MovieChat Forums > Sense and Sensibility (1996) Discussion > Gathering The Reeds

Gathering The Reeds

posted 10 years ago by webrowser
14 replies | jump to latest

Somewhere on this board there was a discussion regarding why the Dashwood family was gathering reeds. As a matter of fact, that was the question I had the very first time I visited this board. I'd ended up deciding (for my own peace of mind), and commenting, that the reeds must have been for Margaret's Barton Cottage (stick built) tree house.

Since I know that I wasn't the only one that discussed the reason for the reed-gathering, I thought I'd share my recent discovery. I'm glad to report that my tree house theory does have a couple of on-screen moments that support it.

I re-watched S&S 95 a few days ago, and during the reed gathering scene - there is a moment where it shows the Dashwood's man-servant, Thomas, tying a bundle of reeds, with a large gathered amount at their feet...Margaret is standing next to him, and she calls out to her mother and sisters..."We've got lots and lots!" Later, when Margaret is in the tree house at Barton Cottage, you can clearly see that the roof is made of the same kind of reeds. So my initial guess, could be possible. It's possible that everyone pitched in to help gather reeds, so Margaret could once again have her tree house. I'm glad to have finally settled this question for myself, and I hope this comes as interesting or helpful to others.

ETA: Summeriris mentioned that she'd assumed the reeds were for baskets. She's quite correct. Out of curiosity, I looked up the S&S 95 screenplay. Here is what it says:

In the foreground Marianne is cutting bulrushes for basket work.

It unfortunately doesn't mention Thomas tying the bundle of reeds, or Margaret's line of "We have lots and lots". So I think it's still possible that those could have been for the reed roof shown later on Margaret's tree house.

[–] summeriris 10 years ago

I always assumed they were gathering the reeds for basket making. You didn't in the 19th Century just go out and buy a basket, You gathered the materiel and made your own or took them to the local basket weaver to have it done. But it was a skill that every household would have needed..

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I am the Queen of Snark, TStopped said so.

[–] webrowser 10 years ago

I remember seeing other comments mentioning that they may have also been gathering them to make baskets. It's very possible the reeds were for baskets for the Dashwood's too, they did come to Barton Cottage with very little belongings. They may have needed to replace baskets they'd left behind at Norland. It may also have been common practice to keep bundles of them on hand for household uses. I could certainly understand that. And they didn't have the servants they had before, so the Dashwood ladies needed to help with the gathering.

I was just glad to see concrete visual proof of the reeds on the tree house roof, where as before I'd only been guessing.

[–] webrowser 10 years ago

summer,

Out of curiosity, I looked up the screenplay for S&S 95 online, and it states that Marianne is gathering reeds for basket-making. So you're absolutely correct about that!

Unfortunately, It doesn't mention Thomas and Margaret. But I still think it's possible that Thomas and Margaret were gathering for the tree house roof. That would explain the huge bundle that he's tying up, and the later scenes that clearly show the reed roof on the tree house.

Thanks for mentioning the baskets again, now we both have some confirmation for our theories.

[–] summeriris 10 years ago

It's always good to have visual and spoken confirmation to something that we see on in the film. Another nice touch in the film that provides subtl visual confirmation of something we are told is at the wedding. Brandon is in the full dress uniform of a Colonel and his groomsmen are all in uniforms as well. So we have confirmation of his Army rank and the fact that he was so well regarded he had many of his fellow officers present at his side when he got married.

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I am the Queen of Snark, TStopped said so.

[–] webrowser 10 years ago

If the Dashwoods needed to collect reeds for some reason, they probably would send their servants to do the work. In the novel, they have three servants with them at Barton Cottage. I know that in S&S 1995, they have only two, but that isn't such a huge difference, IMO.

I'm speaking only of the film in my post, I'm not referring to the book at all. In the film, it appears to be a sort social outing as well, since Col Brandon is at the pond with them. I got the impression that they may have had a picnic - seems like there was a blanket with a basket. Gathering reeds was probably was not something the Dashwood's would do before moving to Barton Cottage, but their lives changed when they moved there. I'm sure the ladies didn't work their hands to calluses, but they helped where they could. It was practical considering their lessened circumstances. Marianne is shown helping Margaret wash from a basin in one scene. They probably had baths at Norland, and servants likely helped with the bathing rather than family. There's also a scene where Elinor is gardening, her hands are shown covered in dirt. That is probably not something she did before either.

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[–] summeriris 10 years ago

Reeds are tough and flexible. There were knives specially designed for the task and of course Regency ladies would have worn gloves. Marianne seems to have not prepared very well, hence the welcome loan of Col Brandon's knife.

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I am the Queen of Snark, TStopped said so.

[–] Megan1988 (324) 6 years ago

It was probably for baskets, since, if you listen closely, Mrs. Dashwood says, "Surely, they must have enough reeds for Moses' basket by now."

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[–] Whom (528) 2 years ago

Sheesh, the first line of that scene is Mrs Dashwood saying “Surely they have enough reeds for a Moses basket by now”.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

The Ladies of a great house wouldn't weave baskets for household use, doing anything that practical was considered to be beneath their dignity. And while a Lady of the Manor might do handicrafts and make dainty little gifts for her friends and relations, picking reeds and weaving them into a big "moses basket" was just Not Done. Which makes me wonder if Mrs. Dashwood had married up, if she'd grown up being a bit more handy than the lady of Norland Park would be expected to be, but neither the book nor the film said anything about her background.

Anyway, I do think that both Elinor and Marianne would adapt better to reduced circumstances and having to do a bit of housework more easily than most of their contemporaries would have. Imagine what Lydia Bennett or Julia Bertram would have said, if you told them to pick reeds, weave baskets, and use the basket to gather eggs or apples! The resulting shitfit would have flattened the reeds in ponds for ten miles around, but Elinor would have realized that basket work was worth the trouble, and Marianne would have thought it was unconventional and romantic, at least until she got tired of the hot sun.