Sense and Sensibility--- Weekly Update #3

Here is the weekly update on my progress reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. My goal is to read a minimum of 50 pages, to note differences between the films and books, and to discover some surprise within. How did this week go towards these goals?

50 page goal met? Yes. Part 2, Chapters 1-9. I'm on page 164 out of 308, in my edition.

Current Action: Lucy Steele tells Elinor ALL about her love for Edward Ferrars and details of their long engagement. Elinor dare not tell her mother or sisters what she has learned. Mrs. Jennings invites Elinor and Marianne to stay with her in London for the season. Almost as soon as they get to London, Marianne sends off a note to Willoughby. When he doesn't arrive, she sends another note and spends all her time looking out for him. They eventually end up at the same party where Willoughby is decidedly cool. The next day he sends Marianne a note explaining that he is engaged.  If she was a basket case while she waited to hear from him, she is now a double basket case. I selected the cover picture this week because so much of the action involved Marianne moping around.

Surprises: There were few surprises for me in this section. The action and dialogue is very similar to the films. Willoughby was more obviously in London than in the movies. We know this because he did drop by Mrs. Jennings house while the girls were out and later was spotted by Sir John Middleton who invited him to a dance he and his wife were hosting. Willoughby didn't attend or he would have run into Marianne.

Question: As close as Elinor and Marianne are I am surprised at how little they actually share with each other about what is going on inside their minds and their feelings. Do you think that it is realistic?