Secret Letters in "Sense and Sensibility"

Paper Summary:

The topics of letter-writing and the impact of the city of London are not as frequently covered as other subjects in Jane Austen's novels. This paper examines the effect that secret letters and the sisters' trip to town have in moving the plot forward and the growth of their character development.

From the Paper:

"The impact of London scenes and hidden letters is strongest in Sense and Sensibility, but Austen also uses hints of these devices in other works. It was originally an epistolary work: the fact that Austen chose to retain some of these letters when rewriting a draft originally composed entirely of letters shows the significance of the remaining few. Another epistolary novel, Lady Susan, foreshadows the connection between London and secrets as "most of Lady Susan's sixteen letters go to her friend Mars Johnson in London. In these, she tells her friend everything that she hides from the Vernons" (Bloom 51). Emma also shows the importance of secrecy to the plot: it's like "a great detective story, and it has claims to be the first of that genre . . . the novel certainly has at its heart a secret" (Lane 127)."

More papers on Secret Letters in "Sense and Sensibility":

• Book Review # 84113 : "Pairings in "Sense and Sensibility" "
• Analytical Essay # 26542 : "Elinor's Silence in "Sense and Sensibility"
• Analytical Essay # 145301 : "Character Representations in "Sense and Sensibility"

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