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.” đź“Ś

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!

Comments

  1. One of the weaknesses of S&S (I eventually had to admit it has some weaknesses) is that we don’t see E & E fall in love, we’re just told about it (which is why it’s easy to forget their six months together at the start). And then later, the same goes, so much more frustratingly so, for Marianne and Col Brandon. But we’re given lots of interaction between Elinor and Col Brandon, and it occurs to me that it’s not just Mrs Jennings and John Dashwood and Edward Ferrars who think they’re a couple, but so many readers, too, or that they should be. Was this intentional? There’s something here about secret engagements, which we know are a big thing in this period though I’ve never understood quite why they’re so bad. The real secret is Edward and Lucy, but at various times we suspect Marianne and Willoughby, and Elinor and Col Brandon, and then the final twist is Lucy and Robert! Almost like a farce, with the comic misunderstandings, except always in a practical Austenian tone.

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  2. Honest disclosure - I also felt this misunderstanding was a bit stretched (implausible). But on rereading (for the umpteenth time), it somehow feels right on several levels. For one thing, it shows Mrs. Jennings habit, of jumping to conclusions about matches, brought to a ridiculous extreme - after all, the scraps of speech that she overhears really don't point at a match between Elinor and Brandon! And to balance that nicely, it shows Elinor and Mrs. Jennings capable of sharing a laugh. Remember, when Mrs. Jennings invited the Dashwood girls, one of the reasons (perhaps the main one) for Elinor's resistance was that Mrs. Jennings wasn't a suitable person to chaperone them - and the only reason for that would be her vulgarity. Here we see Elinor more ready to accept Mrs. Jennings as she is, and even enjoy her laughing at herself.
    I already mentioned I like Mrs. Jennings more and more as the story progresses, right?

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