The Annotated Sense and Sensibility

by Jane Austen

  12. In many families girls would be given a fixed allowance for personal spending. Questions about one’s personal finances would be considered inappropriate, especially when directed to someone who was not a close friend or relative.

  13. douceur: conciliatory gift or gesture.

  14. Women were likely to have some knowledge of the make, or construction, of their gowns because they were not purchased already made. The woman would select the material and color she wanted and then order it to be made in the style she preferred. As for hair, its arrangement was often undertaken by a maid, though women like Miss Steele or Marianne who lacked a personal maid would have to do it themselves.

  15. Marianne had earlier expressed strong revulsion at the idea of a woman’s making a conquest of a man (this page).

  16. A servant who drives one’s carriage; most carriages required such a driver. He also helped take care of the carriage (and sometimes the horses).

  17. private performers: amateur musicians.

  18. The preceding paragraph spoke of the great many who had no taste for the musical performance (more than those who did). Yet many would affect a love of music, for it was considered a mark of gentility and refinement. Lady Middleton did this earlier (this page). Elinor’s willingness to avoid such affectation is a sign of her independent spirit.

  19. Grand pianofortes, or pianos, were a recent innovation, having appeared around 1790, a little more than fifty years after the appearance of pianofortes, when an English manufacturer, John Broadwood, created a large, wing-shaped version. Its richer sound would be especially appropriate for a musical party. Thanks to Broadwood’s manufacturing improvements, the cost of a grand pianoforte was only around fifty pounds, not an exorbitant sum.

  20. Harps were, after pianos, the most popular instruments for women, the principal amateur musicians to play. “Violoncello” is an older term for a cello. The sentence suggests that most would regard these additional instruments as a great treat.

  21. For the incident, see this page.

  22. He is called “Mr. Robert Ferrars” because he is a younger son. Edward, the older son, is plain “Mr. Ferrars.”

  23. Bowing was a formal gesture that most men would not bother with when simply meeting someone. His bow, and especially the elaborate twist of the head accompanying it, suggest a tendency to parade his fine manners.

  24. coxcomb: conceited, foolish man, excessively concerned with his appearance and inclined to show off; fop.

  25. gaucherie: awkwardness, lack of grace.

  26. candidly: courteously, fair-mindedly.

  27. A public school was a boys’ school open to the public, but under private ownership (there were no state schools then). The name distinguishes it from a private education for one or a few persons in someone’s home.

  28. the world: elite society.

  29. Westminster: one of the most distinguished public schools in England.

  30. It is curious that Mrs. Ferrars did not send Edward to public school. Most boys from elite families went to public schools, which gave them the opportunity to form friendships and connections with others of similar background. An ambitious mother like Mrs. Ferrars would thus have strong reason to send her eldest son to such a school. The explanation given here is the influence of Edward and Robert’s uncle, Sir Robert (Robert was probably named after him, while Edward, like many eldest sons, was probably named after his father). Sir Robert may have disliked public schools, and he may have known and liked Mr. Pratt, Edward’s tutor. His title and his sex may have caused Mrs. Ferrars to defer to him on the issue of boys’ schooling.

  The difference between Robert and Sir Robert over public schools mirrors a debate in this period over their value, especially regarding their moral effects. Most men of the upper classes supported them. They argued in particular that the principal feature of the schools, the autonomy of the boys outside the classroom, inculcated toughness, the ability to socialize with others, and qualities of leadership and self-government. At the same time, an increasing number of people criticized this same atmosphere for fostering tyranny and brutality on the part of the older and stronger boys and for encouraging immoral behavior and the neglect of religious duties.

  31. Jane Austen’s own attitude on public versus private schools is not clear. Her father took in private students; at the same time, in a letter, speaking of a boy she and her sister knew, she writes that his going soon to a public school “will do him good I dare say” (Jan. 30, 1809).

  32. Dawlish was a popular seaside resort in Devonshire, which is probably why Robert, who seems very much a man of leisure, would have heard of it. It is in a somewhat different part of Devonshire from the Dashwoods’ home north of Exeter (see map). Jane Austen visited Dawlish once; all we know of her attitude toward it is that many years later she commented that its library was “pitiful and wretched” (Aug. 10, 1814).

  33. situation: location.

  34. Many wealthy people at this time constructed houses in the vicinity of London that could serve as rural retreats.

  35. This period witnessed a brief vogue for cottages among the wealthy. Cottages were traditionally small, humble dwellings, most often inhabited by the poor. But their simplicity and rustic associations gave them a particular appeal in the prevailing Romantic mood of the day. This inspired a new form of cottage, the cottage ornée (from the French for “adorned” or “decorated”)—in Austen’s unfinished novel, Sanditon, one character is constructing such a dwelling, while in Persuasion one couple inhabits a cottage recently built in this style. These cottages, while smaller than grand country houses, were larger than traditional cottages and contained more amenities—the wish of the wealthy for a more rustic existence did not extend to denying themselves physical comforts. But they did incorporate rustic elements such as uncut stone for walls and thatch for roofs, numerous gables and other items jutting out from walls, irregularities of proportion and design, earth tones, and vegetation all around the house. Thus when the Dashwoods moved into their cottage the author commented that “as a cottage it was defective, for the building was regular, the roof was tiled, the window shutters were not painted green, nor were the walls covered with honeysuckles” (this page). These cottages also appealed greatly to current taste for the picturesque. For a contemporary picture of a cottage, see facing page. Many publications of the time offered pictures and architectural plans of cottages.

