Recently, I was rereading Sense and Sensibility when I came across a duel between Willoughby and Colonel Brandon. I was shocked! Jane Austen wrote about a duel?! Do other people know about this? (I looked online and, yes, everyone knew but me.)
The duel is so subtle, I see why younger me missed it. Here’s the passage. It’s a dialogue between Elinor and Colonel Brandon. Elinor starts the conversation:
“Have you,” she continued, after a short silence, “ever seen Mr. Willoughby since you left him at Barton?”
“Yes,” he replied gravely, “once I have. One meeting was unavoidable.”
Elinor, startled by his manner, looked at him anxiously, saying, “What? have you met him to–”
“I could meet him no other way. Eliza had confessed to me, though most reluctantly, the name of her lover; and when he returned to town, which was within a fortnight after myself, we met by appointment, he to defend, I to punish his conduct. We returned unwounded, and the meeting, therefore, never got abroad.”
Elinor sighed over the fancied necessity of this; but to a man and a soldier she presumed not to censure it.
(I like that last line. Two men try to murder each other in the streets, and Elinor says, “Well, boys will be boys!”)
It’s a strange duel. No one gets hurt. Both men just wanted to fire their guns, and then they felt better? Why, Colonel Brandon? Time to dive in! This post explores the ins and outs of Regency duels.
Why did people duel?
This site is ending, so I moved this post. Read the rest here. (The female duels are particularly interesting.)
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