Sense and Sensibility1

             In Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility there is a theme that runs along with males in the novel. The first born sons are forced to deal with the promotions and abilities that come along with the laws of primogeniture, yet even with all they get they do not lead an altogether happy life. The men that are " first-born" are in fact too swayed by the power and obligation that comes with their estates. In the novel the first sons are viewed in a negative light, yet the second-born sons have less responsibility to be what society wants them to be and are allowed to be his own. Although Edward Ferrars, is a firstborn, his mother disinherits him because of his lack of focus and ability to be all she wants him to be; as John Dashwood remarks "Robert will now to all intents and purposes be considered as the eldest son." We know that Colonel Brandon is a second son because he has an older brother who married his old sweetheart, Eliza, many years before the novel's plot begins. And whereas these characters are the heroes of the novel, all the eldest sons are cast in a negative light, including John Dashwood, Robert Ferrars, and Colonel Brandon's older brother. In Austen's day, the eldest sons were the ones who inherited all the family property according to the laws of male primogeniture. However, in spite of these inheritance laws, it is the second sons who ultimately find happiness in the novel; thus they make content lives for themselves despite societal and financial constraints.
             This conflict starts at the beginning of the novel, "but to his son and his son's son" (p 2) with John Dashwood's acquisition of the Norland estate. After John receives the inheritance and the estate, he is from then on viewed in a negative manner. He is a weak man and is constantly influenced by his petty, greedy and mean wife. "He was not an ill-disposed young man, unless to be rather coldhearted and rather selfish to b
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Sense and Sensibility1. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 08:09, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/53642.html