Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

In honour of another Sense and Sensibility adaptation coming out, let's give ourselves a refresher, so we are fully ready to critique!

Originally titled Elinor and Marianne, Sense and Sensibility is the story of two sisters. They are completely opposite in temper and we watch them navigate their lives after the death of their father. Elinor, full of sense and obligation, is the reserved one who keeps the family together during this transition of being uprooted whilst in mourning. Marianne, on the other hand, is much more outwardly emotive and lets her sensibilities run wild while being open to everything and everyone. Each of the girls follow their own path towards what they believe to be what they want. And though they try their hardest to adjust, the way they deal with the obstacles, such as love, obsessively nosy relatives, and society, will ultimately define them. In this novel, we get another glimpse into the middle class where the family money, land, and titles are passed down to the male relative and what can happen when you have to rely on unreliable family.

It is debated whether Austen, herself, when thinking of love, favoured Sense or Sensibility. It is mentioned in some way in all of her novels. We see almost every female character have this exact struggle within themselves whether it is a matter of love or in knowing oneself. Is it better to have good sense and follow one's head or to have expressive sensibilities and follow one's heart?

Even though Sir John does not ask you to "Stand upon ceremony" at Barton Park, we do ask that you please have your RSVP updated by Wednesday, August 12th as we would like to make sure that we tell the restaurant the correct number of attendees.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

** Please keep in mind, when we are having meetings in person and are indoors, and not via zoom or outside, your RSVP is very important. If you cannot make an event, please kindly remember to adjust your status so that people on our waiting list can be notified that there is a spot for them. **

**You all were so great last year, so I thank you for continuing to update your RSVPs. I will still be still taking attendance this year. So just as a reminder, repeated no-shows will be bumped to the waitlist so as not to take up one of our limited spaces. But maybe moved day of, if the meeting is not full.**