(This conversation will contain spoilers for the current chapters and possibly for future chapters.)

“There is no use in staying here; I must be off.” 

– John Willoughby

S: We start off this section with Edward and Lucy accepting the Colonel’s offer, and with Elinor making a visit to her brother’s. I have a few thoughts on the beginning of this chapter regarding John and Robert. I still feel John Dashwood could have been a good brother, had wealth, and marrying into the family that he did, not enhanced his self-centeredness. Robert, too, really annoys me. He’s so much the opposite of Edward, yet still rather different from his sister and mother. He just seems so disconnected from reality, and doesn’t even really know his brother. 

R: John and Robert are both kind of clueless in their own ways. They are certainly both weak men. And John informs Elinor that Mrs. Ferrars would have found her a far less objectionable wife for Edward than Lucy. I can’t imagine how that made her feel, and I’m sure listening to Robert’s idiodic assessment of his brother’s situation didn’t help any. 

S: When Fanny finally graces Elinor with her presence we are even more convinced that, for some reason, Fanny really doesn’t like Elinor or Marianne. I wonder if it’s because she wants to be a kinder person but doesn’t know how, and Elinor’s sense shames her?

R: You are much kinder toward Fanny than I am! I feel like she has the same sentiment as John (or rather, John expressed her sentiments to Elinor) and Fanny is confused by the way she had previously treated Elinor while thinking that she would have been a far, far superior sister to Lucy. 

I think it’s funny that Elinor is amused that everyone seems convinced that she’s going to be marrying Colonel Brandon.

S: Yes, that is rather amusing! I was excited that the Miss Dashwoods and Mrs. Jennings finally leave London. Mrs. Palmer is as giggly as ever, yet we do see Mr. Palmer a little more at ease in his own home (which, if one is an introvert with a loud wife and mother-in-law, makes so much sense!). I still don’t like the attitude he has toward Charlotte and Mrs. Jennings, but there we are. 

R: I hadn’t thought about Mr. Palmer that way. I often feel that way about coming home after a long visit with people, even those that I enjoy being around.

S: Marianne’s excitement to be back in the country and able to explore and think her thoughts without anyone asking how she feels is one I have felt keenly. Sometimes it’s just nice to be alone and think. I see Marianne becoming more like Elinor in these last few chapters because she takes confidence in no one and enjoys solitude. 

R: I agree, but I think this could be a continuation of her melancholy over Willoughby. Austen writes, ‘Marianne entered the house with a heart swelling with emotion from the consciousness of being only eighty miles from Barton, and not thirty from Combe Magna…she quitted it again…to gain a distant eminence; where, from its Grecian temple, her eye, wandering over a wide tract of country to the southeast, could fondly rest on the farthest ridge of hills in the horizon, and fancy that from their summits Combe Magna might be seen. In such moments of precious, invaluable misery, she rejoiced in tears of agony to be at Cleveland…’ Marianne is happy to be away from London where she might run into Willoughby, but she’s still mourning over what she feels she’s lost.

S: I can see that. She still is only a teenager, after all, and oh, teenage emotions! 

I am surprised that Elinor blinded herself to the seriousness of Marianne’s affliction, but I suppose that might be because she had finally gained a friend in Marianne for the first time and, as she had already lost her love, she didn’t want another bad thing to happen. 

And Poor Colonel Brandon! The reader, of course, has known all along that he loves Marianne and this fear and anxiety in him shows it even more. I do love that Mrs. Jennings takes everything in hand, chooses to stay with Elinor and Marianne, and tries to keep Elinor from false hope of Marianne’s recovery, but also from complete despair. 

R: Mrs. Jennings proves to be a rock; in fact, she shows a level of care we haven’t seen from her thus far. I liked this line: ‘‘Mrs. Jennings…with a kindness of heart which made Elinor really love her, declared her resolution of not stirring from Cleveland as long as Marianne remained ill.’ As annoying as she’s been throughout the book, Mrs. Jennings shows that she really cares about the girls.

S: Finally, as Marianne has reached the point of less, if any, danger, who should enter but Willoughby!

R: I had completely forgotten about this part of the book, so I was surprised when he showed up. Poor Elinor, the unwilling confidant of everyone! 

