A year of reading Jane Austen? Yes, please!
I’ve been wanting to read all of Austen’s works for awhile and thankfully @jen.loves.books is hosting a yearlong Austen read along, #ReadAusten22 , which should definitely motivate me to pick all of them up!
Our first book was Sense and Sensibility, which is about two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Marianne is the younger of the two, and represents sensibility being irrational and sentimental. Elinor is the older Dashwood sister and the exact opposite, representing sense and maturity.
For me, it took too long to get going. Initially I found the book a tad bit slow. Then I caught up with the plot. I have an elder sister so I was trying to relate to both the sisters. But, I am guessing Marianne is a kid throughout, as if she refuses to grow up.
After reading Austen’s works, I am always so grateful that I am not from an era when there was so much of gender divide. It still exists, no doubt (especially in India). But, the thought that without husbands, women are left in desperate situations is just awful to even think about. Only by marrying eligible men can the sisters get a guarantee of a stable, comfortable life.
The possibilities for women were just so limited back then. Just talking to someone gets everyone to think that they are engaged. I mean, imagine the horror! As @essentiallybooked put it in our discussion, we would have been labelled as witches back then.
The Bora Booktique 
I so want to read this book.
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Please do! I am sure you’ll like it!
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Read it. You will like it!
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Yes, Jane Austen’s novels always leave me grateful that I am not living in the 19th century.
As for marriage being the only way to have a stable life, you will find the same theme in Pride and Prejudice, maybe even more so.
I think I liked Pride and Prejudice more than Sense and Sensibility.
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Even I like Pride and Prejudice more than Sense and Sensibility. It has more witty elements, with a better sense of humour. But, yes we are blessed to not have lived in the 19th century!
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