The Annotated Sense and Sensibility

by Jane Austen

  28. office: duty or service to be performed.

  29. Marianne has consistently shown great pleasure in the prospect of Elinor’s happiness. The joy she displayed when she saw Edward, when he visited Elinor while Lucy Steele was also there, was the only time since Willoughby’s abandonment of her that she exhibited any emotion like that.

  30. impetuous: vehement, violent.

  31. This goes further in vindication of Edward than Elinor went earlier, for upon first learning of his prior engagement she considered him definitely blamable for spending time at Norland after feeling an attraction for her, and thus raising her hopes. Since then Elinor’s affection for him, and compassion for his entrapment in an unhappy engagement, may have softened her verdict, or she may simply be softening her indictment here to calm Marianne.

  32. With a better knowledge of mankind Marianne would recognize that even virtuous and wise people are capable of doing foolish things under certain influences, such as personal beauty and outer good nature, the main reasons Elinor gave earlier for Edward’s initial infatuation with Lucy (this page).

  33. regularity: orderliness.

  34. It is now early March, which means Elinor and Marianne have been in London for two months. Elinor learned of the engagement in early November (see this page and this page).

  35. She needed to disguise her feelings, because if her friends had noticed her unhappiness, she would not have been in a position to explain it.

  36. The incidents she has in mind are probably the two occasions when she expressed relative indifference toward Edward, first when discussing their trip to London with their mother (this page) and then after she and Marianne saw Edward in London (this page).

  37. This ideal of still caring for a larger circle of people even while strongly in love with a particular person is an important one in Jane Austen (see also note 8).

  38. emotion: agitation.

  39. In this she contrasts notably with Marianne.

  40. His knowledge of having done his duty will eventually make him happy, despite any current regret. This idea of finding happiness in doing one’s duty, or suffering unhappiness from reneging on it, often appears in Austen’s novels, and it is a concept Elinor would naturally be inclined to uphold.

  41. As indicated in other places, Jane Austen rejects the idea of only one person being right for another person, and irrevocable disappointment if one loses that person. In Persuasion, after describing the deep love the heroine felt for the hero before being persuaded to reject him, the author suggests that she could have recovered from her dejection through a “second attachment, the only thoroughly natural, happy, and sufficient cure,” while in a letter to her niece on whether to reject a man in love with her, she writes, “it is no creed of mine, as you must be well aware, that such sort of Disappointments kill anybody” (Nov. 18, 1814). At the same time, Elinor’s halting speech at the end of the sentence gives a sense of her struggle to accept this idea herself.

  42. person: physical appearance.

  43. Marianne also concluded that Elinor must not have strong feelings for Edward when she witnessed Elinor’s composed behavior after his visit at Barton ended (this page).

  44. Elinor may consider Edward’s three visits to her (she was not home for the first two), compared with the apparent absence of visits to Lucy, for Lucy certainly would have mentioned such visits if they had occurred, to constitute further proof of his greater interest in herself.

  45. admit: allow, permit myself.

  46. Her consolation is probably what she said above about Edward’s being neither unworthy nor indifferent. But this is a struggle because her wounded feelings regarding his engagement to Lucy would incline her to think badly of him and doubt whether he loved her.

  47. Elinor’s distress is shown by the frequent dashes and emphases in the last part of this paragraph, a very rare instance of unpolished speech on her part.

  48. This acknowledgment of one’s own wrong or mistaken conduct is an important moment for many Jane Austen heroines, for it is only through a recognition of their own fallibility that people can undertake the difficult task of amending themselves. Marianne’s statement parallels those of other heroines, though she makes hers aloud, since she is not the person through whom the story is being told. Her initial declaration that she will hate herself forever also goes further in self-reproach, a product of the same emotional ardor that led to her mistakes.

  49. As with other heroines, Marianne’s acknowledgment of her faults leads quickly to a resolution of atonement and better behavior, though she, unlike the others, requires the prompting and instructions of someone else to set her on this course.

  50. admiration: astonishment, or admiration. Both meanings were possible then, and both are probably intended here.

  51. Just as Elinor has faced a series of trials of her fortitude and composure over the course of the novel, so Marianne, now that she has resolved to attain those same qualities, faces her own series of tests.

  52. aspect: look, facial expression.

  53. complicated: involved, confused.

  54. He calls him “Donavan” rather than “Mr. Donavan” as Mrs. Jennings does. This greater familiarity may be because he is the Dashwoods’ family doctor, whereas Mrs. Jennings seems to know him only through his attendance on her daughter, or it may reflect John Dashwood’s greater status consciousness. People generally used “Mr.” or “Miss/Mrs.” when speaking of or to social equals, but only last names for social inferiors. The great majority of medical practitioners were not considered gentlemen; physicians, the only ones to receive a formal education, were an exception, but they were few in number and consulted only for special cases, so an ordinary practitioner like Mr. Donavan would not be one. At the same time, since they were not drastically inferior, characters in Jane Austen sometimes use “Mr.” when referring to medical men.

