Sense and Sensibility

"Sense and Sensibility" (1811) marked the auspicious debut of a novelist identified only as "A Lady." Jane Austen's name has since become as familiar as Shakespeare's, and her tale of two sisters has lost none of its power to delight. Patricia Meyer Spacks guides readers to a deeper appreciation of the richness of Austen's delineation of her heroines, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, as they experience love, romance, and heartbreak. On display again in the editor's running commentary are the wit and light touch that delighted readers of Spacks's "Pride and Prejudice: An Annotated Edition." In her notes, Spacks elucidates language and allusions that have become obscure (What are Nabobs? When is rent day?), draws comparisons to Austen's other work and to that of her precursors, and gives an idea of how other critics have seen the novel. In her introduction and annotations, she explores Austen's sympathy with both Elinor and Marianne, the degree to which the sisters share "sense" and "sensibility," and how they must learn from each other. Both manage to achieve security and a degree of happiness by the novel's end. Austen's romance, however, reveals darker overtones, and Spacks does not leave unexamined the issue of the social and psychological restrictions of women in Austen's era. As with other volumes in Harvard's series of Austen novels, "Sense and Sensibility: An Annotated Edition" comes handsomely illustrated with numerous color reproductions that vividly recreate Austen's world. This will be an especially welcome addition to the library of any Janeite. ^[1] 

《理智與情感》(1811年)標誌着一位小説家吉祥的首次亮相，這位小説家的名字只被稱為《一位女士》。自那以後，簡·奧斯汀的名字變得和莎士比亞一樣家喻户曉，她關於兩姐妹的故事也絲毫沒有失去歡樂的力量。帕特里夏·邁耶·斯帕克斯引導讀者更深入地欣賞奧斯汀對她的女主人公埃莉諾和瑪麗安·達什伍德的豐富刻畫，因為他們經歷了愛情、浪漫和心碎。在編輯的連續不斷的評論中，再次展示了斯帕克的《傲慢與偏見：註釋版》的機智和輕鬆的觸感，讓讀者感到高興。在她的筆記中，斯派克闡明瞭已經變得模糊的語言和典故(什麼是nabbs？什麼時候是租賃日？)，比較奧斯汀的其他作品和她的前身，並提供了一個想法，其他評論家如何看待這部小説。在她的引言和註釋中，她探索了奧斯汀對埃莉諾和瑪麗安的同情，這對姐妹在多大程度上分享了“理智”和“情感”，以及她們必須如何相互學習。兩人都設法在小説結尾時獲得了安全感和一定程度的幸福感。然而，奧斯汀的浪漫故事透露出更陰暗的色彩，而斯派克並沒有忽視奧斯汀時代女性的社會和心理限制的問題。與哈佛奧斯汀系列小説的其他卷一樣，《理智與情感：註釋版》配有大量彩色複製品，生動地再現了奧斯汀的世界。對於任何珍妮特人來説，這將是一個特別受歡迎的補充。