Jane

Austen’s Point Of View In

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen’s Point Of View In Sense and Sensibility

• Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility is written (almost entirely) in third person narration.

• The "point of view of the narrator" is one of an "omniscient" (all-knowing) observer who can see and hear everything.

Third Person Omniscient Point Of View

• Definition :- Third person omniscient is a method of storytelling

in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story, as opposed to third person limited, which adheres closely to one character's perspective. Through third person omniscient, a writer may bring to life an entire world of characters.

• In third person omniscient, the narrator knows all the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story. When writing in third person omniscient, the author will move from character to character, allowing the events to be interpreted by several different voices, but always maintaining an omniscient - or god-like - distance.

What is the point of view of the narrator in Sense and Sensibility?

• The point of view of the narrator in Sense and Sensibility refers to the perspective under which the narrative is told depending on the events that surround the plot. In this case, the point of view comes directly from the perspective of Elinor, who is the heroine and main character of the story.

Third Person (Omniscient)

• This is a textbook third person omniscient narrator – we have a privileged view inside the minds of most of the characters, and Austen's strong narratorial voice takes us in and out of the people that populate this novel. However, the narration tends to focus our perspective through Elinor's thoughts most often, and we find our own opinions most clearly influenced by hers. Notably, Austen is primarily concerned with showing us the female perspective here – though we occasionally get to see "inside" Edward or John, we mostly stick close to the women in the novel, and get to know them better than anyone else.

Third Person (Omniscient)• It is a third-person point of

view because the narrator uses words such as he, she, it and they e.g., "THEY gave themselves up wholly to their sorrow". Third-person is a narrative mode in which each and every character is referred to by the narrator as "he", "she", "it", or "they".

• Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility is written in third person narration but it's worth pointing out that this novel was written prior to the discovery and standardization of modern point of view narration rules in 20th century.

• The "point of view of the narrator" is one of an "omniscient" (all-knowing) observer who can see and hear everything. This narrator fellows Elinor Dashwood and relates what happens in her presence to the reader. The reader can read minds and say how and what characters are thinking and feeling but the narrator usually does this "mind-reading" from a distance. Although you get glimpses of a character's basic thoughts and feelings, the narrator doesn't reveal all these thoughts and feelings nor does the narrator reveal these thoughts or feelings with any detail or depth. The narrator relates what can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted.

How do we know that this is third person?

• We know this because of the word choice: "he", "she", "they" which indicates third person as opposed to the first person which would be "I" and "we" or the second person which would be "you".

How do we know that this is omniscient?

• We know this because of the information that is conveyed. We know the narrator is omniscient because the information related to the reader isn't limited to what one character can see or hear. The narrator always knows what happens, when and where, and to every one. The narrator knows every aspect of every room, every article clothing, every fact about the weather, the past, and the present and the narrator can even tell you what any character is thinking or feeling. Here are some examples that show that the narrator is "all-knowing": (1) "The family of Dashwood had been long settled in Susex." (2) "From a reverie of this kind, as she sat at her drawingtable, she was roused one morning, soon after Edward's leaving them, by the arrival of company." (3) "From a night of more sleep than she had expected Marianne awoke the next morning to the same consciousness of misery in which she had closed her eyes."

To Sum Up :-• The point of view of the narrator is one of an all-

knowing observer who isn't a character in the story. This all-knowing observer can read minds (but doesn't reveal too much in that area) and focuses mostly on Elinor. This all-knowing observer relates the story to the reader mostly through what can be seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelled but frequently comments and judges the story and characters; this all-knowing observer also reveals what the characters are thinking and feeling. I know all this through word choice and what information is given to the reader.

Thank You ….