  55. In fact, the real reason she invited the Miss Steeles was to give herself a good excuse not to invite the Miss Dashwoods (see this page).

  56. eligible connection: desirable or suitable match.

  57. prepossession: predisposition.

  58. Meaning she thought it would be in Elinor’s quarter.

  59. Duty to parents was an important principle in this society.

  60. liberal: generous (in a financial sense).

  61. She would transfer legal ownership of the estate to him. Norfolk is a county in eastern England (see map).

  62. The land tax had been a basic feature of English taxation since the late seventeenth century. In 1798 the government’s urgent need for money to finance the war with France led it to allow owners to free land permanently from the tax through the payment of a large lump sum. The size of the sum kept most owners from seizing the opportunity. But where they had, as here, and the land was consequently clear and free of the tax, its value would be considerably greater, for the annual rate of the tax was 20% of the assessed value of the land (though in practice it was often less, since the assessments were antiquated and tended to understate the value). The issue of taxation would tend to be on people’s minds when making financial calculations, especially if they were as concerned with money as John Dashwood, for taxes of various kinds had risen to unprecedented rates at this time due to the government’s need to finance the long and difficult war against Napoleonic France.

  63. Their inclination is to assume that the amount of money is all that matters. The additional two hundred would presumably come from a transfer of other assets, such as government bonds, to Edward.

  64. low: socially inferior.

  65. affording: providing.

  66. Since professional advancement was frequently determined by patronage and personal connections, such a threat could be significant, depending on Mrs. Ferrars’s connections in a particular profession.

  67. Another sign of Marianne’s incipient reformation.

  68. Edward displays great strength of character here, though he does it in his usual quiet way. This epi
sode is one of the only places in the novel where he is able to demonstrate the qualities that make him worthy of Elinor’s love.

  69. In praising Lucy Mrs. Jennings reveals her intellectual limitations, even as her defense of Edward shows her moral integrity and decency.

  70. His idea is that respect for high social rank and wealth should have added to her scruples about undertaking a secret engagement. This idea of respect for rank was a basic part of this society, though most people would not go as far as John Dashwood in arguing that this meant owing such a significant extra obligation to someone simply because he or she was of high rank.

  71. Mrs. Jennings’s curiosity has now returned, superseding her moral indignation.

  72. notice: favor; acknowledgment as her son.

  73. The interest would be one hundred pounds a year, and from the perspective of those in the genteel class this would be a paltry sum. Among other things, it would virtually preclude having a servant, which was regarded as a basic necessity. In a letter Jane Austen comments on a recently married couple who lived “without keeping a servant of any kind.—What a prodigious innate love of virtue she must have, to marry under such circumstances!” (Oct. 27, 1798).

  74. Her thirty thousand pounds would produce fifteen hundred a year in income, to be added to the thousand a year promised by Mrs. Ferrars. John Dashwood may have temporarily forgotten about Mrs. Ferrars’s offer to raise the sum to twelve hundred, or he may simply find two thousand, five hundred an easier figure than two thousand, seven hundred. In either case, the difference between that and a hundred pounds is substantial.

  75. Mrs. Jennings is naturally inclined to think of such prosaic matters, at a time when Edward is probably too absorbed in larger issues to worry about that.

  76. This shrewd statement indicates the practical blindness induced by Mrs. Ferrars’s anger and foreshadows a crucial plot development.

  77. As an only son who inherited almost all his family’s property, John Dashwood is inclined to see this as particularly tragic.

  78. Elinor is naturally inclined to remain composed and reserved, but with her strong affection for Edward she cannot remain silent when her sister is voicing her own feelings of indignation on his behalf. Politeness would require Mrs. Jennings not to criticize the relatives of Elinor and Marianne in their presence, but when one of them begins the denunciation Mrs. Jennings is no longer bound by such a rule.

  Contemporary hats and headdresses.

  [From The Repository of arts, literature, fashions, manufactures, &c, Vol. V (1811), p. 361]

  [List of Illustrations]

  VOLUME III, CHAPTER II

  1. confidence: intimacy—based upon fully confiding in each other.

  2. discovery: disclosure.

  3. Elinor probably doesn’t want to think about Edward’s continued affection for her because it will make her regret her loss of him. This is a change from earlier, when she drew consolation from his continued regard. It may be that Edward and Lucy’s apparent determination to stick to their engagement, despite all opposition, has convinced Elinor of its inevitability, whereas before she harbored a hope that something would occur to terminate it. Thus she now finds it best to cease considering the matter. She may also feel, with Edward firmly committed to Lucy, that any affection on his part for another woman is wrong.

  4. This represents a relapse from the previous chapter, when Marianne resolved to act better and showed some progress in conversations with Mrs. Jennings and John Dashwood. It now appears her improvement was mostly due to Elinor’s urging, at a point when Marianne was especially susceptible. A more persistent and lasting reformation must wait for further stimulus.

  5. Harley Street is where the Dashwoods live, and Bartlett’s Buildings is the residence of the Steeles’ cousins. They have evidently returned there after being ejected from the Dashwoods’.

