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!

Sense and Sensibility Weekly update #5

Willoughbys

50-page weekly met? Yes, plus some. This week I finished Part 3, chapters 1-11, which is pages 210-292 in this volume. At one point I thought I might actually finish the book but textbook fatigue would take over every time I sat down to read.

Willoughby is caught by Elinor and Marianne and the truth comes out.

Action: The Steele sisters go to stay with John and Fanny Dashwood and Anne lets the cat-out-of-the-bag about the engagement between Lucy and Edward. The girls are almost literally thrown out of the house in anger and revulsion. Edward, when forced to choose between Lucy or his inheritance, chooses Lucy and doing the honorable thing. Elinor now has to face it that she and Edward will never be together. She finally tells Marianne everything she knows and the sisters console each other. Col. Brandon offers his parish to Edward so that he can make a living somehow. Finally the girls are to go home. Mrs. Jennings is to accompany them as far as the Palmer's residence. While there Marianne gets gravely ill. It is feared that she might die. Col. Brandon rides to Barton Cottage to get Mrs. Dashwood. On the return trip he confesses that he is in love with Marianne, has always been. About the time that Elinor is expecting her mother and Col. Brandon's return, she is summoned out of the sick room and finds Willoughby waiting for her.  He unburdens his guilt on her as he confesses his true feelings about Marianne. Elinor's feelings toward Willoughby soften a bit. Once Marianne is well enough to travel and go home, Elinor tells her about the conversation that she had with Willoughby. His confession seems to bring Marianne a measure of peace and she confesses that she now sees that she would never have been truly happy with him in the long run.

Willoughby makes his confession to Elinor.

Surprises: This section could be titled "Confessions". The movies make quite a bit about the confessions of Lucy that she is engaged to Edward but do not play up or even include Willoughby's confessions to Elinor. I was most surprised to learn that the note that Willoughby wrote to Marianne the night after she saw him at the dance which contained a locket of her hair, was written by Willoughby but dictated by his fiancee, Miss Gray. I was also surprised by the length of his guilty confession made to Elinor and the effect this confession had on her and eventually on Marianne. Knowing how the story ends I am surprised there are only 30 pages of book left to go.

Note: Even though I think of myself as a person very familiar with the works of Jane Austen I keep finding little surprises each week as I read along. I encourage you to pick up a Jane Austen novel this summer and look for those little surprises within, too. By following this format of reporting on the action and remarking on my surprises I find the reading opening up to me.

Sense and Sensibility Weekly Update #4

I've been off-the-grid for the past week so this post is a day late. My apologies.

50-Page Goal Met? No. In addition to not having enough time to blog, I haven't been reading much either. I did read 42 pages, Part 2, Chapters 9-14, ending this weeks reading on page 207.

Action: Marianne now knows that Willoughby is to wed another woman, a rich woman, and she is completely undone.  She just wants to leave and go home to her mother. Mrs. Jennings tries to tempt her out of her sadness with rare foods and social events. Col. Brandon shares with Elinor that a young charge of his was impregnated by Willoughby who left her destitute. Though Marianne  hears this new information, she is not completely ready to consider him a cad. On a rare outing, the sisters end up bumping into their half-brother John Dashwood. He asks them to introduce him to the Middletons and to Mrs. Jennings.  Soon the families are socializing together often. The Steele sisters, who are staying with the Middletons, end up in the social mix also, which ends up being advantageous for Lucy as she has an opportunity to meet Mrs. Ferrars. Elinor thinks that Edward's mother is a snob but Lucy thinks otherwise. During this time Charlotte, Mrs. Jennings daughter, has a baby, forcing Marianne and Elinor to socialize more with the Middletons, the Steeles, and their sister-in-law, Fanny. Edwards makes an awkward visit while Lucy happens to be visiting. Elinor seems resigned to her lot in life without him.

Surprises: On my last update I reported that there were few surprises and that the dialogue was very familiar as it was very close to what has been used in the movies.  This section is the opposite.   Few of the details were well known to me and little of the dialogue was familiar. It is hard to imagine life so ordered by social rules. Marianne and Elinor seems to be genuinely tortured by how much time they have to socialize with the Middletons, the Steeles, and their sister-in-law. Apparently unmarried women had very few opportunities to move about freely in society without the escort of a married woman.

Sense and Sensibility--- Weekly Update #3

Here is the weekly update on my progress reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. My goal is to read a minimum of 50 pages, to note differences between the films and books, and to discover some surprise within. How did this week go towards these goals?

50 page goal met? Yes. Part 2, Chapters 1-9. I'm on page 164 out of 308, in my edition.

Current Action: Lucy Steele tells Elinor ALL about her love for Edward Ferrars and details of their long engagement. Elinor dare not tell her mother or sisters what she has learned. Mrs. Jennings invites Elinor and Marianne to stay with her in London for the season. Almost as soon as they get to London, Marianne sends off a note to Willoughby. When he doesn't arrive, she sends another note and spends all her time looking out for him. They eventually end up at the same party where Willoughby is decidedly cool. The next day he sends Marianne a note explaining that he is engaged.  If she was a basket case while she waited to hear from him, she is now a double basket case. I selected the cover picture this week because so much of the action involved Marianne moping around.

