] ] In that same vein, W. and Marianne pride themselves on being people of great sensibility, but they are so selfish,mean, and narrow-minded toward almost everyone. They're even snobbish when people display less sensibility than themselves. Sensibility doesn't seem to be a very attractive trait.

I wonder whether the concept of sensibility -- quite a literary/philosophic issue back then -- at all connotes what we think of as "sensitivity." Having powerful feelings powerfully expressed (think Romantic poetry and music) is, I think, what is meant, not necessarily having tender or caring feelings for others. If this is the case (someone correct me if I'm off on this), then what JA is doing is not an ironical twist on the idea of 'feelings' but just pointing out by contrast the fallacy of sensibility in relation to other kinds of feelings. (We've probably all known people whose emotional reactions were intense and dramatic and yet tuned mainly to their own psyche.)