Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen (1811)

In Sense and Sensibility (1811), Jane Austen follows sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood as they navigate love, heartbreak, money, and the rigid expectations of English society. Elinor approaches life with restraint, practicality, and careful judgment, while the passionate Marianne believes deeply in emotion, romance, and following the heart. After their father's death leaves the Dashwood women in reduced circumstances, both sisters encounter relationships that challenge their assumptions about love and happiness, from Elinor's complicated attachment to Edward Ferrars to Marianne's intense romance with the charming John Willoughby. In this episode, we explore Austen's sharp social satire, the economic realities facing women in Regency England, and how Sense and Sensibility uses the contrasting personalities of two sisters to ask whether a fulfilling life requires reason, emotion, or a balance between the two.