The Dashwoods and the will of Norland
The Sense and Sensibility family tree starts with a will. The old owner of Norland Park in Sussex leaves the estate to his nephew Henry Dashwood for life, then to Henry’s son and to that son’s son, a child of four. Henry can provide nothing from it for his wife and daughters.1
Henry has married twice. By his first wife, whose large fortune passed to her child, he has one son, John Dashwood. By Mrs Dashwood he has three daughters, Elinor, who is nineteen, Marianne and Margaret, who is thirteen.1 Henry dies a year later and leaves them ten thousand pounds between them.1
Dying, Henry asks John to provide for his sisters, and John promises. His wife Fanny then talks him down to nothing, since the sisters are related to him only by half blood and he must not rob their poor little Harry.12 On the chart John hangs from the first marriage and the sisters from the second.
Elinor DashwoodThe eldest sister, nineteen.
Marianne DashwoodMourns the loss of Norland.
Margaret DashwoodThe youngest, thirteen.
John DashwoodTheir half-brother and heir.
Mrs Ferrars, her sons and the Steele sisters
Fanny brings a second family onto the Sense and Sensibility family tree. Her brother Edward Ferrars is the eldest son of a man who died very rich, but his fortune depends on the will of his mother, Mrs Ferrars.3 He and Elinor are drawn to each other at Norland.3
At the end of Volume I Lucy Steele tells Elinor that she and Edward have been secretly engaged for four years. They met at the house of her uncle, Mr Pratt, at Longstaple near Plymouth, where Edward was a pupil.10 Lucy and her sister Anne are relations of Mrs Jennings.9
In Volume III Anne lets the secret out. Mrs Ferrars disinherits Edward and settles on Robert, her younger son, the estate that might have been Edward’s.14 Lucy then marries Robert, and Edward comes to Barton to ask Elinor to marry him.1718
Before that, Colonel Brandon offers Edward the living of Delaford, about two hundred a year, since Edward means to take orders.15 With his two thousand pounds and Elinor’s one, the couple can count on three hundred and fifty a year, which neither of them thinks enough for the comforts of life.18 Mrs Ferrars at last consents and gives Edward ten thousand pounds, the sum given with Fanny, while Robert keeps his thousand a year.19
Colonel Brandon, the two Elizas and Willoughby
Colonel Brandon is Sir John’s friend, a grave man of five and thirty.5 John Willoughby carries Marianne home when she falls on the hill. He is visiting an old relation at Allenham, Mrs Smith, whose estate he expects to inherit.6
Brandon’s own branch of the Sense and Sensibility family tree is told in Volume II. His cousin Eliza, an orphan in his father’s care, was married at seventeen against her will to Brandon’s elder brother, and the marriage ended in divorce. She left him her only child, Eliza Williams, whom Willoughby seduced and abandoned.13 Mrs Jennings had whispered that she was the Colonel’s natural daughter, so the chart shows her as Miss Williams until Brandon tells the truth.7
Willoughby marries Miss Grey, who has fifty thousand pounds, and later admits that Mrs Smith cast him off when she learned of Eliza.1216 Marianne in time marries Brandon and gives him her whole heart.19
Sir John Middleton and Mrs Jennings
The Sense and Sensibility family tree volume by volume
Volume I
Norland lost, Barton found
Spoiler note. Lucy’s engagement is revealed.
- Henry Dashwood dies and Norland passes to John and Fanny.
- Lucy Steele tells Elinor of her secret engagement to Edward.
Volume II
London and the two Elizas
Spoiler note. Willoughby marries.
- Willoughby leaves Marianne and marries Miss Grey.
- Colonel Brandon tells Elinor the story of the two Elizas.
Volume III
Two weddings at Delaford
Spoiler note. The ending is told in full.
- Mrs Ferrars disinherits Edward, and Lucy marries Robert.
- Edward marries Elinor, and Marianne marries Colonel Brandon.
How to read this Sense and Sensibility family tree
A square is a man and a circle is a woman. A double line is a marriage, a dashed couple line is an engagement, and the line from Willoughby to Marianne changes in each volume. To build a Sense and Sensibility family tree of your own, open this chart in the editor or start from the story charts, with the genogram symbols beside you.
Everyone on the Sense and Sensibility family tree
| Portrait | Person | In the story | Life | On the chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John DashwoodSon of the first marriage | Volumes I to III | He inherits Norland and gives nothing. | |
| Elinor DashwoodThe eldest daughter | Marries in Volume III | She keeps Lucy’s secret and marries Edward. | |
| Marianne DashwoodThe second daughter | Marries in Volume III | She loves Willoughby and marries Brandon. | |
| Margaret DashwoodThe youngest daughter | Volumes I to III | Thirteen when the novel opens. Sources1 | |
| MF | Mrs FerrarsA rich widow | Volumes I to III | She disinherits Edward. | |
| EF | Edward FerrarsHer elder son | Marries in Volume III | He keeps his word to Lucy and loses his fortune. | |
| RF | Robert FerrarsHer younger son | Marries in Volume III | He gains the estate and marries Lucy. | |
| LS | Lucy SteeleNiece of Mr Pratt | Marries in Volume III | Engaged to Edward, she marries Robert. | |
| CB | Colonel BrandonMaster of Delaford | Marries in Volume III | Guardian of Eliza, husband of Marianne. | |
| JW | John WilloughbyHeir of Mrs Smith | Marries in Volume II | He leaves Marianne for a fortune. |
Questions about the Sense and Sensibility family tree
People and sources
A page of its own lists the 19 numbered sources this article cites. It also gives the credits of the pictures and this page as a reference in the APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard styles, ready to copy.