S: I think we see, too, that Elinor has reached the end of her tether with being a confidant. Her sharp tongue has come out more often as of late. 

I still don’t know how I feel about Willoughby. Although he wants pity, and that makes me not want to pity him, I pity him nonetheless. Because of his choices he can now never have who he truly loved, and is married to a wife he very much dislikes. I’m happy he chose to tell Elinor the truth so she could relay it to Marianne, but his actions have been cowardly and it all goes back to money and not waiting to do things in their proper time. I don’t know if we’ll meet up with him again in the book, but if we do I certainly hope we see him raise his children (if he has any) to make better choices than he did so as to not live with such regret.

I do like that Elinor doesn’t allow him to indulge himself in thoughts of Marianne in her presence. Although he has told her his marriage will be without happiness, she still encourages him to stay true to it. He hears what she says, but I’m not sure he takes it to heart, for his parting words show how much he dislikes, we are able to guess, the Colonel. Strangely, Willoughby is the only one other than Elinor who sees Brandon’s love for Marianne. Is that strange? Perhaps when one is in love with someone it’s easier to see if someone else also loves the one you do.

R: Elinor holds Willoughby’s feet to the fire, for sure! And we get the surprising revelation that Willoughby a) is perhaps not quite the cad we thought (a tiny bit), b) he very much regrets his behavior, and c) he is most certainly receiving his comeuppance. We learn that it was his wife who dictated the final letter Willoughby sent to Marianne, and that while he started out just planning to have a dalliance with Marianne, he did come to truly care for her. And he gains a measure of Elinor’s pity. I can’t say I feel the same. He acted abysmally, both to Marianne and to Eliza. 

S: Finally, Mrs. Dashwood arrives not only to find Marianne out of danger, but to give her version of events. She, apparently, believes now that Colonel Brandon will soon ask for Marianne’s hand (although she has no real proof). Her mother’s ‘natural embellishments’ make me roll my eyes, as does her assertion that she had always seen something in Willoughby’s eyes that was not quite right. I seem to recall that, when Elinor questioned Willoughby, Mrs. Dashwood adamantly reprimanded her. Isn’t it funny how our present emotions colour the past? I find that sometimes I remember things much worse than they really were, or I remember things as much better depending on what mood I’m in. The brain and heart play so many tricks!

R: I’m not too surprised by Mrs. Dashwood’s confidence in Colonel Brandon since he confessed his love for Marianne to her, but I have to wonder if it’s a mother’s blindness to her daughter’s faults that make her believe that Marianne will definitely accept him or mother’s intuition. Based on Marianne’s comments earlier in the book about the Colonel’s ‘advanced age’, I wouldn’t be nearly so certain as Mrs. Dashwood seems to be. We have seen her changing perspectives, but her mother hasn’t.

S: I am excited to see what happens to Marianne and the Colonel, and I so want happiness to come to Elinor as well! I’m excited to only have five more chapters until the end, but I also feel a sense of trepidation. Will Edward break his promise to Lucy and go to Elinor because of love? Will someone else come and sweep Elinor off her feet? Will Marianne accept the Colonel (providing Willoughby and Mrs. Dashwood are both correct in their expectation of the Colonel asking her to marry him)? And, perhaps the most important question of all, where is Margaret?

R: Good questions, all. We shall soon see! Only five chapters left!

(This conversation will contain spoilers for the current chapters and possibly for future chapters.)

R: These chapters reveal pretty much everyone’s secrets, which are the cause of much mayhem. 

Mrs. Jennings becomes extra busy because her daughter has her baby, so Elinor and Marianne end up spending a lot of time at the Middletons and with the Steeles. They don’t know that they have had a narrow escape from being invited to stay with their brother and sister-in-law; however, Fanny wriggles out of that by claiming that she’d already planned to invite the Miss Steeles to visit. After all, their sisters can visit any time. Lucy is, of course, over the moon about the opportunity to further her acquaintance with the Ferrars.

S: You know, I regret saying anything positive about Lady Middleton; she really is a snob and extremely self-centered. Just because the Miss Dashwoods don’t dote on her children or offer superfluous compliments to her she doesn’t like them. Even though Mrs. Jennings is loud and a gossip, at least you know who her friends are and she truly doesn’t care about wealth or status.

