Close Reading of Sense and Sensibility
1. Although Elinor knew before that Edward and Lucy would probably be married, she was still very hurt by the news. This entire secrete marriage seemed somewhat odd to me, as a reader, because Jane Austen doesn’t foreshadow this event in the text. Robert Ferrars and Lucy Steele hardly seem to know each other. It seems to me that Jane Austen just placed this relationship into the plot instead of letting it naturally develop throughout the book. 2. The expectation of an unpleasant event was very interesting. Elinor’s character controls her emotions and judgments with good sense and discretion. Prefers to keep her troubles secret, as she is always trying to make sure that her mother and sisters are untroubled by her private woes. She knew very well what the chances were of Robert and Lucy getting married and from the reading it felt like she had come to terms with it. Although when it confirmed the readers see a different side of Elinor. 3. This is a very interesting segment of this paragraph. She told herself this was going to happen and so did her mind. This is the Elinor that the readers saw at the beginning of the novel. It is very interesting in the paragraph because the readers get to see the two parts Elinor: the woman she was then and the woman she’s become now. 4. Though Elinor knew that Edward was an honorable man and the chances of him calling the engagement off were slim to none, however she still had hope. This is expected from Elinor because to the type setting she lived in. She is the oldest and constantly throughout the book the readers her seeing her step up to the head of the household and taking care of her family. There are situations throughout the book were she has hope that things will get better and they usually do. However, in this particular situation she has hope and when nothing takes place and it devastating to her. 5. Elinor has a lot of sense and in this paragraph the readers start to see a different side to her. She is