Emma Thompson With a background in comedy, Thompson's performances are typically delivered with an ironic touch. Ang Lee, director of "Sense and Sensibility" stated that Thompson's comedic approach may be her greatest asset as an actress, remarking, "Emma is an extremely funny lady. Like Austen, she's laughing at her own culture while she's a part of it." Thompson has stated that the "most moving things are often also funny, in life and in art" which is present in her film work. She often brings her real personality to her roles, and Kellaway believes that her lack of conventional beauty contributes to her
Sense and Sensibility ultimately contribute to her own contentment and that of others. In this way, Poovey contends that Austen suggests that the submission to society that Elinor demonstrates is the proper way to achieve happiness in life. "Sense and Sensibility" criticism also includes ecocritical approaches. Susan Rowland's article "The 'Real Work': Ecocritical Alchemy and Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility"" studies the effects of alienation upon Edward and Ferrars. Edward is alienated from society because he lacks what Rowland calls "useful employment." According to Rowland, Edward's condition represents problems with the history of work in Western industrialized societies. Edward's alienation from work also