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Allusion
Explanation and Analysis—East Indies:
While discussing Colonel Brandon’s time in Asia (then called the “East Indies”) with Elinor and Marianne, Willoughby mentions “nabobs, gold mohrs, and palanquins,” all allusions to words in other languages related to the British Empire:
“That is to say,” cried Marianne contemptuously, “he has told you that in the East Indies the climate is hot, and the mosquitoes are troublesome.”
“He would have told me so, I doubt not, had I made any such enquiries, but they happened to be points on which I had been previously informed.”
“Perhaps,” said Willoughby, “his observations may have extended to the existence of nabobs, gold mohrs, and palanquins.”
“Nabob” (from the Urdu word “nawab”) was a reference to a person who returned from the East Indies with wealth, “mohr” (from the Persian word “mohur”) signified the gold coin of British India, and “palanquins” (from the Hindi “palki”) referred to an ornately designed wheel-less vehicle carried by others for important people, such as Indian or British political leaders.
Willoughby jokingly says that Colonel Brandon’s observations about his time abroad likely don’t extend beyond “nabobs, gold mohrs, and palanquins” in order to mock him—these concepts were well-known to even those who had not lived in Asia. Here Austen makes it seem like Willoughby and Marianne are better suited for each other than Colonel Brandon and Marianne are, as they can easily tease Colonel Brandon for being a bore.
That Marianne ultimately ends up with Colonel Brandon is Austen’s way of showing that people’s true characters are sometimes hidden—Willoughby’s passionate nature leads him to betray Marianne, while Brandon’s steady, boring nature is what makes him such a good partner in the end.
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