The novel's title underscores Elinor's rational and sensible nature, as Austen portrays her as an exemplar of commendable behavior. Elinor encounters many difficulties, particularly after Edward leaves her. Despite these challenges, she remains composed and ensures her personal disappointments do not affect her interactions with others. She strives to hide her heartache to uphold social norms and support her family. Elinor consistently shows awareness of others' feelings, even those she might not favor, and endeavors to act with social grace. She keeps Lucy's engagement to Edward a secret. During their journey to London, while Marianne becomes absorbed in her obsession with Willoughby and ignores their hostess, Elinor engages in polite conversation with Mrs. Jennings. By making Elinor the heroine, Austen illustrates that a thoughtful approach to social interactions is preferable to surrendering selfishly to one's emotions.

The word "sensibility" in the novel's title can be seen as representing passion, highlighting Marianne's emotional and romantic personality. Sense and Sensibility is frequently interpreted as a critique of romanticism, which values the freedom of emotions and passion. Austen presents Marianne's romantic nature as self-centered, showing it to be fragile and unrealistic when compared to Elinor's practical and sensible outlook. Austen suggests that those who live solely for passion are bound to be disappointed by life's harsh realities. Marianne falls victim to her romantic ideals after Willoughby abandons her. Her hysterical and inconsolable reactions are largely due to her romantic disposition. While Marianne becomes physically and emotionally drained, her sister, who faces a similar situation but follows a more sensible approach, continues to manage her daily life. After Marianne recovers from a nearly fatal illness brought on by her hysteria, she decides to rein in her emotions, letting go of her naive romantic ideals and adopting a perspective more like Elinor's. This transformation demonstrates Austen's belief in the superiority of rationality and emotional control over romanticism. Marianne's eventual marriage to Colonel Brandon is sensible and based on practicality, rather than passion.

Sense and Sensibility explores the romantic pursuits of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood and their respective suitors. Throughout the novel, the focus many families place on a suitor's financial status is a prominent theme, significantly shaping the characters' discussions and worries. Willoughby dismisses Marianne as a potential wife due to her lack of wealth. In a similar vein, Mrs. Ferrars unsuccessfully attempts to compel her sons to marry women of fortune. The sisters' different perspectives on love are underscored by how they experience love and handle rejection. Marianne's belief in romantic and passionate love is contrasted with Elinor's practical and sensible approach to selecting a partner.

Austen's portrayal of the Dashwood sisters effectively highlights the difficulties encountered by upper-class English women who lacked substantial family wealth during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. These women were compelled to marry well to secure financial stability. Employment was not a viable option, as a woman's fate largely depended on her husband's social status or the generosity of her male relatives. Among the female characters, Lucy Steele is the most overtly ambitious; she readily abandons her long-time fiancé, Edward Ferrars, when he is disinherited, opting to marry his brother, who has recently acquired wealth. Although Elinor and Marianne are attracted to their respective suitors for their compatibility rather than their fortunes, they understand that a "suitable match" involves a man with both a compatible nature and the financial means to sustain a marriage and family.

The notion of a singular, all-consuming love is examined and mocked through Marianne's behaviors and convictions. She initially dismisses Brandon because he has loved someone in the past. Yet, after Willoughby abandons her, she realizes that individuals can recover from heartbreak and develop profound connections anew. Marianne's eventual union with the very man she once derided underscores Austen's doubts about the notion of perfect love.

Austen's novel offers an accurate depiction of the professional class, to which Austen herself belonged, and the landed gentry, the social tier just above hers, in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England. Characters from the landed gentry own large estates and live leisurely lives without careers or jobs in the modern sense. Many women from the professional class marry into the landed gentry, as Marianne does. Wealth is often passed down through generations, with primogeniture ensuring that the eldest son becomes the legal heir to his parents' estate. For instance, John Dashwood inherits the Dashwood estate and determines how much money to give to his sisters. Edward, Mrs. Ferrars's eldest son, is expected to be the main heir until his engagement to the socially inferior Lucy Steele is scandalously exposed. Characters from both the professional and landed gentry classes do not concern themselves with basic necessities. The "cottage" at Barton, where Mrs. Henry Dashwood and her daughters relocate, has several rooms. Despite the Dashwoods' reduced financial circumstances, they are not considered part of the working class.