Citation

Shmidt J. Engl. Stud. (Amst.) 2019; 100(4): 422-437.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/0013838X.2019.1595899

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Scholars agree that Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility mocks the cult of sensibility and denounces its excess romanticized by the sentimental novel, yet the stumbling block to this interpretation is that Marianne's claim to sensibility is corroborated when her unfulfilled love manifests in a near-death affliction. The present article examines the role of the heroine's feelings in her ailment and its significance for the novel's depiction of the concurrent socio-medical ideology. Unlike her lovesick antecedents whose genuine heightened responsiveness to distressing events produces unwelcome somatic disorder, Marianne cultivates her sensibility, nourishing her disappointment and humiliation, until bodily illness ensues. That is, Austen's text does not present Marianne merely as a victim of a constitutional predisposition but instead suggests that sensibility could be mitigated or fostered to serve her purposes. The heroine indulges the malady to negotiate her position in the Georgian era society that excludes her from ritualistic disputes associated with betrayal and wounded honour, creating a context for romantic conflict that is otherwise denied her. Marianne's lovesickness functions as a prolonged psychological duel, a suicide fantasy through which she punishes the duplicitous beloved and the society that inculcates the restrictions to the woman's role in romantic relationships. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Language: en