[Pocket Edition] World Literature Masterpieces Library - Sense and Sensibility

Author: (British) Austen, J. (Author), Wang Jiqing, Tang Yinsun (Translator)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: Mr. Henry Dashwood of Sussex dies. According to the law, his entire assets will be inherited by the male heir of the family—his son John Dashwood from his first wife. This is undoubtedly a terrible blow for his present wife, Mrs. Dashwood, and her three daughters, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret: they will be forced out of the house and left with only ￡500 a year in living expenses. John Dashwood is a selfish, hypocritical, and hen-pecked man. Originally, he had planned to provide financial support for his sisters as per his father's last wishes, but under the persuasion of his sharp-tongued, selfish, and stingy wife, he only decided to give his sisters a few pounds now and then to fulfill his father's. With this done, Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters, driven by their sense of pride, had no choice but to move into the Barton Cottage of Sir John Middleton, her cousin. Before leaving for Barton, the mother and daughter quartet met Edward Farnes, the brother of Fanny, and both Elinor and Edward developed feelings for each other. When Fanny found out, she went to great lengths to prevent their relationship, sending Edward to London. At Barton Cottage, the warm-hearted Mrs. Jennings introduced Colonel Brandon to Marianne, hoping to arrange a marriage between them. Colonel Brandon had once had a tragic love affair with his childhood sweetheart, Eliza, who was forced by her family to marry the colonel's older brother. Afterward, she ran away and became a prostitute, leaving behind an illegitimate daughter with the colonel before she passed away. However, at this time, Marianne was deeply in love with the handsome John Willoughby, showing little interest in the much older Colonel Brandon. Later, the colonel suddenly left for London, and Willoughby, who had always been hostile to him, also left London soon after on some pretext. Just then, Miss Lucy Steele and her sister suddenly appeared. Lucy even personally told Elinor that she and Edward had already been engaged in secret. The two sisters, tormented by their emotions, were taken to London by Mrs. Jennings. At a gathering, Marianne saw Willoughby, but he treated her with extreme coldness. Colonel Brandon told Elinor that Willoughby was frivolous and despicable, having abandoned Eliza after making her pregnant and leaving her. It was also because of this that Willoughby's aunt cut off his financial support to punish him. Therefore, Willoughby would never marry Marianne, a girl without status or money. Heartbroken and despondent, Marianne fell ill. Fortunately, with the full care and assistance of Elinor, Colonel Brandon, and Mrs. Jennings, she recovered from the brink of disaster. After the engagement between Edward and Lucy was exposed, it faced strong opposition from Edward's mother, Mrs. Farnes, and her sister, Fanny. Edward was even stripped of his inheritance rights for sticking to the engagement, and was even thrown out of the house by Mrs. Farnes. However, Lucy, who had sworn to be loyal to Edward, used cunning tactics to seize control of the Farnes family inheritance when Edward's brother, Robert, tried to persuade her to give up the engagement. Upon learning of this, Edward was not greatly saddened. Having long been dissatisfied with Lucy's character, he no longer felt obligated to take responsibility and quickly rushed to the arms of the woman he loved, Elinor, proposing to her and receiving a positive reply. Edward accepted the pastorship recommended by Colonel Brandon, though the salary was meager, but his marriage to Elinor brought him great happiness. Moreover, they both worked tirelessly to arrange the marriage between Marianne and Colonel Brandon. In the end, Marianne abandoned her long-held notions of love and married the honest and upright Colonel Brandon, which left the heartless Willoughby heartbroken and forced him to often use Marianne as the standard for judging the perfect woman.