Chapters XXVI-XXX Sense and Sensibility
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Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Alessandra Jourdan Chapters 26- 30
Transcript of Chapters XXVI-XXX Sense and Sensibility
Sense and Sensibility
by Jane Austen
Alessandra Jourdan
Chapters 26-30
Chapter 26O Marianne and Elinor Dashwood find themselves on the
way to Mrs. Jennings’ home in London.O It is a little unpleasant and awkward for the girls
because they are not very fond of Mrs. Jennings.O Still, Marianne is exited to arrive in hopes to
encounter Willoughby.O Since Marianne is silent for most of the trip, Elinor,
makes conversation the whole way with Mrs. Jennings.O It takes three days by carriage to arrive and when
they do, they find themselves with a very nice house.O They are accommodated in Mrs. Palmer’s old room.
cont. Chapter 26O Before dinner, both girls write a letter. Elinor
writes back home while Marianne doesn’t say to whom is the letter, but Elinor suspects it’s for Willoughby.
O Marianne spends the rest of the afternoon nervously waiting for a reply to her letter and Elinor is just relieved Mrs. Jennings doesn’t notice her weird behavior.
O The have a visitor and Marianne runs off when she sees its not Willoughby but Colonel Brandon.
O Elinor lies and says that her sister is sick so that he isn't offended.
cont. Chapter 26O He stays for tea and converses with Mrs. Jennings
a lot because he hangs with Mr. and Mrs. Palmer. As always, Mrs. Jennings is really nosy.
O Charlotte Palmer stops by the next morning and later on they all go shopping.
O Marianne seems distracted all day and when they go back home, Willoughby had not visited nor written back.
O Elinor begins to doubt if there is an engagement at all and asks her mother for advice.
O They are all joined for dinner by two of Mrs. Jennings's friends.
Chapter 27O Mrs. Jennings comments that the weather is good
for hunting and Marianne suddenly assumes Willoughby is in Combe Magna. She hopelessly writes a letter to him in the country.
O Marianne keeps being distant, Colonel Brandon visits daily, and Elinor worries of how in love Brandon is.
O The next day, while they were out, Willoughby visited and left his calling card.
O Marianne waited for his visit the next day in vain.O The Middletons had arrived in town and invited
them over for a dinner party.
cont. Chapter 27O Marianne finds out that Willoughby was
invited to the party but declined the invitation.
O Hurt, she writes another letter to him , while Elinor writes another to her mother asking for advice again.
O Colonel Brandon came in to talk to Elinor saying that it is known by everybody that Marianne and Willoughby were engaged. She says that no one knows if it is really true.
Chapter 28O Willoughby still hasn’t shown up.O Elinor and Marianne accompany Lady Middleton to a party
where Marianne finally spots Willoughby, but he is talking to a young lady and refuses to come over to talk to the sisters. Marianne feels very confused.
O When he finally decides to greet them, he treats them like casual acquaintances.
O Elinor controls her confusion, but Marianne simply can't. She explodes with emotion, asking Willoughby why is he acting as if he barely even knew her.
O He coldly shakes her hand.O Willoughby continues the conversation as best as he can,
calmly saying that he was sad to miss them at Mrs. Jennings's house the day he visited. Marianne wildly asks if he's received her letters, and demands that he tell her what's going on.
cont. Chapter 28O Willoughby quickly makes an excuse and flees the
conversation.O Marianne freaks out and practically faints. Elinor keeps the
situation under control by trying her best to soothe Marianne; in the meanwhile, Willoughby leaves the party.
O Lady Middleton, hearing that Marianne is ill immediately takes the girls home.
O Elinor puts Marianne to bed. While she waits for Mrs. Jennings to arrive, she thinks about the events of the evening.
O Apparently if Marianne and Willoughby ever had an engagement it’s over.
O Elinor reflects that this whole situation makes her own problems with Edward look better; after all, she can still be friends with Edward, while Marianne's relationship with Willoughby has to be broken off forever.
Chapter 29O The next morning, Marianne is writing a desperate letter
and sobbing. Elinor tries gently to ask her what's going on, but she says that she will find out soon.
O At breakfast, Elinor tries to distract Mrs. Jennings so she doesn’t bother Marianne.
