Sense& Sensibility- Graphic Novel

Austen, Jane, Nancy Butler, and Sonny Liew. Sense & Sensibility. New York: Marvel Worldwide, 2011. Print.

 

Sometimes in families, siblings are so different it is hard to believe that they even share the same address, let alone a genetic code.  Such is the case with Elinor and Marianne Dashwood in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.  The Dashwoods are devastated at the loss of their father, and soon find that their older brother (who agreed to their father’s deathbed wish that he take care of the girls in their father’s absence) has taken a very frugal approach to the term “taking care”. Fish, in fact. He has promised to deliver them fish.  Left destitute, the two very different girls trudge ahead through life, regret, and the trials of love. 

Marvel Comics has taken Jane Austen’s classic novel and converted into a graphic novel. Without a doubt, the power behind the novel is certainly in the color palette and soft-featured drawings that were created.  Knowing that the struggles faced in Austen’s time were often faced internally, all the while never losing one’s class, the novel’s drawings execute that perfectly.  Soft pinks and peaches were used for most of the colors and the girls’ features are soft and pretty- a fitting homage to the time.

A downside to the novel would be that for readers who struggle with Austen novels because of the wording or the disconnect between that time period and our own, they may not find the graphic novel much easier to read.  The book has not been modernized, despite using a modern medium, so the words within the novel are still very much Austen’s.  Though shorter than the original Sense and Sensibility, it may take those who are not part of Austen’s fan club a bit of time to get used to the style.

For a young adult reader, this graphic novel could very well be a gateway into the classics that they may not otherwise venture down.  For a reader, the classics are books that may feel somewhat lofty, as the use of our language has changed drastically over the years.  This graphic novel may allow a reader to understand the basis of the novel and very well could be a stepping stone into the world of Austen, Dickens, and the like.