R: They meet Edward’s younger brother Robert, who proves himself to be without depth, intelligence, or a lick of sense. He also loves the sound of his own voice.

S: I had an inkling that the man they had met at the jeweler’s was Robert! I so enjoyed the moment when, after Robert’s lengthy estimation of how wonderful cottages are, Elinor refused to contradict him because ‘…she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition’. 

How I feel for Elinor and Marianne! Their sister-in-law would much rather be hostess to two women she hardly knows than have her husband’s sisters stay with them. I find myself feeling a bit of pity for Fanny to have grown up in such an unkind environment, but I admit it is difficult to feel that pity for long.

R: Then, all is revealed! Or mostly. While staying with Mr. and Mrs. Dashwood, Lucy’s sister tells her secret to Fanny, sending her into hysterics, which sends Lucy into hysterics. Mrs. Jennings learns all of this second-hand and conveys it to Elinor, who maintains her composure, and yet again, must keep her own feelings to herself while she relays the information to Marianne. 

Elinor is a model of self-control even as she finally reveals her feelings about Edward and everything that has happened. Marianne finally shows some sense in following interactions when the subject comes up.

S: I really enjoyed the line, ‘Marianne was quite subdued’. We’ve had the most emotional soliloquy from Elinor, explaining that she felt more deeply than she was ever able to admit, finally giving her sister a glimpse into her soul. From her reaction, it seems that Marianne is growing up. Yes, she’s still rather self-focused, but she rallys her emotions and refuses to let Elinor go it alone. I’m beginning to admire Marianne’s tenacity as well as Elinor’s kindness.

R: This chapter clearly shows the contrast between Elinor’s self-control and Marianne’s lack thereof thus far. It made me wonder if Jane Austen was really portraying a contrast of two extremes – too emotional and not emotional enough. Was Elinor really better off keeping everything bottled up? It’s just as bad for us to keep all of our feelings to ourselves.

S: Agreed! That’s a great observation. It’s difficult sometimes to know where the line is.

R: There are more revelations, primarily of Edward’s stalwartness. Despite being disowned by his mother, he is determined to keep his promises to Lucy. And she seems equally committed to him despite the reduction of his circumstances, though she certainly takes every opportunity to crow to Elinor about his steadfastness. Edward’s inheritance is passed to his younger brother, and Edward will seek a position as a clergyman where he and Lucy will likely have to live on a pittance. The Jane Austen Society of North America has some information here about how priests in the Anglican church received their positions. (There are spoilers in the link, if you haven’t read the book before).

I do admire Edward’s faithfulness, despite the unworthiness of its recipient. I can only imagine Lucy being as petty and jealous as a priest’s wife if any woman dared look crosswise at Edward.

S: I’m so disappointed. I find it rather amusing, actually, that we are told both Lucy and Edward ask the other if they just want to call it off, but both are determined to stick it out. It’s akin to asking someone what they want to do, and the conversation goes back and forth and neither person ends up happy. And Lucy! How awful must it be to be a person who feels she must hurt people at every turn!

John Dashwood is rather a pragmatic man. Henpecked, but pragmatic. He sees the dire situation in which Edward could end up. I think John could have been a good man, had not social climbing consumed his thoughts and had he not married a nasty woman. (And still, he thinks Elinor will end up with the Colonel! Of course, we don’t know what will happen, but it makes me shake my head every time because the reader knows the Colonel has eyes only for Marianne.)

Again and again the blows to Elinor just keep coming. Miss Steele reveals Lucy’s childish behaviour (and her own) when she tells Elinor of Lucy and Edward’s conversation. Colonel Brandon, bless him!, desires Elinor to give Edward the news that there is a place for him should he desire. I love how he lets Elinor know that the marriage cannot take place soon, for I think the Colonel guesses more about Elinor than she or anyone else realises. (It’s so nice to have a truly good character!)

R: This scene shows Colonel Brandon’s amazing goodness. Even though he barely knows Edward, he’s willing to hand over this position, very close to or on his own estate. What if Edward turns out to be a terrible neighbor?

S: Mrs. Jennings is hilarious! Even though my heart hurts for Elinor (and even though now Edward believes that she and the Colonel are to marry) the miscommunication between herself and Mrs. Jennings is one that at least both can laugh about. 