O A letter arrives and Mrs. Jennings starts to talk about Marianne’s love life to which Elinor defers by saying that news of Marianne's engagement were just a joke.
O Mrs. Jennings doesn’t believe her.O Marianne hands over Willoughby's letter to her sister.O The letter is cold-hearted and brief. Basically, it just says
that Marianne is crazy for thinking that Willoughby ever cared for her, and that he's in love with someone else. He's also returned all of Marianne's earlier letters.
cont. Chapter 29O Elinor is shocked, disgusted at Willoughby. She
excuses herself from Mrs. Jennings for the day, saying that Marianne is unwell.
O Marianne is miserable and says that she wishes she were as happy as Elinor, who she supposes to be content and beloved by Edward.
O Elinor says that things aren't as perfect as Marianne makes them out to be and makes the excuse that she can't be happy when her sister is so miserable.
O Elinor says that it is better that had found out now that later on their engagement.
O Marianne reveals that they were never engaged in the first place.
cont. Chapter 29O Elinor reads Marianne's returned letters to Willoughby.O They show increasing desperation, asking Willoughby
why he won't visit. She couldn’t believe he ignored such heartfelt letters, but at the same time, she couldn't believe her ridiculous sister even wrote them.
O Marianne still believes that Willoughby loved her, even if he never declared it. At first she blamed the world, not Willoughby, for this horrible outcome; she was sure that it was someone else who had changed his mind. Then, she re reads the letters and blames him.
O Marianne wonders who is the one who's stolen his affections.
O She demands that they go home the next day, but Elinor forces her to relax
Chapter 30O Mrs. Jennings arrives home and busts in on the sisters,
looking anxious. She makes a shocking announcement: Willoughby is to be married very soon, to a certain Miss Grey.
O Marianne seems calmer at dinner and Mrs. Jennings, feeling bad for her, spends the rest of the evening spoiling her. After a while Marianne flees back to her room.
O Elinor and Mrs. Jennings stay downstairs and talk over the matter of Willoughby. It turns out that his fiancée, Miss Grey, is ordinary, but quite rich
O Mrs. Jennings realizes that Willoughby has been the cause of Marianne's odd behavior all week.
O The pair agrees that talking and gossiping about this event will only make it worse
cont. Chapter 30O Mrs. Jennings observes that this is a good sign for
Colonel Brandon.O Marianne doesn't want company, so Elinor stays
downstairs. O Mrs. Jennings wanted to take a glass of special wine
to Marianne and like she had gone to bed, Elinor drank it herself trying to cure a broken heart.
O Colonel Brandon turns up the next day, saying that he's heard of Willoughby's new engagement. He and Elinor discuss the matter at length.
O Colonel Brandon remains pensive. Mrs. Jennings is surprised that he didn’t become happy at the news that his affection for Marianne now has hope.
Characters:O Elinor Dashwood - The nineteen-year-old eldest daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Henry Dashwood. Elinor is composed but affectionate, both when she falls in love with Edward Ferrars and when she comforts and supports her younger sister Marianne.
O Marianne Dashwood - The seventeen-year-old second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood Marianne's spontaneity,
excessive sensibility, and romantic idealism lead her to fall in love with the immoral John Willoughby, though he painfully spurns her, causing her to finally recognize her misjudgment of him.
cont. Characters:O Mrs. Jennings - Lady Middleton's gossipy but well-intentioned
mother who invites the Dashwood sisters to stay with her in London and makes it her "project" to marry them off as soon as possible.
O Colonel Brandon - A retired officer and friend of Sir John Middleton who falls in love with Marianne Dashwood and acts kindly, honorably, and graciously towards the Dashwoods throughout the novel.
O John Willoughby - An attractive but deceitful young man who wins Marianne Dashwood's heart but then abandons her in favor of the wealthy Miss Sophia Grey.
O Mrs. Charlotte Palmer - Mrs. Jennings' talkative and foolish daughter
O Lady Middleton - A distant relation of the Dashwoods who lives at Barton Cottage with her husband Sir John Middleton and their four spoiled children
Setting: Atmosphere:
O Mrs. Jennings’ house in London
O Odd and gloomy
Importance of Chapters to the Storyline
O These chapters are key to the book because in them there is a sudden twist in the plot, and Willoughby is not longer in the picture. Here we can also predict that Colonel Brandon is here to stay.
