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 of society by finding a male protector," women such as Mrs. Ferrars and Lucy Steele demonstrate how women can "themselves become agents of repression, manipulators of conventions, and survivors." In order to protect themselves and their own interests, Mrs. Ferrars and Lucy Steele must participate in the same patriarchal system that oppresses them. In her chapter ""Sense and Sensibility:" Opinions Too Common and Too Dangerous" from her book "Jane Austen: Women, Politics, and the Novel," Claudia Johnson also performs a feminist reading of "Sense and Sensibility. She d"iffers from previous critics, especially the earliest ones, in her contention that "Sense