S02E09 Sense and Sensibility, Chapters 42 to 46

In this episode, we read Chapters 42 to 46 of Sense and Sensibility. We talk about how Marianne’s illness is presented (including the un-dramatic way in which she gets sick, and the lack of emotional response), what Colonel Brandon could be doing all day, how Mrs Dashwood is pushing Colonel Brandon and Marianne together, and Jane Austen’s use of grotesques.

We discuss Willoughby (with a digression onto Miss Grey), and Ellen talks about medical practitioners in the early nineteenth century. Harriet reviews how the popular culture versions deal with some of the key events in these chapters: how Marianne gets sick, Willoughby’s visit, and the development of a relationship between Marianne and Colonel Brandon.

Things we mention:

References:

• Edward Copeland [Editor], The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility (2006)
• Helena Kelly, Jane Austen, the Secret Radical (2016)
• Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho(1794)
• Anthony Trollope, Can you forgive her?(1865)
• Walt Disney Pictures, Beauty and the Beast(1991)

Adaptations of the book:

• BBC, Sense and Sensibility (1971) – starring Joanna David and Ciaran Madden (4 episodes)
• BBC, Sense and Sensibility (1981) – starring Irene Richard and Tracey Childs (7 episodes)
• Columbia Pictures, Sense and Sensibility (1995) – starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet
• BBC, Sense and Sensibility (2008) – starring Hattie Morahan and Charity Wakefield (3 episodes)

Modernisations of the book:

• Sri Surya Films, Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) – starring Tabu and Aishwarya Rai
• MWM Studios, From Prada to Nada (2011) – starring Camilla Belle and Alexa PenaVega
• YouTube, Elinor and Marianne Take Barton (2014) – starring Abi Davies and Bonita Trigg

Creative commons music used:

• Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 12 in F Major, ii. Adagio.
• Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
• Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 13 in B-Flat Major, iii. Allegretto Grazioso. File originally from Musopen.
• Extract from George Frideric Handel, Suite I, No. 2 in F Major, ii. Allegro. File originally from Musopen.