STAMFORD UNIVERSITY

BANGLADESH

Assignment on:
Compare and contrast between Austens novel Pride and
Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility
 Compare and contrast between Austens novel Pride and Prejudice and
Sense and Sensibility on the basis of theme of love.

Jane Austens novel Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility share
many striking similarities. These lie in the characters, the settings, and the overall
style and themes used in creating the two works. But the plots are different .In the
two novels, there are many similar themes such as the importance of love and
marriage and money, relation between sisters, theme of Women and Femininity
and so on. Even the way of writing title is similar in both novels.

Love is one the dominating theme of Jane Austens novel. The concept of love in
her novel is one that necessarily goes hand in hand with suffering; no love
relationship in her novel can exist without an edge of discomfort. Love is a many
splendored thing, but it's also a many troubled thing Austen says .She shows us
dramatically different part and dimension of love, from the euphoric to the life-
threatening. While love is certainly the driving force of the various plots of Pride
and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, it more often bring danger or tragic
situation in them.

Though marriage is the end of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility,
she actually tries to glorify the importance of love for a good marriage. There is a
depth, variety and seriousness in her treatment of love. 'Romantic love' is the
theme which unites all the incidents and the characters in "Pride and Prejudice
and Sense and Sensibility. But there is nothing 'romantic' about Jane Austen's
treatment of 'romantic love' in the novel. Love' is checked and controlled by the
incomes and financial freedom of the partners involved. Marriage is considered as
an arrangement between parties who occupy the same social level. In that situation,
not love rather financial solvency is certainly a necessary consideration for a good
match. For example, in the "Pride and Prejudice, Darcy has been promised to
Lady Catherine Debourgh's daughter since birth.

But for Jane Austen love was absolutely necessary for a good marriage. However,
in English society at the time, which is depicted in the novel, love is not the
greatest consideration for marriage. The ideal goal for marriage is to marry
someone financially capable of supporting them. Love is secondary. Austen mocks
this practice in these two novels.

Through concept of love Jane Austen tries to show differences between how
marriage should be and how they are. In this manner Jane Austen is able to blend
'romance' and 'realism. In both novels there is a restraining power of money on
'romantic love'. Jane Austen portrays love through several couples and highlights
the good and bad aspects of love in order to aware the men and women of her age.
She actually writes these novels so that she can bring a change in her society, that
is peoples point of view towards love.

First of all, she gives some example of infatuated love. She categorizes love
between Marianne Dashwood and John Willoughby, between Lucy Steel and
Adward Ferrar (from Sense and Sensibility) and between Mr. Wickham and
Lydia (from Pride and Prejudice) as passionate but infatuated love.
Marianne Dashwood and John Willoughbys relation is infatuate from
point of Marianne. Marianne is highly sensitive, emotional, somewhat irrational
romantic. She possesses very passionate feeling about love. She dreams of loving
a romantic hero who is uncommonly handsome, charming and whose likes and
dislikes will totally match with hers. Therefore, when she meets Willoughby, she
attracted by him as she found out he has many things common with her, (one
example is reading Shakespeares book). She was so much happy and outspoken
that never tried to know Willoughbys real feelings or intention regarding herself
and become trapped to her own excessive passion. Finally when he abandons her,
she realizes her mistake.
In the same novel, another example of infatuated love is between Lucy
Steel and Adward Ferrar. They are maintaining a relation for long five years which
they actually never felt from their heart ever. For this reason, Adward fall for
Elinor and Lucy Steel got married with Robert Ferrar.
Now if we look at Pride and Prejudice, we can find a clear example of
infatuated love in this novel that is between Mr. Wickham and Lydia. Being the
youngest and most stupid girl of the family Lydia is the most open and willingly
fall into trap. She is too quick and stupid. She is obsessed with Wickham. She likes
to live the dream of marriage. She cant wait for her future to roll out in front of
her very eyes. She runs away with Wickham without giving a second thought
because she definitely believes that Mr. Wickham will marry her. But the cruel fact
is that Mr. Wickham has absolutely no intention in the slightest to marry her. It is
generosity of Darcy who bribes a huge amount to Wickham so that he marries her
and save Bennet family from disgrace.
 Then, Jane Austen portrayed some successful but dull Love. A love relation
is called successful when it ends up with marriage. But we see, Austen often
portrayed some successful loves in which the lovers who involved possesses less
excitement. For example, love relation between Jane Bennet and Mr.Bingley (from
Pride and Prejudice) and between Elinor and Edward (from Sense and
Sensibility)

If we look at the relationship between Jane Bennet and Mr.Bingley, we realize that
from first sight they fall in love. Jane and Bingley are sincerely in love with each
other. Between them exists a great emotional compatibility. By nature, both are
sweet and gentle, calm, unsuspecting, free from malice, ill will and duplicity, and
simple and willing to forgive readily. There is every likelihood that they will lead a
happy married life. Still, their marriage is timidly weak. Bingley is too weak-willed
that in spite of loving Jane deeply, he does not take any initiative. Their
temperamental harmony lacks the strengthening support of intellectual
understanding and maturity. Though they finally marry with the blessing of
everyone around them and give their relation a positive end, still according to
many readers their love was spiritless and dull.

Now if we try to find such kind of love in Sense and Sensibility, we will get love
relation between Elinor and Adward. In this whole novel there is not a single
traditionally romantic couple, not even Elinor and Edward. Throughout the novel
they are described as unusually unaffectionate, and their courtship and infatuation
happen entirely off-page. Therefore, the readers' romantic gratification is denied
even by their union. Not only that, readers are quiet disappointed by the motive of
Adward. He came to Elior when he has already disowned and Lucy Steel left him.
He lacks spirit of romantic lover.

Lastly, she portrayed courtship between Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride and
Prejudice in order to give her reads an example of perfect romantic couple who
goes though misunderstanding and face many obstacles yet fall in love and make
us believe that love is something independent of all personal prejudice and social
forces. Firstly they were mislead by their own personal qualities ,for example,
Elizabeths pride that makes her misjudge Darcy, and Darcys prejudice against
Elizabeths poor social standing that blinds him to her many virtues. Then they
have to overcome social obstacles such as Lady Catherines attempt to control
Darcy, Miss Bingleys snobbery, Mrs. Bennets idiocy, and Wickhams deceit. We
also noticed that Darcy, like a passionate romantic hero, does everything to get
Elizabeths heart such as settled Janes wedding with Mr. Bingly and secretly
bribed Wickham to marry Lydia. On the other hand, Elizabeth also like romantic
confident heroine directly refuses Lady Catherine when she tries to dissuade her
from marrying Darcy, because she is poorer than him. She angrily retorts: "In
marrying your nephew, I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere. He is
a gentleman; I am a gentleman's daughter: so far we are equal." Finally they get
married most desirably which gives the readers a satisfaction that they desired to
have at the end of the novel.

In the sum up, we can say that Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility
both deals with theme of love, while in Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
emphasis on romantic love, in Sense and Sensibility emphasize more on realistic
love. However, both are the testament to the importance of love in a materialistic
society like her.

THE END