  6. Meaning she is determined to acquire still more knowledge of the affair.

  7. It seems a little unlikely that Mrs. Jennings, given her craving for more news of Lucy, would not have managed to visit them at least briefly during a two-day period. But it does make Elinor the one who hears Anne Steele’s story, thus allowing it to be told at second- rather than thirdhand.

  8. Kensington Gardens are extensive grounds, basically forming one large park, next to Kensington Palace in what was then the western edge of London (see map). They had been developed during the eighteenth century to adjoin Kensington Palace, which was the principal royal residence from 1690 to 1760. Kensington Gardens contained numerous walks and were popular, both for exercise and fresh air and for seeing and meeting others. They were far enough from the main residential areas of the time that most people would use a carriage to get there.

  9. Elinor would not have asked, despite her genuine curiosity, because it would have been impolite to inquire about personal affairs.

  10. She is worried about their anger; that is why she looked uncharacteristically shy when she first saw Elinor. The dependence of her and her sister on others’ hospitality, and their assiduous efforts to court Mrs. Jennings and the Middletons, make her fearful of upsetting them. She may assume that because John and Fanny Dashwood are furious, other wealthy people will also be offended by Lucy’s attempt to marry someone above her rank.

  People of the time promenading in Hyde Park, which adjoins Kensington Gardens.

  [From Max von Boehn, Modes & Manners of the Nineteenth Century, Vol. I (London, 1909), p. 81]

  [List of Illustrations]

  11. To trim a bonnet or hat was to decorate it. This was a common practice, especially among women who were less wealthy, since it was cheaper to embellish a plain bonnet or hat than to buy one that already had elaborate decorations. Jane Austen refers to trimming hats in her letters. In one she mentions a place where one can buy hats cheaply, while also discussing the popularity of flowers and fruit as decorations and the various types of fruit being used. For a contemporary picture of various hats and headdresses, see this page.

  12. Bows, or ribbons, and feathers were two of the most popular trimmings to add to hats. Lucy’s renewed affection for her sister probably resulted from her learning of Edward’s fidelity to their engagement, which means that Anne’s mistake in revealing it has not turned out to be so harmful to Lucy.

  13. If she is wearing a feather bow, a common style at the time, the ribbons would be part of it.

  14. abroad: at large, among people in general.

  15. This suggests Lucy thought Edward would abandon their engagement, a point made more explicitly by her sister in her next speech. Lucy’s own greedy nature and lack of scruples probably made it hard for her to imagine someone else making such a great monetary sacrifice out of honor, especially as she already was aware of Edward’s lack of real affection for her.

  16. set it down for: reckon or determine it as.

  17. This shows how widespread the assumption was that a man would never sacrifice so much financially when he had a choice—and thus it reveals how courageous and honorable Edward’s behavior is.

  18. Her use of Edward’s first name is fairly familiar for someone who is not a relative. She may feel justified by the public confirmation of Edward’s engagement to her sister, for once they were married and he became Anne’s brother-in-law she would use his first name. Most people, however, would wait until that happened.

  19. Her spirit, or pride, rose against the idea of entreating him, especially as she seemed to assume at this point that he had decided to reject her.

  20. All the characters in Austen’s novels would attend church on a regular basis. She herself frequently went twice on Sundays. Edward may have appeared at this time because he knew they would be returning from church and he would be sure to find them. For a picture of a church service in London, see this page.

  21. go into orders: become ordained as a clergyman. He said earlier he favored this profession, and his education at Oxford would help qualify him, for it and Cambridge, the other English universit
y then, were principally devoted to training people for the church.

  22. curacy: position as a curate, someone who performed the clerical duties for the clergyman actually holding the living (see note 25). Curates received low salaries.

  23. His account of his probable poverty and his indication that he would understand if she renounced him would be what a man should say to a woman under such circumstances, for an honorable man would not wish her to feel bound to a marriage that could cause her hardship. But the very stark picture he paints of their probable situation, along with his statement that she should end the matter “if she had the least mind for it,” go beyond what honor would require, and probably stem from his hope that she will break the engagement. In fact, most people at the time, even those who expected Edward to remain true to his vow, would expect her to release him from his obligation, for holding him to it means forcing the person she ostensibly loves to make a terrible sacrifice—of his fortune, his social position, and his ties to his family.

  24. Such a firm avowal of love would be important in convincing Edward to remain faithful, since Lucy knows that he could break their engagement if he wishes, even if it transgressed general ideas of proper behavior.

  25. A living is a position as a clergyman for a parish, which he would be qualified to fill once he took orders, or became ordained.

  26. Mrs. Richardson presumably had room for one more person and decided to offer one of them a place. The great distance from their lodgings to Kensington Gardens would necessitate going in a carriage (see map). Riding in a carriage would also be socially prestigious, which is probably why Miss Steele is pleased to come, just as she would enjoy walking through Kensington Gardens, whose location at the western edge of London meant that it was popular among the wealthy, for they lived closer to the park than most in London and had carriages to drive them there.

  27. She may ask Lucy rather than simply going herself from her contrition at having foolishly spilled Lucy’s secret.