Sense & Sensibility, chapter 21: For Want Of A Pin
According to a 5-minute google search I did two months ago my research, the Steeles and Mrs. Jennings share the same great-grandfather—hence, “third cousins.” Sir John’s claim that this makes the Steeles part of the Dashwoods’ extended family is a bit of a stretch, not the least because it’s hard to pin-point how and when Mrs. Jennings or the Steele sisters made this discovery in the first place. Interesting that they’ve been up in Exeter this whole time …and oh, what’s that you say, Sir John? “[T]hey have heard at Exeter that [the Dashwood sisters] are the most beautiful creatures in the world”?
How did they hear about the Dashwood sisters when they were all the way in Exeter? Well, if you’ve been following along, you’ll know that this ties into Edward’s dodgy behavior. This video spells it out pretty succinctly as well. The main thrust is that Anne and Lucy Steele’s appearance isn’t an accident. They have an agenda.
Well, they actually have two agendas, the most obvious being their determination to flatter Lady Middleton (the one hold-out among the Barton Park crowd) to the extreme. They fawn over the house, Lady Middleton’s wardrobe, and the kids. Especially the kids. As the little scamps run about, stealing sewing equipment and pulling pins out of their hair, the Steeles are steadfast in their simpering compliments. “[A] fond mother,” observes the narrator, “will swallow anything,” even when she’s practically being force-fed overenthusiastic praise. In a perfect illustration of how bad behavior is rewarded by clueless authority figures, Lady Middleton and the Steele sisters coo over one of the inconsequential kids after she gets a scratch from an errant pin and stuff her with treats (“[w]ith such a reward for her tears,” little Annamaria knows better than “to cease crying”).
As she witnesses this display, Elinor gives the sisters “credit for some kind of sense, when she saw with what constant and judicious attentions they were making themselves agreeable to Lady Middleton”—but that doesn’t mean she’s impressed with them. Neither is Marianne, who calls out the absurd fuss they were making over the little brat. Lucy’s compliment of their hostess (working rather like a checkmate) puts Marianne out entirely, leaving Elinor with the “task of telling lies when politeness required it.” Apparently the whole If You Can’t Say Something Nice, Don’t Say Anything At All approach to civility doesn’t count for much here—though this does give Elinor a chance to exercise her wit against the shallow manners of the Steeles.
Anne, the elder sister (at the dire, unimaginable age of … 30), is the more obvious offender. She leads the conversation by trying to engage in boy talk: “I think they are vastly agreeable, provided they dress smart and behave civil.” She talks about John Dashwood’s wealth and asks Elinor if he was … attractive? … when he was single? … which is weird? All of Anne’s remarks have an uncomfortable familiarity to them, which marks her crude and unpolished manner. Lucy (younger at 23) attempts to manage her sister’s rudeness and at first looks like the lesser of two evils.* She’s also distinguished by her “sharp, quick eye, and a smartness of air,” qualities that she demonstrates when she passive-aggressively notes that Elinor didn’t seem to approve of the unruly Middleton kids being indulged. Hilariously, Elinor counters with, “I never think of tame and quiet children with any abhorrence.” Lucy has no reply to this, signaling that her “smartness” has a limit.
Elinor and Marianne want nothing more to do with them after this initial meeting, and who can blame them? But as Sir John all but forces them to socialize, the decision is taken entirely out of the Dashwoods’ hands. The Steeles believe “[the Dashwoods] to be the most beautiful, elegant, accomplished and agreeable girls they had ever beheld,” and insist on being “better acquainted” with them. This isn’t Sir John talking—the Steeles themselves make this declaration. Oh, and Sir John has blabbed to the Steeles about Willoughby and the mysterious “F.”
Are the hairs on the back of your neck standing up yet?
When next they meet, all Anne wants to do is talk about the Dashwood sisters’ secret “beaux.” Finally the “-errars” part of Ferrars is filled in for her, and she immediately identifies Edward as Elinor’s brother-in-law, a connection that she shouldn’t be able to make on her own but here we are. Lucy chides Anne for claiming to know Edward personally, though by doing so she confirms that the Steele sisters have met him previously. Anne’s claim worries Elinor, who thinks it “suggest[s] the suspicion of [Anne’s] knowing, or fancying herself to know, something to his disadvantage.” Wonder what two unrefined sisters living out in the boonies might possibly know about London-bred Edward Ferrars?
Get ready for a lot more posts with the “mean girls” label from here on out.
*Lucy’s constant chiding of her sister’s rude assertions serves as an interesting parallel to Elinor’s duty of having to make up for her sister’s rude silence. Lucy ends up looking a bit rude herself in the process because she lacks the grace that Elinor employs.
Comments
Post a Comment