If you are looking for the beginning of the study on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!
Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)
Fantasy, Fate vs. Fortune, Despair, Love
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
Between what two ideas did Marianne’s opinions oscillate (go back and forth between) concerning Willoughby?
What did Mrs. Jennings do in good will which served to be a source of renewed disappointment for Marianne?
What, in short, stopped Colonel Brandon from marrying Eliza, the woman whom he had loved as a young man?
How did Colonel Brandon come to be in charge of the young Miss Williams, Eliza’s daughter?
What happened concerning Miss Williams while she was in Bath with her friend?
Who had been the cause of Miss Williams’ desperate situation of being alone for eight months?
What effects did Colonel Brandon’s information have upon Marianne once Elinor related it to her?
What did Mrs. Dashwood tell Elinor and Marianne to do concerning the length of their stay in London?
How did the Palmers and Middletons react to the news about Willoughby’s behavior toward their young friend, Marianne?
Who now joined the party of acquaintances in London to the vexation of poor Elinor?
Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)
Why would Elinor encourage Marianne to “as much as possible…talk about what she felt?” Why might this also be somewhat ironic?
Colonel Brandon said, “I think I am justified – though where so many hours have been spent in convincing myself that I am right, is there not some reason to fear I may be wrong?” Why might Colonel Brandon have struggled so hard to determine whether he ought to communicate his information about Willoughby to Elinor?
Why did Colonel Brandon’s father insist on Eliza marrying his older brother instead of him?
Colonel Brandon said, “I meant to promote the happiness of both by removing from her for years.” Why did he think that his absence would promote the happiness of his brother and Eliza?
What is being implied when the text tells us that Colonel Brandon “for eight long months, was left to conjecture” about what had become of Miss Williams before he received news of her?
What is the irony of Willoughby’s having been so indignant about Colonel Brandon’s sudden departure on the day when they had all planned to go to Whitwell?
Why did Colonel Brandon (and Elinor) think that this information about Willoughby would ultimately be helpful to Marianne?
When Colonel Brandon said, in regard to himself and Willoughby, “we met by appointment, he to defend, I to punish his conduct,” what did he mean by this?
Knowing now Colonel Brandon’s backstory and who Miss Williams is (despite Mrs. Jennings assumption), how does this information affect your thinking about his character?
Why is it noteworthy that Mrs. Dashwood would urge Elinor and Marianne not to cut short their time in London?
What’s ironic about the fact that each of the Dashwood sisters were taking “consolation” and comfort about staying longer in London for the sake of the other’s good?
Of all the laughable responses from Mrs. Palmer, Sir John, and Lady Middleton in regard to Willoughby’s treatment of Marianne, which do you find most humorous and why?
When Jane Austen wrote, in response to Lucy Steele’s comments, that “Elinor perfectly understood her, and was forced to use all her self-command to make it appear she did not,” what did she mean?
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)
Consider the vice of fantasy, wherein a person allows his or herself to believe that something will (or won’t) happen based upon their own personal desires rather than facing the facts and having reasonable expectations. How do we see an example of Marianne exercising the vice of fantasy in our reading? What is the result (rather immediate in this case) of her indulging in the vice of fantasy? How does this illustrate why false hope can be very dangerous to indulge? How is the virtue of genuine hope different from fantasy? How can we make sure that we are not indulging fantasy in our own lives and that we only exercise hope for the future based upon things which are more certain and grounded in truth?
If we define love as “disinterestedly seeking after that which is best for someone else,” what are a few examples of genuine loving action and behavior in this reading? Which characters throughout the whole book up to this point seem to most steadily act with love towards others? Try to justify your answer with examples from the story. How can we become more loving ourselves by looking to these examples?
Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)
Read the book of Ruth in the Old Testament (oh c’mon, it’s really short) and compare and contrast Colonel Brandon with Boaz. In what ways might we say these two men are alike?