In Persuasion Jane Austen writes that female feelings “are the most tender” (153). This opinion might seem quite old fashioned to a modern audience, but would have rung true for many people during the late eighteenth century. A period, characterized by excessive feeling and behavior, has become famous for its focus on the topic of sensibility. Sensibility, a way of living that initially “showed people how to behave, how to express themselves in friendship and how to respond decently to life’s experiences… later it prided itself more on making its readers weep,” was most prevalent in England between 1740 and 1770 (Todd). Initially shared equally between the sexes, sensibility towards the end of the eighteenth century increasingly became criticized by society and novelists alike for being too feminine. Jane Austen is no exception to this, as throughout her novels she is seen to explore the intricate link between feelings and being female. By exploring questions such as how much sensibility is too much? And does sensibility cloud reason? Austen is seen to delve into many critical stances on sensibility. Ending her career by suggesting that sensibility is affected by idleness and a lack of proper education, Austen in Persuasion is seen to argue for women having better access to an education. This presentation will show some of the instances of sensibility in Austen’s fiction while using her last novel Persuasion, to suggest that through maturity and a form of proper education a woman can get the balance between sensibility and reason, or good sense, just right.
