Exploring Adverbial Clauses in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility Using Sketch Engine

Abstract

"This study investigates the syntactic distribution and stylistic functions of adverbial clauses in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility (1811) through a corpus-based approach. While traditionally analyzed for their grammatical role, the contribution of adverbial clauses to character ""mind style"" and narrative themes in classical fiction remains underexplored. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, 1,362 adverbial clauses were extracted and analyzed with Sketch Engine. Quantitative results show that causal clauses are the most frequent (36.05%), followed by temporal clauses (33.99%), with the explanatory subordinator for indicating a narrative focus on justification rather than mere event sequencing. Qualitative analysis reveals that Elinor Dashwood employs concessive clauses to exhibit restraint, while Marianne Dashwood relies on conditional and causal structures to validate emotional immediacy, reflecting the central ""Sense versus Sensibility"" contrast. The study also demonstrates the utility of Sketch Engine for detecting macro-patterns, while emphasizing the necessity of manual filtering for historical prose. Overall, grammar is confirmed as a key stylistic resource for characterization and thematic expression."