Sense and Sensibility was the first novel written by Jane Austen
and it reflects the views and ideas of a young girl of
twenty-two. It includes autobiographical elements, as do other
novels written by her. Jane Austen had only one sister,
Cassandra, and the two were very attached. The connection that existed
between Jane and Cassandra is to be found between Elinor and
Marianne. The two women of the novel also resemble their real-
life counterparts in their nature and attitude. Elinor possesses the
good sense of Cassandra and the cordiality of Jane. Marianne
displays Jane's love for reading, music and dance. The setting of
the novel is also based on actual locations. The Dashwoods'
cottage at Barton in Devonshire resembles Jane Austen's house at
Steventon in Hampshire.


Jane Austens’ novels were written in a familiar territory and did justice to it. All her novels are written in and around London, the city Austen was familiar with. She writes about families belonging to the upper-
middle class, to which she herself belonged. The problems her
heroines’ faces were similar to those faced by the girls of her
society in early nineteenth-century England. Austen convincingly
enhances her limited sphere through a realistic portrayal of
settings and characters.

All the novels of Austen display some degree of satire,
effectively used in exposing the insincerity of individuals and
society. Her satire operates at different levels. Sometimes it is
targeted directly at individuals like John Dashwood and his wife,
Fanny Dashwood. Whenever Austen presents John Dashwood,
she points out his evident mercenary attitude and makes him
appear as a caricature blinded by money. His wife is portrayed as
a devious woman, driven by avarice. Sometimes the satire is
delicate, as in the sketches of Sir John and Lady Middleton, whose
low existence Austen highlights. Through crude jokes and spicy
gossip, Mrs. Jennings is depicted as being blatantly comic. In the
case of Edward and Elinor, who are blissfully happy but wish for
"better pasturage for their cows," the author's attitude is gently
satiric.

Jane Austen brought new depths to the English novel through her
insight into human psychology. She explored the novel's
potential by creating a crucial link between the eighteenth-
century novel of society and the psychological novel of the
nineteenth century. A critic has said, "Her motive for writing,
and the function of her wit and irony, is to strip reality of
individual distortions. Her prescription for the dislocation of
fantasy and reality is a clarity of vision and rational interpretation
of evidence that can come only with a selfless concern for
others." Jane Austen is a realistic novelist whose works reflect
the society of the early nineteenth century but whose themes
have a timeless appeal.