Sense & Sensibility, chapter 12: A Gift Horse

Six weeks. 

By my reckoning, with the help of David Shapard’s chronology, these two crazy kids have been courting for six weeks. Generally speaking, this is not a red flag in the context of a Jane Austen book. Pride & Prejudice’s Jane and Bingley come to mind in particular, with several characters expecting to hear wedding bells less than two months in. So with six weeks under their belts, Marianne and Willoughby’s level of intimacy isn’t a bad thing. But the ways they illustrate said intimacy aren’t appropriate.

Exhibit A: Queen Mab,* the mare Willoughby has offered to Marianne. Elinor protests at first because she “doubt[s] the propriety of [Marianne] receiving such a present from a man so little, or at least so lately known to her.” Elinor speaks in terms of chronology, which Marianne disdains: “It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy.” She goes so far as to claim that accepting a similar gift from brother John would be worse, as Marianne doesn’t know him as well as she knows Willoughby since she ignored her brother for the six months they spent in the same house. Once Elinor explains the financial considerations Mama Dashwood would have to deal with—hiring an “additional servant,” getting another horse for said servant, and building a whole stable—Marianne is “subdued.” Or, to put it another way, her sense and practicality are activated.

Lest we lay the blame on Marianne’s impulsivity alone, Shapard reminds us that “Willoughby shows both social and financial imprudence in thinking the gift would be appropriate.” Now, I try to keep things G-rated here, not just for suitability but also because I’m not usually inclined to read sex into things. But Willoughby’s choice of gift is intriguing: a horse for Marianne would allow them to ride together, which (noted by Emma Thompson on the S&S 1995 commentary track) is one of the few physical activities a young unmarried couple could do together. And since I know what Willoughby was up to before he scooped up Marianne, his physical urges appear to be a motivating factor. I’m not saying he’s not in love—Willoughby is more complex than that. I’m saying he’s not just in love. 

Exhibit B: the use of first names. Not only does Marianne now refer to Willoughby without the Mr. prefix, Willoughby refers to her as “Marianne.” The main difference is that Marianne will say “Willoughby” when she’s among family, but Willoughby only calls her “Marianne” during (what’s meant to be) a private conversation. Elinor hears him mention Marianne one day moving out “to form [her] own establishment in a more lasting home,” a direct reference to marriage. This is Elinor’s first clue that her little sister is engaged, which would be the only justification for dropping “Mr.” and “Miss” from the conversation.

Exhibit C: Margaret time! Little Maggie is a big Milloughby shipper, which is probably why she spies on the all-important Bestowing Of The Lock Of Hair. After Willoughby snipped off the requisite lock, “he kissed it, and folded it up in a piece of white paper, and put it into his pocket-book,” she reports. Elinor is inclined to believe her, despite her excitable nature, because “the circumstance was in perfect unison with what she had heard and seen herself.”

Maggie, it turns out, has been keeping tabs on both of her sisters’ crushes. Determined to put Marianne in her place one day at the Middleton’s, Maggie reveals that Elinor’s would-be boyfriend has a name that begins with “F.” Sir John and Mrs. Jennings latch onto the initial as a basis for their mirth (and Elinor’s visible discomfort), but this is thwarted by party-pooper Lady Middleton and the more chivalrous Col. Brandon. It’s bad Maggie thought it was okay to blurt this out, but what’s worse is Marianne’s impulsive scolding and gossiping with Maggie about Edward in the first place. All these little confederacies speculating about relationship statuses … and yet, no one asks for clarification because it would be improper to do so?

Weird times, man.

Later, a sudden cancellation of plans will lead to gossip about Col. Brandon and a scandalous visit to Willoughby’s soon-to-be-inherited homestead.

*A fantasy character who appears in a play about a doomed pair of young lovers …