2. Chapter 26
O 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.
3. cont. Chapter 26
O 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.
4. cont. Chapter 26
O 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.
5. Chapter 27
O 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.
6. cont. Chapter 27
O 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.
7. Chapter 28
O 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.
8. cont. Chapter 28
O 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.
9. Chapter 29
O 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.
10. cont. Chapter 29
O 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.
11. cont. Chapter 29
O 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
12. Chapter 30
O 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
13. cont. Chapter 30
O 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.
14. 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.
15. 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
16. Setting: Atmosphere:
O Mrs. Jennings’ house O Odd and gloomy
in London
17. 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.
