“Drove her into a fainting fit” · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: “Drove her into a fainting fit”
Period: 1850-1900;
Geographic: Europe; England; United Kingdom; Britain
Description: Here we see Mrs. Ferrars lying on the ground, held by her daughter, Fanny. Fanny and John Dashwood enjoyed Anne and Lucy Steele’s company, and invited them to stay for a few weeks with them in London. One day Anne announced that Lucy and Edward Ferrars were engaged. This shocked everyone, and Mrs. Ferrars fainted. Fanny became hysterical and told Lucy and Anne Steele that they had to leave immediately. Lucy Steele was not wealthy, and Mrs. Ferrars wanted Edward to marry a wealthy heiress, Miss Morton. After hearing the news, Mrs. Ferrars disowned Edward after he refused to break off the engagement. This scene appears in chapter 37 as indicated underneath the image. The characters are shown in the traditional regency style, with Mrs. Ferrars, Fanny, and Lucy wearing the regency style dress with an empire waist. Their hair is worn tied up, as was tradition for women after their “coming out” before the queen, signaling her entrance into society. Edward wears a waistcoat and tailcoat. The regency period dated to the early nineteenth century (1811-1820) when George, Prince of Wales, later George IV (r. 1820-1830), reigned as regent for his mentally ill father, King George III (r. 1760-1820). The regency period is associated with the rise of neoclassicism in art and fashion.
Image Creator: Charles Edmund Brock (engraver);Henry Matthew Brock (engraver); Charles Edmund Brock (engraver); Henry Matthew Brock (engraver)
Type: StillImage; lithograph
Identifier: mta:25691
Language: eng
Source Name: Sense and Sensibility
Parent Collection: "Sense and Sensibility", Jane Austen's Novels, vols. 1 & 2. Lithographs by C.E. Brock (1898); "Sense and Sensibility", Jane Austen's Novels, vols. 1 & 2. Lithographs by C.E. Brock (1898)
Image: mta_25691_OBJ.png
Collection: Sense and Sensibility

Media: mta_25691_OBJ.png