When Mr.Henry Dashwood dies,he must leave the bulk of his estate to the son by his first marriage,which leaves his second wife and three daughters (Elinor,Marianne,and Margaret) in straitened circumstances,they are left with no permanent home and very little income.Mrs.Dashwood and her daughters (Elinor,Marianne,and Margaret) are invited to stay with their distant relations,the Middletons,at Barton Park.but their lack of fortune affects the marriageability of both practical Elinor and romantic Marianne.Elinor is sad to leave their home at Norland because she has become closely attached to Edward Ferrars,the brother-in-law of her half-brother John.However,once at Barton Park,Elinor and Marianne discover many new acquaintances,including the retired officer and bachelor Colonel Brandon,and the gallant and impetuous John Willoughby,who rescues Marianne after she twists her ankle running down the hills of Barton in the rain.And though Mrs.Jennings tries to match the worthy (and rich) Colonel Brandon to her,Marianne finds the dashing and fiery Willoughby more to her taste.So swept away by passion is Marianne that her behavior begins to border on the scandalous.Then Willoughby abandons her; meanwhile,Elinor's growing affection for Edward suffers a check when he admits he is secretly engaged to a childhood sweetheart.How each of the sisters reacts to their romantic misfortunes,and the lessons they draw before coming finally to the requisite happy ending forms the heart of the novel.Though Marianne's disregard for social conventions and willingness to consider the world well-lost for love may appeal to modern readers,it is Elinor whom Austen herself most evidently admired; a truly happy marriage,she shows us,exists only where sense and sensibility meet and mix in proper measure.
