A question has been bothering me throughout this Group Read, namely - What is S&S all about?

For me the answer is elusive, and searching for it is frustratingly like trying to pick up quicksilver.

Is S&S a Romance? Possibly Elinor and Edward's romance, but with Marianne it's more about her failed romance with Willoughby than her relationship with Brandon.

Is it a moral tale? Well of course, but exactly what the moral is is not so simple to pin down. The only one I can think of which is sufficiently comprehensive is - "Blessed are the pure in heart."

Is it a novel about sisters? Elinor and Marianne's relationship is central, and we have Lucy and her sister as a foil,. (I'd include Charlotte and Lady Middleton here, but we don't see them interacting.)

Perhaps it is all about the futility of greed and materialism. Or about selfishness and unselfishness.

The list gets longer and longer, and in the end I come to the rather flabby conclusion that S&S is about all these things, but above all it is a novel about people with all their imperfections, faults and foibles. People, and character, are what JA did supremely well. Her portrayals of human nature in it's infinite variety are subtle, often hilarious and uncannily true to life.