Historically, the Romantic era has become the symbol of a time of change and desire in a social and political sense. In a time of revolution abroad and reform at home, we can see the importance of desire as a vehicle for change. By examining Byron, Austen, and Edgeworth in a new historicist style, one is presented with different perspectives on desire, its effect on the narrative, and the resulting commentary on society. In Byron's "Manfred", the theme of desire primarily concerns knowledge and in the latter acts, a need for forgiveness. In the initial scene, Manfred is presented as a Freudian character who seeks knowledge from supernatural forces. From this first scene, one could “accuse Byron of having written Manfred with Faust open before him”. However, Manfred's quest for Faustian knowledge turns into a desire for oblivion, which is ultimately realized in Manfred's death.MANFRED. The spirits I raised abandon me, the spells I studied baffle me, the remedy I thought tortured me; I no longer rely on supernatural help, it has no power over the past and for the future, until the past is swallowed up. in darkness, […]if it is life to carry within me this sterility of spirit and to be my own sepulchre, because I have ceased to justify my actions to myself. This illustrates Manfred's transition from a Faustian character to the Byronic hero. By sacrificing his desire for knowledge, Manfred questions himself, which leads his character to detach himself from nature and desire death. If we apply Byron's own life to this analysis, we find parallels between Byron and his protagonist. In the context of exile and suspicion of incest, it could be suggested that Manfred's desire for forgiveness...... middle of paper ......uh is meant to represent characters and incidents "probable" aspects of contemporary life, notably "fashionable" or courtly society, while the latter was supposed to present eccentric characters in improbable circumstances and exotic or unusual places. […] Since “romances” were generally thought to inspire a taste for the improbable and sensational, some criticized them for exposing gullible readers to the allure of revolutionary “speculation” and violence. So from Kelly's critiques we can see that "romanticism" is seen as inciting violence and rebellion against established orders, just as Byron would have hoped. However, it also allows us to prove that Austen's conservatism shows desire as negative, romantic, and un-British. The importance of desire in 'Sense and Sensibility is that it allows an allusion to the ideological differences of the time..