  36. Joseph Bonomi (1739–1808), who was originally from Italy, was one of the leading architects in England during this period. He worked on grand private homes as well as churches and public buildings. His work represents the complete antithesis of the ideals behind the vogue for cottages, which is probably why he is chosen as the figure whose designs are rejected in favor of a cottage. Bonomi was a firm advocate and practitioner of classical architecture, which had dominated England during the eighteenth century but was beginning to be displaced by new, more Romantic tastes (he himself expressed contempt for Gothic architecture, whose revival in this period was inspired by the same principles that spurred the construction of cottages). He favored buildings on a grand scale, with strict harmony in all proportions, voluminous space, imposing walls and columns, restraint in surface decoration, and a general austerity—all these being the opposite of what fashionable cottages attempted to achieve.

  37. either: any. The term could be used for more than two items then.

  38. Robert’s tremendous confidence in his own judgment will continue to be one of his most prominent characteristics.

  39. Dartford is a town about ten to fifteen miles east of London. It would thus be a good location for a close rural retreat. See map.

  40. The two friends he has mentioned, Lord Courtland and Lady Elliott, both have titles. This reflects his participation in elite London society, which included many aristocrats, as well as his propensity to boast of his intimacy with such figures.

  41. Having a substantial supper was standard at balls, which involved hours of danci
ng and could go well past midnight. In Emma, when someone proposes that sandwiches rather than a regular supper be served at a ball, this is immediately rejected: “A private dance, without sitting down to supper, was pronounced an infamous fraud upon the rights of men and women.”

  42. Dining rooms in wealthy houses were often very large, for dinner parties could require numerous people to sit around the dining table, with plenty of space for servants to bring the food and attend to the guests.

  43. Most dances had places for playing cards, for many guests, especially men and older people, would not wish to dance at all, or at least not for the whole time.

  44. Libraries had become standard features of wealthy homes during the eighteenth century. By the end of the century they also frequently served as the most popular general living rooms, used for a variety of informal occupations. Hence the idea to serve refreshments there would not be so unusual, though most people would probably be more wary than Robert and Lady Elliott of the potential danger to the books of serving drinks there to a large party of people.

  45. A saloon was a large room that could serve various functions.

  46. Elinor’s own experience of living in a cottage, after inhabiting a grand country house, would give her a clear sense of the complete folly of someone who claimed that there is no difference in comfort between the two.

  47. Of course, the real reason she took them in her carriage was because of someone else’s mistake, and she very much resented it.

  48. The Miss Steeles were probably as flattering in their attention to John and Fanny’s son as they were to Lady Middleton’s children.

  “A Fashionable Mama”: a satirical print on the growing popularity of breast-feeding among the wealthy.

  [From Works of James Gillray (London, 1849)]

  [List of Illustrations]

  49. slyly: secretly.

  50. views: expectations, aims.

  51. vouchsafed: bestowed.

  52. address: skill, dexterity.

  53. needle book: case shaped like a book that holds needles and other materials for sewing and embroidery. It was a common accessory for ladies, who frequently engaged in needlework. Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, England, has a needle case on display that she made as a gift for her niece.

  54. This refers to the large numbers of people, mostly of aristocratic background, who fled France during the French Revolution to escape execution or imprisonment. Many took refuge in England, especially in London, and remained there until 1814–1815, when Napoleon was overthrown and the monarchy was restored. Jane Austen had some personal contact with the world of emigrants through Eliza de Feuillide, her cousin who had married an upper-class Frenchman and lived in France for many years before her husband was guillotined during the revolution and she had to flee to England. She lived in London and maintained ties to the community of French exiles, and she eventually married Jane Austen’s brother; Jane would stay with them when visiting London. Many of these emigrants were poor, having lost most or all of their property during the revolution, and there were various charitable endeavors to assist them. Buying a needle book would be one logical though modest way to help them: making items like this was a common activity of upper-class women, so the background of many emigrants would make this one means for them to earn a little money.

  55. Calling Lucy by her Christian, or first, name would be a sign of intimacy and friendliness.

  VOLUME III, CHAPTER I

  1. wonderful: astonishing.

  2. Mrs. Jennings’s love of gossip makes her want to relate every detail and not just go directly to the main points. This also allows the reader to learn the whole story.

  3. red-gum: a rash of red pimples and irregular patches on the skin, found especially in infants who are teething (which would account for the child’s crying and fretting). A medical writer of the period, Alexander Hamilton, states that “it frequently disappears suddenly, without any inconvenience to the child,” and that it poses little risk or need for action (quoted in David Selwyn, Jane Austen and Children, p. 25). Hence Mrs. Jennings sees no cause for alarm.

