The Role of Femininity in Sense & Sensibility
Femininity often times plays a large role in the literature of the romantic period.
Novels such as Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights all have strong
female characters that frequently question their role as a female in society. They have
families who urge them to be more feminine and lady like to better represent their name.
It was important during the era in which these novels were written, to display nothing
other than the best behavior so that one could win over a husband, preferably a rich one
that could support the lifestyle that many women desired. In Sense and Sensibility by
Jane Austen, the character of Marianne struggles with exhibiting this femininity that
would help her to win over a man.
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