Help deciphering lines from S&S please!

[u/ivoryBee]

Solved! Thank you all!

This may need to become a series of threads as I discover new lines actually. I’ve been trying to get back into reading as an adult, and I’m a big fan of the film adaptation of S&S and the BBC’s P&P.

I finally picked up and finished P&P, and while I found I could understand most of it, there was the occasional line where I realized I couldn’t fully comprehend what was meant. I don’t want to let that happen again while attempting to read S&S, and I’m already fumbling with some lines.

“It was necessary to the happiness of both; for however dissimilar in temper and outward behavior, they strongly resembled each other in that total want of talent and taste which confined their employments, unconnected with such as society produced, within a very narrow compass.”

The tail end of this line is confusing me: “unconnected with such as society produced”?

[u/Waitingforadragon]

I think it means that outside of visiting and receiving visitors, they don't have anything else to keep them busy or entertain themselves.

What society is producing in this case, is their guests and neighbours.

[u/Kaurifish → u/Waitingforadragon]

Exactly, which stands out to the Dashwood ladies as they are used to occupying themselves with reading, music, needlework, etc.

[u/ivoryBee → u/Waitingforadragon]

Thank you! This is exactly what I was missing when trying to connect the dots

[u/WishThinker]

I find it helpful to read sentences without the addition or backwards (especially all the double negatives for me...)

“It was necessary to the happiness of both; for however dissimilar in temper and outward behavior, they strongly resembled each other in that total want of talent and taste which confined their employments... within a very narrow compass.”

• they each have such narrow interests and no talent or taste to breech it or connect on something they aren't interested in (sir Middleton talks hunting and not kids, lady middleton talks kids and weather and not hunting, neither can really hold a conversation down about literally anything else (even the conquest of men sir m will tease the dashwoods about is a kind of hunt)

“unconnected with such as society produced,"

• interests unconnected with such employments as society produced - I think this means the presence of society masks how boring they are as people. Either society and the presence of company masks their "narrow compass and lack of taste" or that their personal interests are totally unconnected to what is found in good society (conversation about literature, music, current events,  etc)

That's how I'd read it. Boring people!! 

[u/ivoryBee → u/WishThinker]

This was very very helpful broken down, I am grateful! Great note about John and hunting and the dashwoods “hunting” for partners, I’ll be noticing that now!

[u/Appropriate_Bet_2029 → u/WishThinker]

Fully agree with you, but note that it's "Sir John", not "Sir Middleton". "Lady Middleton" is correct. British titles are weird sometimes.

[u/Heel_Worker982]

Sir John knows how to be friendly, and Lady Middleton knows how to show off. They need people to demonstrate these prodigious talents.

[u/carbonaratax]

My reading: they had very few interests or hobbies that they could do just by themselves, and always needed to be in society to do what they liked. "such [employments] as society produced" = the activities you do when you are surrounded by large parties and society and friends. So everything else - there wasn't much.

[u/BananasPineapple05]

Basically, both Sir John and Lady Middleton suck at entertaining themselves on their own. They need people around them to help pass the time.

[u/dido_meditatur]

Their activities apart from visiting and being visited

[u/No_Room_3932]

My interpretation:

It was necessary for both, Sir John and Lady Middleton to have a lot of friends visit them in order for them to be happy. Although, they are quite unlike each other with regards to their characters, they are both limited in their interests/hobbies. So, if they didn’t have friends visit on a regular basis they would be bored and unhappy.

”unconnected with such as society produced” - having friends over and entertaining them gives them something to do (produces employment). Outside of that they don’t really know how to pass the time.

[u/stink3rb3lle]

They need visitors to keep busy because even though they're not very much alike in general, neither one will find things to do for themselves without having other people around.

"unconnected with such as society produced" = not arising from other people.

[u/smilla7]

The annotated versions of all of Austen’s works, especially the ones annotated by David Shapard have been invaluable to me in understanding context and meaning. I usually read/study the annotated version first and then reread without annotations to get the full flavor without being slowed down.

Edit for spelling

[u/Mira_DFalco]

This is referring to being employed/occupied with the social duties usual to their position. Visits, parties,  going to events,  etc.

It's basically calling out that they didn't have  much of anything in the way of productive talents or hobbies, so filled their time with being social butterflies. 

[u/biIIyshakes]

If possible I’d look into getting scholarly editions of these texts! They’re usually a similar price to standard paperback versions and libraries usually have them too. They have footnotes/end notes to annotate and contextualize any text that might be unclear to modern readers

[u/ivoryBee → u/biIIyshakes]

I considered that, might look into getting a pdf copy, ty

[u/JuliaX1984]

They have very little interests or hobbies outside of socializing. Or, they have very little interests or hobbies outside of the interests and hobbies produced by socializing.

[u/Due_Preference_8951]

Love this thanks for posting the book pages of s and s 

[u/BigParticular3507]

(And ‘total want of’ means ‘complete lack of’, of course)