Surprises: There were few surprises for me in this section. The action and dialogue is very similar to the films. Willoughby was more obviously in London than in the movies. We know this because he did drop by Mrs. Jennings house while the girls were out and later was spotted by Sir John Middleton who invited him to a dance he and his wife were hosting. Willoughby didn't attend or he would have run into Marianne.

Question: As close as Elinor and Marianne are I am surprised at how little they actually share with each other about what is going on inside their minds and their feelings. Do you think that it is realistic?

Sense and Sensibility... Weekly Update #2

Sense and Sensibility Weekly Update #2. 

Thoughts about the book: I've never noticed before how short the chapters are. I wonder if all Austen's books have similarly short ones.

50 page challenge met? Yes. Part 1, Chapters 13-22

Current Action: Col. Brandon cancels the planned excursion to Whitwell at the last minute which piques the curiosity of Mrs. Jennings. Willoughby suddening leaves the area and Marianne is left bereft. Everyone thinks they must have had a lover's quarrel because they must be engaged. Edward shows up unannounced for a week-long visit. After he leaves Mr. and Mrs. Palmer come to visit the Middletons at Barton Park. Mrs. Palmer is Mrs. Jennings' youngest daughter. While in Exeter the women meet Lucy and Anne Steele and invite them for a visit. Eventually Lucy confesses to Elinor that she and Edward are secretly engaged.

Surprises: After Willoughby suddenly departs, Marianne is so depressed that all she will do is go for walks and play the pianoforte and only songs she played with him.  Remember, in the movie that she did not have a pianoforte at this point.  I had no idea that Edward Ferrars came to Barton Cottage at this point in the story. He had come from Plymouth and he was in very low spirits. Mrs. Jennings figured out that this must be the elusive Mr. F and teased Elinor about it.  She even said something, later in the story, about Edward and Elinor to Lucy Steele.

Question: Everyone seems to know how much everyone else is worth a year and they talk about it freely.  Col. Brandon has a meer $2000 per year, The Dashwood women $500, Willoughby was set to inherit $3000/year. Do you think that people in Austen's day really discussed the finances of others so freely, or do you think that Austen just added this to make a point?

Sense and Sensibility Weekly Update #1

In April I finally finished reading Emma by Jane Austen.  It took me over a year to complete it, which was a ridiculous amount of time to get through the book.  But my final success is due in large part to my weekly updates, after which it took only three weeks to complete it.  With that success fresh in my mind, here I am again with another Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, and my first weekly update.

During my weekly updates I will report my progress, pose a question or two, and reflect on anything Austen. I promise there will be spoilers. Since Austen's books have been in publication for over 200 years I figure that most people know the general storylines, especially if you, like me, have seen the film adaptations.

A bit about this book: Sense and Sensibility was first published in 1811. Its original title was "Elinor and Marianne." The edition I am reading from is Barnes and Noble Classics published in 2003.  It is 312 pages long.

50 page goal reached? Yes, just. Part I, Chapters 1-12.

Current action: We meet the Dashwoods as their beloved father dies. The half-brother John Dashwood inherits the estate, leaving Mrs. Dashwood, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret as guests in their old house. Before being practically pushed out, they meet Fannie Dashwood's brother Edward Ferrars and he and Elinor really hit it off. There is surprisingly little dialogue between characters at this point in the book. The women finally find a home, a cottage, they can afford on the estate of Mrs. Dashwood's cousin, Sir John Middleton. They are glad to be far away from Fannie and John but must adjust to a much scaled-down life. Once they are moved into Barton Cottage they meet many friends and relations of Sir. Middleton including Col. Brandon and John Willoughby who both have their eyes on Marianne. Elinor hasn't heard from Edward Ferrars and that causes some concern for everyone.

Surprises: John and Fannie have lots of money because Fannie brought a large sum into the marriage, so it is surprising how stingy they are with his half-sisters once their father dies. Once the Dashwoods move to Barton Cottage we meet not only Sir John Middleton, but his wife, and his mother-in-law. In the Emma Thompson version of the film there is no wife. The wife is a very single-faceted person and isn't very nice or warm to the Dashwoods. The last two surprises are small but somewhat significant. First, Marianne brings her pianoforte with her to the cottage. All film versions I've seen show her wanting in this department.  And secondly, Willoughby gives Marianne a horse, even though they can't afford to feed it. Proof of how self-centered he is.

Questions: Have you read Sense and Sensibility? Where does it rank for you among the Austen novels?

Comment: Since I am just getting started, I'd love for you to join me. You'd only have to read an extra 50 pages this week to catch up.  Be sure to check on my progress weekly.

-Anne