The Change from Idealism to Realism In the Process of Growing Up In Both Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey.

Introduction:

In both Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen uses the concept of idealism in contrast with realism to elicit the theme of growing up and the effect it has on the characters’ points of view. This theme is most evident in the female protagonists-- Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, and Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey. Although both characters hold an ideal world in their minds, their personalities differ enormously. While Marianne imagines the world to be perfect and romantic, Catherine lives as a heroine and is constantly on the search for frightening scenes. However, despite this major difference, both protagonists go through memorable life experiences and eventually develop their perception from idealism to realism. In other words, although they possess different personalities, both Marianne and Catherine go through similar experiences of maturing from girls with fantasies to women who are forced to face reality. This then further leads into the question, what is the effect of growth on a person’s mentality?

Marianne Dashwood’s idealism:

The Dashwood family has three daughters-- Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret. Among the three, Elinor, the eldest, represents sense as she has “an excellent heart; her disposition affectionate, and her feelings [are] strong: but she [knows] how to govern them” (Austen 6). In contrast, the second youngest sister Marianne is the representation of sensibility as she is “sensible and clever, but eager in everything,” she is also “generous, amiable, interesting… everything but prudent” (Austen 6). After the death of their father, all of Mrs. Dashwood’s estate is taken away by the oldest male in the family, Henry Dashwood. While Elinor and her mother...

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...earn from our mistakes-- that is how we grow. In Jane Austen’s novels, Marianne and Catherine are the definition of maturing. As the stories in both progress, Marianne and Catherine learn to take on new challenges and overcome new obstacles. Although there might be heartbreaking moments in their process of growing up, both characters eventually reach their moment of realization and decide to take off their goggles of idealism so to view the world better with the sight of realism. Is not this what life is all about? Living while trying to find a better definition for “living” and to find a better interpretation of the world we live in?

Works Cited

Austen, J. (2005). Northanger Abbey. New York City: Barnes & Noble Classics. (Original work published 1818)

Austen, J. (1995). Sense and Sensibility. New York City: Dover Publications. (Original work published 1811)