Sense and Sensibility, Volume the First, Chapters Eighteen and Nineteen

In which Edward continues rather cold and reserved and is revealed to have a suspicious ring, then goes away; and we meet Mr. and Mrs. Palmer, the former most rude and the latter most gregarious; and in which our narrator is mildly creeped out by the hair ring but knows it was a different time and there's really nothing wrong with it.



I actually had this recording all ready to go for Friday, but wasn't able to get everything else together in time. Ah well. Maybe I'll be able to sneak an extra recording in this week to make up for it.

At 4:10, Marianne makes reference to "the taste and elegance of him who first described what picturesque beauty was." This refers to William Gilpin (1724-1804), a clergyman, artist, and Romantic writer who, in essays such as the 1792 "On Picturesque Beauty," was one of the first to define, well, "picturesque beauty." It meant, basically, "that which looks good in a picture," largely focusing on natural landscapes, rustic settings, etc.

At 5:01, we (or at least, I) learn that "banditti" is an acceptable plural for "bandit," and I will be sure to use that word as much as possible now.

6:58 - Came to take a survey of the guest.

When Edward refers, at 12:45, to lawyers driving around in "very knowing gigs," he just means fashionable carriages.

At 13:34, Mrs. Dashwood projects that Edward will end up like Columella, referring to the title character of Columella; or; The Distressed Anchoret: A Colloquial Tale, a 1779 novel by Richard Graves (1715-1804). The short explanation of this reference is essentially what's in the text: Columella is a gentleman who never worked a day in his life who has high hopes for his sons' future professions. A much, much more in-depth analysis of the reference can be found here, if you're into that sort of thing.

Lastly, at 21:06, we are told that Mrs. Palmer "expects to be confined in February," meaning that she is pregnant and is due then. Back in those days, women (well, those who could afford to, anyway) were basically bed-bound in the days leading up to and after giving birth. Not that it's a picnic now, but childbirth was a much, much more dangerous thing back then than it is today.

21:55 - "I declare they are quite charming."

If you would like to read along, the text can be found at Project Gutenberg, and high-res copies of the Thompson illustrations can be found in the British Library's Flickr stream. No reading ahead, though!