Sense and Sensibility: Chapter 37 Summary & Analysis

About two weeks later, Mrs. Jennings told Elinor she had some news. She had been with Mrs. Palmer, whose baby was ill. They called a doctor, who had just been at John and Fanny’s home. As he was leaving Mrs. Jennings asked him if he had any news. He said that he hoped Fanny Dashwood would be all right.

Mrs. Jennings asked what he meant, and he explained that Edward’s engagement to Lucy had been found out. Upon hearing of the engagement, Fanny “fell into violent hysterics.” She scolded Lucy harshly and told her to leave their home immediately. Mrs. Jennings pitied Lucy and thought that it would be good for her to marry Edward, even though she wasn’t rich.

Elinor was anxious to hear what Mrs. Ferrars would do when she found out about Edward’s engagement. She told the news to Marianne and took care not to “represent herself as suffering much.” Marianne was shocked. To her, “Edward seemed a second Willoughby.” She apologized for talking of Elinor and Edward and thinking that they were happily together, and was upset that Elinor had kept a secret from her.

Marianne felt sorry for Elinor, but Elinor assured her that she was no longer sad over Edward and had come to peace with his marrying Lucy. Marianne was amazed at the ease with which Elinor seemed to have gotten over Edward, but Elinor told her sister that she had indeed suffered much pain over the whole issue.

Elinor made Marianne promise to be discreet and not give “the least appearance of bitterness” to Lucy or anyone else over the situation. The next morning, John came to visit, and described how Mrs. Ferrars suffered and was “in agony” when she heard of Edward’s engagement. She disinherited Edward and said she would never see him again. Edward, however, would not give up his engagement to Lucy.

Mrs. Jennings was glad of this, as Lucy was her cousin, and said that she would make a good wife. John told her that he did not dislike Lucy, but that “the connection must be impossible.” John told everyone that Edward had left and no one knew where he was now. He pitied Edward for his lost fortune and “wretched condition.”

John said that all of Edward’s inheritance had now gone to his younger brother Robert. He again said that he pitied Edward’s situation, and then left. Marianne, Elinor, and Mrs. Jennings all disapproved of how Mrs. Ferrars had handled the situation.