Teaching Sense and Sensibility

Instructions for You

Objective: Oh sweet amore. Is there anything more precious in life than love? Actually our modern day notion of dating and marriage is a somewhat new phenomenon. In 19th-century England, people often married for reasons other than love.

In the 1800s, formal courting was all the rage. For the most part, there was no "dating for fun"—unless you were some sort of uncivilized cad. If you were going to court someone that meant that you were on the road to marriage.

Jane Austen wrote about and critiqued the whole marriage business from her perspective as a lady of the early 1800s, and it ain't pretty. Austen makes shrewd observations on the cultural norms of the day, but is never overly harsh. She has more of an "it is what it is" attitude.

However, what if you believe it's time for a shift back to simpler times? When courtships were highly formal affairs that included Mom sitting in the same room? All. The. Time.

In today's assignment, students will analyze courting and marriage in the 19th century and connect the ideas to the situations in Sense and Sensibility. Students will then create a fictitious text conversation between Edward and Elinor, set in modern times.

Materials Needed: Access to "Courting the Victorian Woman," copies of Sense and Sensibility for reference

Step 1: Reading up on how one might court a Victorian woman with the article we linked to above is a good place to start when examining the rules of courtship in the 1800s. 

Consider reading this one out loud to students, adding gusto and expression. Popcorn read around the class if that's more your style. There's a lot for students to gather about the times that the Dashwood sisters were living in.

Make sure each student has a copy of this awesome resource about how they, too, can court a Victorian woman.

Step 2: Some people consider modern courtship to be lacking the formality and "big dealness" of the 19th century. We don't know about you, but we here at Shmoop feel that "flirting by fan" is definitely a lost art.

Discuss the insights that students glean from the handout. Here are a few questions to get your discussion started:

• Do you think modern dating is better than what went on in the 19th century? Why?
• What is positive about the 19th-century courtship customs?
• Do we see any of the ideas or customs still being used today?
• Would reinstating some of these customs be a good idea?

Step 3: Now that they're up on 19th-century dating expectations, students will write their own "text message" scene between Elinor and Edward. Students must take into account Edward and Elinor's personalities, relationship throughout the novel, and adhere to the tenets of courting from the 19th century. This scene will be set in modern times and therefore modern language and text speak may be used (smiley faces, a few abbreviations, and so on). A few ideas to get students started could be: Edward asking Elinor on a date, a fight between the pair, Edward proposing (everyone's dream is to be proposed to by text, after all)—or students can invent their own appropriate situation.

Consider grouping students in pairs to work on this assignment, which should be about one page in length.

Here's an example:

Edward: Hello, Miss Dashwood. ☺
Elinor: Mr. Ferras.
Edward: I would like to request your company on Saturday at the zoo.
Elinor: Although I do have an affinity for elephants, I am afraid my mother cannot attend with us that day.
Edward: Do you think we could go alone, just this once?
Elinor: No. It is inappropriate for a woman to be alone with a man, especially at a zoo. I am free on Sunday, and so is Mother.
Edward: That sounds fine, my dear.

Step 4: Have students share their created conversations with the class. As you evaluate, check to see if students are using the context clues from the novel.

Step 5: For homework have students type up their text conversations. Have them write a few paragraphs analyzing how they used context clues to develop it. Additionally, have them include a paragraph describing which 19th-century custom they included in the text conversation.

Instructions for Your Students

Student Intro: Could you imagine a time when asking someone on a date meant that Mom or Dad would accompany you the entire time? How about referring to your peers with the utmost of formalities, using Mr. and Miss? Dating customs certainly have changed. We think that Jane Austen would be slightly amused at the direction our modern day culture of love has taken.

Step 1: Jane Austen wrote about and critiqued the whole marriage business from her perspective as a lady of the early 1800s, and what she has to say ain't pretty. Austen makes shrewd observations on the cultural norms of the day, but is never overly harsh (thank goodness, because there was a lot to be harsh about). Luckily, she takes on more of an "it is what it is" attitude.

Maybe you believe that society needs to get back to its historical roots, to the days when courtships were highly formal affairs that included Mom sitting in the same room. All. The. Time.

Get started by reading the article "Courting the Victorian Woman."

This is the kind of thinking that Jane Austen was surrounded with. Consequently, these are the customs that the Dashwood sisters must also live within.

Step 2: Some people consider modern courtship to be lacking the formality and "big dealness" of the 19th century. We don't know about you, but Shmoop thinks that "flirting by fan" is definitely a lost art.

Discuss the following questions:

• Do you think modern dating is better than what went on in the 19th century? Why?
• What is positive about the 19th-century courtship customs?
• Do we see any of the ideas or customs still being used today?
• Would reinstating some of these customs be a good idea?

Step 3: Now that you're up on 19th-century dating expectations, you'll write your own "text message" scene between Elinor and Edward. You must take into account Edward and Elinor's personalities, relationship throughout the novel, and adhere to the tenets of courting in the 19th century. Your scene will be set in modern times and therefore modern language and text speak may be used. Smiley faces and a few abbreviations are fine. Here are a few ideas to get you started, but you may write whatever you want: Edward asking Elinor on a date, a fight between the pair, or Edward proposing (everyone's dream is to be proposed to by text, after all).

For example:

Edward: Hello, Miss Dashwood. ☺
Elinor: Mr. Ferras.
Edward: I would like to request your company on Saturday at the zoo.
Elinor: Although I do have an affinity for elephants, I am afraid my mother cannot attend with us that day.
Edward: Do you think we could go alone, just this once?
Elinor: No. It is inappropriate for a woman to be alone with a man, especially at a zoo. I am free on Sunday, and so is Mother.
Edward: That sounds fine, my dear.

You should come up with your own situation or use one mentioned above: either way the conversation should run about a page.

Step 4: Perform your text conversation for the class.

Step 5: For homework, type up your text conversation. Write a few paragraphs analyzing how you used context clues to develop it. Additionally, include a paragraph describing which 19th-century custom you included in the text conversation.