#with chemistry that was convincing enough for you to put aside your sense and sensibility

[ricoka]

I was desperate for a new obsession but instead an old one is making a bit of a reappearance and I'm not sure how I feel about that

[roc-thoughtblog]

Sense and Sensibility Readthrough Part 24

Chapter 27, Pages 144-150

Previously, the Dashwood sisters arrive in London. Despite apparently being in town, Willoughby seems to be ghosting poor excited Marianne, who is getting more disappointed by the minute. A consolation Brandon just doesn't hit the same.

Readthrough below.

Chapter 27

Dashwood girls and Mrs. Jennings open this chapter by discussing the consequences of fine weather: namely that it keeps sportspeople from wanting to leave the open playing fields of the country. Sir Middleton might delay his arrival to enjoy a few extra days of sunshine, and Marianne's anxieties are eased by considering that maybe Willoughby too couldn't tear himself from a fine country day.

That the sunshine isn't expected to last much longer also makes her excited for the possibility of it no longer (hypothetically) holding Willoughby away from London. I think Elinor and I both suspect the weather has nothing to do with it.

The Miss Dashwoods had no greater reason to be dissatisfied with Mrs. Jennings's style of living, and set of acquaintance, than with her behaviour to themselves, which was invariably kind.

It's been a while since actively noted an Austenism but I feel like it just got inverted. Usually it's something positive that gets the rug swept out under it; this time it's something negative that got inverted. I guess it's extra appropriate here seeing as the Miss Dashwoods have never really held any particularly positive disposition to Mrs. Jennings before. I like it.

Colonel Brandon, who had a general invitation to the house, was with them almost every day; he came to look at Marianne and talk to Elinor

:'D

I would like to do that. The constantly casually visiting friends thing, I mean. Not the looking part. That's a bit odd, though I'm taken to be aware that "can't take my eyes off you" is definitely a thing a that happens to people, so, eh. It's harder in reality though, the constant visiting. Pandemic aside, Mrs. Jennings most definitely has servants taking care of general affairs when anyone visits. If I dropped by on any of my friends though, there's a high probability that I'd be imposing in some way that requires personal domestic effort on my friends' part.

Elinor observes that Brandon's little crush on Marianne is growing somewhat larger than little. Hmm.

Oh! But also, a week into the visit, a card arrives from Willoughby! So he's recieved the communications from Marianne. Despite that though he's made no real substantial response... Marianne's even more highly strung now just waiting for anything. No sitting still, no getting on with anything else in her life. Yeah, I know that feeling, it ain't nice.

Whoop, she got to the point where she snatched a random letter off of a servant just to make sure it wasn't from Willoughby. At this point Elinor can no longer refrain from probing at least a little, but mostly that just offends Marianne who claims to have nothing to hide. While snatching letters from people and pretending it ain't nothang. Nobody is convinced but it doesn't help Elinor extract anything from her.

The Middletons have arrived and Lady M has invited her mother and the Dashwoods over to visit. Sir M has, extremely characteristically, immediately thrown a big party. :'D

Willoughby is of course not in attendance, so it will be impossible for Marianne to feel happiness tonight. The Palmers are there, and Mr. Palmer has apparently forgotten who the Dashwoods are; fair enough. Has forgotten for ONE PARAGRAPH until remembering them AN HOUR LATER dear god this disaster man. :'D

"I thought you were both in Devonshire," said he. "Did you?" Elinor replied. "When do you go back again?" "I do not know." And thus ended their discourse.

This exchange. :'D

I had to go back and check to make sure that the Barton Cottage actually was in Devonshire, because it would've been even funnier if Mr. Palmer just thought they were in some completely irrelevant place altogether. I feel like Jane Austen has to have known somebody who was Mr. Palmer.

Apparently Willoughby was invited to this party, because Sir Middleton ran into him on the street in the morning. He's still not here to even see her. Poor Marianne seems very hurt. Elinor's pretty resolved to get Mama Dashwood's support in intervening now. Marianne is also writing a letter in the morning, which Elinor assumes is addressed to Willoughby, specifically for the lack of any other candidate.

See, when the narration puts it like that, I really start to think she's not writing to Willoughby at all. Maybe somebody else with a W. Or an M, if we're doing the upside down letters fakeout. The Middletons? ... Miss Williams...?

As Elinor drafts the letter to her mother, Brandon visits. Marianne has already vacated the room on account of not being in the mood for company, which is just as well because Brandon seems to want to talk to Elinor alone. ... He probably does that in a general sense anyway, he and Elinor like talking to each other and I sense that Marianne just has zero interest in interacting with him in general, even without considering the current situation with Willoughby.

I haven't really bothered to speculate on who ends up who but it occurs to me that there being three suitors around with varying levels of chemistry for the two sisters, perhaps that is intended to be part of the allure of the novel. It is a romance after all.

Hmm. Nope, can't tell. All three men are rather broadly too absent. Eddie seems too detached to even hold a relationship, and Willoughby is doing his whole ghosting thing. Brandon is the only one who seems to have some kind of normal friendly relationship with either of the sisters, but neither he nor Elinor seem to be remotely interested in each other in any kind of non-platonic capacity, even though they seem to get along quite well. There's too much story left to go.

Oh, anyway, Brandon's come to ask about Marianne's engagement to Willoughby, which is apparently fairly public knowledge. That's not terribly surprising considering I feel like Elinor is the only person who really cares who holds any real doubts. But the rumor doth fly. Brandon's been holding onto some hope that it ain't true, but he's caved after seeing a servant carry a letter in Marianne's writing addressed to Willoughby.

OH NO. HE'S ALSO ASKING ELINOR FOR ROMANTIC ADVICE. HE'S IN SHAMBLES. THAT'S EVEN WORSE THAN ASKING ME FOR ROMANTIC ADVICE. :'D

At least I have absolutely zero stake in any situations people are foolhardy enough to consult me on. Such are the perils of appearing prudent. People bugging you for advice on matters that you really can't give.

Brandon is in some serious shambles right now though. He's kind of stumbling over himself, maybe even rambling a little. He's asking Elinor to fill him in on the exact state of the engagement, but it's almost like he's begging. He's desperate for either a last window for... something, or just some kind of absolute closure that will let him move on. He kind of has it pretty bad; even Elinor is in some shock right now, as though she were the one who suddenly had to deal with a rival engagement. Well. I mean, as though she had to deal with one a second time.

Well it's another tough week for Elinor's advice column. She doesn't barely know much of anything about Marianne's current relationship with Willoughby to begin with. To say what she thinks, that there's something odd going on and in no way confirmed, is to give Brandon false hope because for real he ain't gettin no time of day from Marianne. So she lies and just tells him about as much as anyone else probably says, that it's basically confirmed even if she doesn't know any details.

And that's that. Brandon leaves, emotionally, while wishing Marianne well.

she was left [...] with a melancholy impression of Colonel Brandon's unhappiness, and was prevented even from wishing it removed, by her anxiety for the very event that must confirm it.

Imagine being forced to break your friend's heart on behalf of somebody else, and needing to justify it on the a relationship you're hoping will actually even work out. That's a lot to handle.

That's this chapter. I wonder what this means now? Obviously something is still going to go wrong with Willoughby, and we still have a bunch of loose ends with Brandon, so he can't lose relevance yet.