Sense and Sensibility- Week 6 > Likes and Comments

Once again I’m a bit behind. Feel free to start the discussion. My recap and questions will be posted tomorrow

This section includes a number of vivid scenes—from that horror show of a dinner party at the John Dashwoods’ house to the cringey moment when Edward calls on Elinor only to find Lucy there, and then Marianne comes in to make everything infinitely worse.

For my taste, Jane Austen goes overboard in her portrayals of the urban sophisticates of London; they are more burlesques than real characters. Mrs. Ferrars with her slavish praise of the Honourable Miss Morton; Robert Ferrars’s drawn-out prate about cottages and his selection of a toothpick case; John Dashwood’s poor-mouth talk of all the expenses he has “had” to incur; various characters’ susceptibility to obvious flattery. Austen is acting within a literary tradition of “town versus country” here, where town is the site of falsity and pretension, and country people are “normal”—but I feel she’s succumbing to stereotyping and not living up to her usual standard of subtlety in characterization. As all these types are presented, Elinor and Marianne are reduced to a passive observer role, not active participants in their own stories. It’s funny in spots but also drags. Glad to be moving on to volume 3.

BTW, did everyone notice that there was a duel? 🤺

Willoughby gets married and Marianne is devastated. Edward’s engagement is still ambiguous. Elinor hides her discontent about the Edward’s possible engagement, and her feelings about the Miss Steeles. There is a lot of cattiness in these chapters among the women. We find the buffoon who ordered the card case is Edward’s brother.

1. In today’s vernacular there are HSPs (highly sensitive people). How does Marianne compare?

2. There is quite a bit of talk about money in these chapters. What is Austen saying?

3. What is your opinion of Lucy?

Abigail wrote: "BTW, did everyone notice that there was a duel? 🤺"

It was a very subtle mention and yes there was a duel.