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otherwise have been a disarticulated assortment of individuals”
(172). Although Guest never mentions Brontë’s criticism, her
emphasis on the representation of sentiments in Austen’s
novels serves to refute Brontë’s understanding of Austen as a
proper lady more interested in good manners than in strong
feelings. In this respect, Guest unwittingly joins other Austen
defenders who vindicate Austen’s familiarity with affection yet
who forget that it is unconcern that characterizes many major
scenes of
Sense and Sensibility
and offers a fresh insight into
the emotional world of Austen’s novel.
The novel begins with a disappointing will of an old
gentleman, who bequeaths the lion’s share of his fortune to
John Dashwood and his four-year-old son Harry, thereby
leaving other Dashwood women, John’s step-mother and
step-sisters, vulnerable to financial difficulties. This will alone,
however, does not set the plot in motion. On his deathbed,
John’s father, Henry Dashwood, solemnly requests that he take
good care of his widow and daughters. John promises to do so
and plans to give each of his sisters one thousand pounds:
“The prospect of [his future wealth] . . . warmed his heart and
made him feel capable of generosity.
—
‘Yes, he would give
them three thousand pounds’” (Austen, 2006: 6). Had he
carried out his plan, the Dashwood women would not have
been poor and much of the story of
Sense and Sensibility
would have disappeared.
It is only when John stops “feel[ing]
capable of generosity,” when indifference interferes, that the
plot of the novel starts to unfurl.
Mrs. Fanny Dashwood is the key figure who successfully
forestalls all her husband’s benevolent plans. Her success
3
Female poverty plays a central role in unfolding the plot of
Sense and
Sensibility
. For instance, Willoughby abandons Marianne because her lack of
wealth cannot promise him a life of ease and enjoyment. Mrs. Ferrars
opposes the marriage of Edward and Elinor/Lucy also because neither
woman is rich.
