aware of in order to be happy. Her self-command does ultimately aid in her happiness, however. She successfully manages to endure news of Edward's engagements without becoming dangerously ill, as is the case with Marianne, although she does recover (Armstrong argues that Elinor almost does become ill; the severity is completely different from the severity of Marianne's illness and the comparison is inappropriate (94)). Elinor's endurance eventually is rewarded when she and Edward are given permission to wed."

More papers on Elinor Dashwood:

• Analytical Essay # 26542 : "Elinor's Silence in "Sense and Sensibility"
• Analytical Essay # 8588 : "Elinor's Isolation"
• Analytical Essay # 145301 : "Character Representations in "Sense and Sensibility"

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