R: That whole time Elinor and Mrs. Jennings were talking across each other was hilarious. It was a good thing they sorted it out and Elinor got a promise from Mrs. Jennings not to spread it around.

Fortuitously, Edward shows up just as Elinor is sitting down to write him a letter to share the good news, so she is able to tell him in person, another awkward situation for her, but Edward is immensely grateful. He goes off to thank the colonel straightaway.

S: I’ll be interested to see how this all gets resolved. Will Elinor actually marry the Colonel as everyone thinks she will, or will the Colonel propose to Marianne? Will Elinor end up the quintessential ‘Old Maid’? (I certainly hope not!) We have ten chapters left so I’m hoping some of these questions will be answered and that at least one of the Miss Dashwoods will end up with a happy ending!

Readers, we may be posting our next few blogs a little more often so that we can wrap up this book before the end of the year and take a hiatus over the holidays.

(This conversation will contain spoilers for the current chapters and possibly for future chapters.)

R: We finally get a massive revelation in this chapter, about both Colonel Brandon and Willoughby, because it turns out they are connected, and in the worst possible way. Colonel Brandon has had the care of a young lady, the illegitimate daughter of his childhood love (not his own daughter as most supposed), and this young lady was seduced and impregnated by Willoughby. Colonel Brandon decides to reveal all of this to Elinor in hopes of easing Marianne’s heart over the loss of a man who turns out to be a right cad.

S: Chapter 31 is by far the most informative and heart-wrenching chapter yet! No wonder Colonel Brandon is so melancholy – what a sad life he has led so far. Thinking back to when we first met Willoughby, I have even less esteem for him now and more frustration at his character and his outspoken harsh words against Colonel Brandon. He appears to me extremely foolish, not only in his conduct, but also with his speech. Before, I could believe as Marianne could, that he was just young and carefree, even if he is a cad, but now he appears to me an angry, cruel, selfish human. (Are those words strong enough?) 

I love how Austen creates a sweet bond between Colonel Brandon and Elinor, but it seems to be one only of friendship and mutual respect at this juncture. 

Also, Marianne needs to calm down. Mrs. Jennings, although desperately interested in gossip, truly does, it seems, want to ease Marianne’s mind, and Colonel Brandon hopes to do the same. I appreciated Austen reminding the reader that Marianne is so caught up in herself that she is unable to see that, despite some people being rough around the edges, they really do care about her. She instead assumes people act a certain way because that’s how she would act toward them if the roles were reversed. She has a lot of growing up to do and I hope we see that.

Despite this, Marianne finally becomes civil with Colonel Brandon! Mrs. Jennings’s assumption that Elinor and Colonel Brandon now have a thing just makes me roll my eyes. Then, as if life weren’t difficult enough for the Miss Dashwoods, enter the Steele sisters. (Shudder.) I had almost forgotten about them, so to meet them again at this point in time is vexing. I cannot imagine how Elinor was able to keep her temper with Lucy’s snide asides to her and Miss Steele’s insistence that they see Marianne. My favourite line came after Mrs. Jennings’s comment about the Dashwood sisters remaining a long time in London: ‘Lucy was silenced.’ I mean, Mrs. Jennings has no clue what’s going on, but the reader does and that line is delicious. 

It does bother me that it appears no one is getting what they want or need: Marianne needs the comfort of home and her mother, whilst Elinor needs to not run into Edward (which could happen at any of the parties they may attend). But, they are honouring their mother, so I can’t really fault them.

R: When Elinor tells Colonel Brandon’s story to Marianne I was surprised that it softened her toward the colonel, though she is still quiet and melancholy and has another fit of high emotion when she learns that Willoughby has married Miss Grey. Mrs. Dashwood decides that it would be better for Marianne to not be at Barton Cottage where she and Willoughby had so much time together, so the Miss Dashwoods stay in London as their brother and sister-in-law, the Middletons and the Miss Steeles arrive. Lucy immediately tries to ingratiate herself to Elinor again, while Marianne continues to avoid as much socialization as she can. Elinor once more faces the brunt of everyone’s feelings about Willoughby, but she bears it with equanimity in order to protect her sister.

