Final Sense and Sensibility Weekly Update

Weekly progress: Finished. Pages 292-312 (end.)

Action: Tom, a Dashwood servant, reports that he talked to Lucy Steele Ferrars in Exeter. The family is shocked that Edward and Lucy got married so quickly even though the arrangements for the parish haven't been made. They are also surprised that no one in London has written to tell them. Soon after receiving this news Edward arrives on horseback and clears up the miscommunication.  His brother, Robert, married Lucy. Edward is free to confess his love for Elinor. Edward shows the letter from Lucy breaking off the engagement. It shows that she never really cared as much for him as he thought. And it was apparent that Lucy meant to deceive the Dashwoods when she saw the servant in Exeter. Col. Brandon comes for a visit and the two men get along quite well. Letters from London about the marriage scandal finally arrive and they give the impression that Mrs. Ferrars might be willing to forgive Edward. Elinor encourages him to go to London to make amends with his mother. With the reconciliation came a marriage gift of ten thousand pounds which would enable Elinor and Edward to live quite comfortably along with the two hundred fifty he would make as a parish pastor. Col. Brandon secure now that Marianne is over Willoughby asks her to marry him and she agrees.

Surprises: I was most surprised by how few pages contained such important bits of the story---the proposals of both girls and the Ferrars' family matters. The movies led me to believe that there was quite a bit of dialogue here but actually there is very little. The movies also do not contain the reconciliation of Edward with his family, which I suppose is anticlimactic, so it makes sense why it is left out.

Thoughts: After finishing the book I rewatched the BBC version of Sense and Sensibility (pictured.) I'd always thought that this version was just a spin off of the Emma Thompson version but now I was viewing it with new eyes. This version is closer to the book in several ways---the confessions of Lucy and Willoughby, for example---and further in other ways---the courting of Marianne by Brandon is almost an afterthought in the book, but in this movie they make a big deal of it and actually have Marianne engaged before Elinor. Either way, reading the book led to further delight in the story and increased my admiration for Ms. Austen. I wondered at the best bits being played down by her and decided that might be a bit of her magic.  She lets the reader fill in the details as they see it, so the story never gets dull or out-of-date.

Up next: Mansfield Park, but I shall leave it for the winter months.

30 books this Summer Reading Challenge

1 / 30 books. 3% done!