Sense & Sensibility, chapter 40: Misunderstandings, I've Had A Few

Look, I know why she did this. I don’t always figure things out right away, but this time I think I get it. I can conjecture that Austen employs a comical misunderstanding bit specifically in this chapter for some relief from the proceedings. To cut down the melodrama of Edward and Elinor’s (presumed) last meeting before his marriage to Lucy Steele. I get what Austen’s going for.

Doesn’t mean I have to like it.

I think it’s a lackluster note in an otherwise grounded narrative. The fact that Mrs. J’s assumption of Elinor’s engagement to Col. Brandon spans two chapters just gnaws at me. Shapard agrees with me, explaining that “in the fiction of the time [...] [i]t was a favorite device of writers to create suspense or drama,” and opining that its use here “strains credibility somewhat.”* A more generous reading might point out that Mrs. J comes off looking good here, as she promises not to tell anyone about (what she believes to be) the engagement and assures Elinor (quite truthfully) that she tried not to overhear her private conversation with the colonel. If you enjoy it, that’s great—I don’t mean to imply that readers who find it entertaining are dumb or missing something. It’s just not my cup of tea.

With that out of the way, let’s get back to Elinor and Edward. El’s task here is to inform Edward (who has arrived at Mrs. J’s request) that he can take the Delaford living.** Right away there’s a torrent of conflicting feelings: “they [sit] down together in a most promising state of embarrassment” after she gets over seeing him for the first time since the engagement went public. She at least gets to express her disdain for his family, noting Col. Brandon’s “concern” for “the cruel situation in which the unjustifiable conduct of your family has placed you.” Edward, meanwhile, is completely blindsided by the offer and rejects El’s supposition that he “owe[s] it entirely … to [his] own merit.” He demurs, “I cannot be ignorant that to you, to your goodness, I owe it all.”

Now, I don’t know why I’ve never picked up on it before, but Edward’s stiff behavior upon hearing El talk about Col. Brandon is most likely due to jealousy—his belief that the colonel has been courting El (jeez, everyone thinks these two are together). This is Shapard’s interpretation and honestly, a line like “[Edward] gave her a look so serious, so earnest, so uncheerful, as seemed to say, that he might hereafter wish the distance between the parsonage and the mansion-house much greater” does heavily imply this. My own impression has been that Edward is expressing his low self-esteem here—that he’s been so beaten down by his family’s toxicity that he feels like he hasn’t done anything to earn the colonel’s offer. But maybe this is unfair to the character. Once we get to the end and untangle all the hopeless crushes, I’ll have more coherent thoughts on the subject.

Edward leaves to express his gratitude to Col. Brandon. El believes that “‘When [she] see[s] him again,” he will be “the husband of Lucy.” 📌

There’s something about El and Edward that keeps them down, isn’t there? At times, it’s almost hard to root for them: most of their conversations are either tense or tragic (as this one is). This is mostly due to El’s difficulty in accessing his feelings for her, as expressed when she attempts to “re-consider the past, recall the words, and [endeavor] to comprehend all the feelings of Edward.” It’s easy to forget that these two crazy kids had six whole months together in which they got to know each other—and yet even then, she didn’t put all her eggs into a Ferrars-shaped basket. It was the right thing to do, of course. But it’s hard seeing her expectations proven correct.

Next time, we’ll get an update on the bitter side of the Dashwood family tree when John stops by for a friendly, sincere, completely not condescending chat.

*He goes on to point out that “Austen ridicules [this trope] in Northanger Abbey for its implausibility.” Maybe that’s another reason why I’m not a fan: I don’t expect comic misunderstandings in Austen’s novels.

**For additional context, I encourage you to go to my ch. 39 entry, where a commenter explains why the living is more valuable than I previously assumed. People have been leaving a lot of well-informed comments on my Austen posts (shout-out to Tali!) and I read each one. A big thanks to you all for your insights and corrections!