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Characters in order of appearance:

Henry Dashwood — a wealthy gentleman who dies at the beginning of the story. The terms of his estate prevent him from leaving anything to his second wife and their children together, the three girls Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret.  He asks John, his son by his first wife, to look after (meaning ensure the financial security of) his second wife and his half-sisters.

Mrs. Dashwood — the second wife of Henry Dashwood, who is left in difficult financial straits by the death of her husband. Much like her daughter Marianne, she is also very emotional (suffers from the sensibility of the title) and often makes poor decisions based on emotion rather than reason.

Elinor Dashwood —represents the sense part of the title. She is hard-working and practical. She becomes attached to Edward Ferrars, whom she meets through her unpleasant and greedy sister in law Fanny, John’s wife. Always feeling a keen sense of responsibility to her family and friends, she places their welfare and interests above her own needs and desires, and suppresses her own sensibility in a way that leads others to think she is indifferent or cold-hearted, when in fact, she suffers far more torment than Marianne over love in this story.

Marianne Dashwood — The romantically inclined girl of ‘sensibility’. She is the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood. She is the object of the attentions of Mr. Willoughby, and later the serious and reliable Colonel Brandon.. She is attracted to young, handsome, romantically spirited Willoughby and doesn’t think much about older, more reserved Colonel Brandon, until she manages to get beyond superficial appearance and the idea of romance, and sees both men for what they are really worth.

Margaret Dashwood — the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood. Also romantic and well-tempered but not expected to be as clever as her sisters when she grows older. Yet another responsibility Elinor willingly takes on in this close-knit family.

John Dashwood — the son of Henry Dashwood by his first wife. He is generally good-natured and charitable, but easily swayed by his less-likeable wife, Fanny, who is greedy and judgemental. All the misfortunes of the novel could have potentially been avoided if he had obeyed his father’s dying wishes.

Fanny Dashwood — the wife of John Dashwood, and sister to Edward and Robert Ferrars. She is vain, selfish and snobbish, just like her mother, the terrifying  Mrs. Ferrars.

Sir John Middleton — a distant relative of Mrs. Dashwood who, after the death of Henry Dashwood, invites her and her three daughters to live in a cottage on his property. Described as a wealthy, sporting man who served in the army with Colonel Brandon, he is very amiable and outgoing, kind, and keen to throw frequent parties, picnics and other social gatherings to bring together the young people of their village. He and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings, make a jolly, teasing and gossipy pair.

Lady Middleton — The genteel, but cold and reserved wife of Sir John Middleton, she is more quiet and introverted than her husband, and is primarily concerned with mothering her four spoilt children.

Mrs. Jennings — mother to Lady Middleton and Charlotte Palmer. A widow who has married off all of her children, she spends most of her time visiting her two daughters and their families, especially the Middletons.

She and her son-in-law, Sir John Middleton, take an active interest in the romantic affairs of the young people around them and seek to encourage suitable matches, often to the particular embarrassment of Elinor and Marianne, whom they see as very worthy and deserving, and whom they want to help as much as possible without wounding their pride by offering too much charity.

This new little family circle are a deliberate contrast to the Dashwoods.

Edward Ferrars — The elder of Fanny Dashwood’s two brothers. He forms an attachment to Elinor Dashwood. Years before meeting the Dashwoods, Ferrars proposed to Lucy Steele, the niece of his tutor at the time. The engagement has been kept secret owing to the expectation that Ferrars’s family would object to his marrying the poor Miss Steele. He is studying to become a clergyman, which his mother does not approve of.

Robert Ferrars — the younger brother of Edward Ferrars and Fanny Dashwood, he is most concerned about status, fashion and his new barouche. Their mother will play the two boys off against one another, with pretty unpleasant results.

Mrs. Ferrars — Fanny Dashwood and Edward and Robert Ferrars’ mother. A bad-tempered, unsympathetic woman who embodies all the foibles demonstrated in Fanny and Robert’s characteristics. She is determined that her sons should marry well, and will do anything she can to bring it about, even blackmail Edward with disinheritance. She is so vain she takes Lucy Steele’s flattery as humility and ‘knowing her place’ and being grateful, and Fanny takes the same attitude. Their attitude causes total misunderstandings for Lucy, and misery for Elinor, and their  egos will also help bring about pretty unpleasant results.

Colonel Brandon — a close friend of Sir John Middleton. In his youth, Brandon had fallen in love with his father’s ward, but was prevented by his family from marrying her because she was intended for his older brother.

He was sent abroad to be away from her, and while gone, the girl suffered numerous misfortunes partly as a consequence of her unhappy marriage, finally dying penniless and disgraced, and with a natural daughter, Eliza Williams, who becomes the ward of the Colonel.

John Willoughby — a nephew of a neighbour of the Middletons, a dashing figure who charms Marianne and shares her artistic and cultural sensibilities. They constantly indulge in romantic poetry and idleness, while Elinor is left with all the drudgery.

Charlotte Palmer — the daughter of Mrs. Jennings and the younger sister of Lady Middleton, Mrs. Palmer is jolly but empty-headed and laughs at inappropriate things, such as her husband’s continual rudeness to her and to others.

Mr. Palmer — the husband of Charlotte Palmer who is running for a seat in Parliament, but is idle and often rude. He is an example of an unhappy marriage because not well matched with his wife. Sir John is not either, but he does not let himself get bitter. Sir John tries to help people, while Mr. Palmer, for all he wants to get into Parliament, just seems to find them a damned nuisance.

Lucy Steele — a young, distant relation of Mrs. Jennings, who has for some time been secretly engaged to Edward Ferrars. She cultivates friendships with Elinor Dashwood and Mrs. John Dashwood in order to try to get them on her side when the time comes to try to marry Edward, once he is ordained or settled in a proper career. Limited in formal education and financial means, she is nonetheless attractive, clever, manipulative and scheming. She lives to flatter and her ‘confidences’ are calculated—she knows Elinor and Edward are well matched and does everything she can to split them up.

Anne/Nancy Steele — Lucy Steele’s elder, socially inept and less clever sister. She helps her in her efforts to win a rich husband for the sale of the whole family.

Miss Sophia Grey — a wealthy heiress who Mr. Willoughby marries in order to retain his comfortable lifestyle after he is disinherited by his aunt. She is bitter and angry to find he loves another, but determined to have him for herself.

Lord Morton — the father of Miss Morton

Miss Morton — a wealthy woman whom Mrs. Ferrars wants her eldest son, Edward, to marry

Mr. Pratt — the uncle of Lucy and Anne Steele. He was Edward’s tutor. 

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