S: It appears that everyone, except Elinor, expects her and Colonel Brandon to marry! You remember the old adage, ‘You have one mouth and two ears for a reason’? Well, most of these characters could do with that reminder, especially her brother. Elinor is perfectly aware that the Dashwoods have more money than he tries to convince her of, and his speech, while attempting to remain subtle, reminds the reader that he and Fanny are all about themselves and their wealth and their status.

R: He’s so set on convincing Elinor that he and Fanny are in dire straits and can’t do anything to help their sisters. It really emphasizes their selfishness.

‘He [John Dashwood] had just compunction enough for having done nothing for his sisters himself, to be exceedingly anxious that everybody else should do a great deal; and an offer from Colonel Brandon, or a legacy from Mrs. Jennings, was the easiest means of atoning for his own neglect.’

And neglect it was. In a society where young, unmarried ladies are forced to rely on their family’s goodwill until they’re married, John Dashwood’s neglect of taking care of his sisters is particularly egregious. Yes, they had their mother, but she was as much at the mercy of the laws of inheritance as her daughters.

S: But Edward! We don’t know how Elinor feels about the news that his mother is trying to set him up with someone, but it does seem a gloomy prospect for the Miss Dashwoods. I’d like to have Edward speak to Elinor and explain himself, because right now he is in a bit of a pickle and has annoyed me quite thoroughly.

R: All of the different threads of the story start to come together. The Dashwoods meet the Middletons (and like them very much) and Mrs. Jennings (only John Dashwood likes her) and invite all of them as well as the Steeles, Colonel Brandon and the frightening Mrs. Ferrars to their house for a dinner. They also invite the Miss Steeles to stay at the house for a week. Lucy is beside herself with nerves and excitement at the opportunity to meet Mrs. Ferrars, who is also at the dinner, and ingratiate herself with the family, which she is able to do because Mrs. Ferrars and Fanny Dashwood treat Elinor very badly based on their assumption that she and Edward feel for each other. Uncharacteristically, Elinor feels a little mean pleasure at their ‘graciousness so misapplied’.

S: Again with the not communicating! If only Marianne had been more sober-minded that Elinor might have told her about Edward’s and Lucy’s engagement! (I say being tricked and harassed trumps making a promise of being a secret keeper, but I digress.) If only she might have been able to tell someone how Lucy treats her! I’m happy she was able to tell Lucy that she had no pity for her (again, I’m not sure I would have had the guts to do something like that), and that she saw the foolishness, and found amusing the way, in which Mrs. Ferrars treated her. Truly, she is a heroine.

R: Ooh, Lucy shows up after the dinner party to twist the knife in Elinor’s back, only to be interrupted by the untimely arrival of Edward Ferrars. He is so incredibly embarrassed, and Lucy so determined to keep up the pretense of secrecy, that Elinor ends up carrying all the conversation. After a while, she leaves them (why???) to bring Marianne down, who manages to only make things more awkward for Edward and Elinor. She makes a comment about Edward’s character that almost seems to show knowledge of all the circumstances, but certainly explains why he’s maintained this secret engagement with Lucy for four years:

‘And I really believe he HAS the most delicate conscience in the world; the most scrupulous in performing every engagement, however minute, and however it may make against his interest or pleasure. He is the most fearful of giving pain, of wounding expectation, and the most incapable of being selfish, of any body I ever saw.’

I have to wonder what Lucy thought of this proclamation. 

S: I’m just throwing this out there: I dislike Lucy’s character. I can understand how a person with very little means would want to make sure her secret engagement remained secret, but she treats Elinor abominably and does not endear herself to me. The scene when Edward visits Elinor and is then caught in an awkward mess is amusing, but also frustrating. Marianne is such a romantic that she doesn’t notice the room’s atmosphere or her sister’s countenance, nor does she notice Lucy’s rude glances and sharp words. I want to take Edward by the shoulders and shout, ‘Come on, man! Stand up for yourself and quit being pushed around!’ but, I know that his fear of making the wrong choice and of disappointing one’s parents (not to mention being worried that you may never have a fortune again if you step one toe out of line) is real. 

In all, I don’t have nearly as many questions as I have before except, ‘How will this all be resolved?!’