  4. Among the wealthy, it was standard to hire a nurse for a new mother; she would normally start her employment just before the delivery and continue through the end of the mother’s confinement, which would be four or five weeks after the birth. The nurse is probably not a wet nurse, someone who supplied the infant with milk. The use of wet nurses was a long-standing practice among the wealthy that had declined, though not disappeared, during the late eighteenth century due to an increasing emphasis, connected to Romanticism, on following the more natural course of breast-feeding. For a contemporary picture of a wealthy and fashionable woman breast-feeding her baby, see this page.

  5. Mr. Donavan would be a medical doctor. Sending for a doctor, after first making a home diagnosis, was a common practice then. The high death rate and the limits of professional medicine caused people to develop their own knowledge of ailments and treatments; one study of upper-class women found accounts of illness and recommendations for treating them to be the single largest subject in the women’s letters to one another. But even after arriving at conclusions on their own, people would still frequently send for a professional to hear his opinion.

  6. Harley-street: the street on which John and Fanny Dashwood live.

  7. That Mrs. Jennings cannot know how she happened to think of inquiring after the latest news indicates her complete lack of self-awareness. It is probable that she has inquired of many doctors before, for since doctors almost always visited patients at home, they would be excellent sources for gossip.

  8. Elinor can call her “Fanny” because she is her sister-in-law. The doctor and Mrs. Jennings call her “Mrs. Dashwood.”

  9. Nancy: Anne Steele.

  10. so forward: to such an advanced stage.

  11. no conjurer: far from clever.

  12. Sir John just reported on Mrs. Dashwood’s apparent great favor toward the Miss Steeles.

  13. Carpet work involved stitching colored wool onto a canvas to make rugs, hangings, coverings (such as bed valances), or cushions. Like other decorative activities, it was a frequent pursuit of wealthy ladies, including a number of characters in Jane Austen. It seems to be especially popular among older or married women in her novels: the heroine of Emma muses that it may become an occupation of hers in later years. Mrs. Jennings, who was earlier described as making a rug, is the other figure engaged in carpet work in this novel.

  14. She and her husband and Mrs. Ferrars have already indicated their high hopes for the daughter of Lord Morton as a mate for Edward.

  15. As mentioned earlier, houses in London contained numerous floors, so a dressing room, which would normally not be on the ground floor, is on a lower level than the room Fanny is in. Dressing rooms were places where people would undertake various activities, including writing letters.

  16. The steward is someone who manages a wealthy man’s estate. This could include directing any work done on the land, supervising the servants and other laborers, and taking care of basic financial transactions. He would be a natural person for John Dashwood to write to while in London, especially since he is currently enclosing common land and making major alterations in the gardens and landscaping around the house (this page).

  17. was come: had come. The past tense was occasionally formed then with “to be” instead of “to have.” Thus this is not a case of bad grammar.

  18. As the mistress of the house Mrs. Dashwood would be the person who usually invited, or disinvited, guests. Mr. Dashwood’s need, and willingness, to go down on his knees to persuade her not to commit a flagrant act of rudeness indicates the nature of their marital relationship. In the previous chapter he is described as expressing a simple disagreement “with great humility” (this page).

  19. taking: passion, agitation of mind.

  20. Their long talk, and Mrs. Jennings’s glee that Mr. Donovan will return and learn more, indicate that he is also a
great lover of gossip. It also makes plausible Mrs. Jennings’s long account of the incident, something important for the plot but also something that Elinor would not be able to witness herself.

  21. greatness: high rank or social position.

  22. Elinor’s mother is able to afford one male and two female servants on five hundred a year. Mrs. Jennings’s expectation for Edward and Lucy to have one more servant, and perhaps a slightly larger cottage, may be based on the two thousand pounds that Edward already has (this page), which would give him an additional hundred pounds a year.

  23. place: employment.

  24. Finding a job for servants one has some connection with was a frequent activity of those employing them. Other characters in Jane Austen do it, and she refers to several cases of this in her letters. It reflected a strong upper-class ethos of paternalism: such beneficence was considered the rightful return for the deference servants were supposed to give their employers. Mrs. Jennings, being both generous and a busybody, would be especially inclined to undertake such a task, and Betty, the servant she took to London, is probably a particular favorite of hers.

  25. event: outcome.

  26. She presumably feels a little compassion for Lucy, and not for the others, because Lucy, however bad her general behavior, has been subject to unjustifiably harsh treatment, and is suffering for being engaged, something that is not intrinsically bad, whereas the others are suffering because of their unworthy obsession with making Edward marry someone of wealth and position. Of course, Elinor’s dislike of Lucy makes her strongly disinclined to feel any sympathy, but her sense of duty makes her struggle, with some success, to extend the modicum of sympathy she considers justified.

  27. Elinor is glad that Mrs. Jennings has ceased to suspect her of any particular affection for Edward, as has everyone else to all appearances, and she fears that any display of resentment by Marianne would reawaken those suspicions.