“If only this rain would stop!”
Por qué es buena
A wish that speaks for everyone's boredom, and it sets up the perfect retort.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
If only this bus would come!
00:00 / 03:59
00:00 / 03:59
Lucy Tells Elinor Her Secret, Explained
Sense and Sensibility · 1995
Capítulo 14 de 27 · 3'59"
Lucy Steele draws Elinor aside and, after circling the subject, reveals that she has been secretly engaged to Edward for five years. Elinor's answer — 'We surely do not mean the same Mr. Ferrars' — shows she understands at once. Lucy swears her to secrecy, saying she trusted Elinor to 'keep our secret.'
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:02–0:27
Mr. Palmer and His Wife Trade Jokes
26s - 2:41–3:22
❝ Monólogo · 6 frases Lucy Reveals Her Secret Engagement
41s
Lucy Tells Elinor Her Secret, explained
What happens
Lucy Steele asks Elinor for a private word, then questions her about the Ferrars family before confessing the truth: she and Edward have been secretly engaged for five years. Elinor manages to answer that they surely cannot mean the same Mr. Ferrars, though she understands perfectly well that they do.
What's really going on
Almost nothing in the scene is said directly, and that is its cruelty. Lucy approaches Elinor with elaborate reluctance — she has a question, it may seem impertinent, she has no wish to trouble her — when in fact she is delivering a blow she has planned. The secret is real: Edward and Elinor have an unspoken understanding, and Lucy knows it. Her proof is thorough, down to 'four years under the tutelage of my uncle, Mr. Pratt,' and she watches Elinor's face as she lays it out. What makes it unbearable is that Elinor cannot admit she has been hurt. She can only fall back on 'We surely do not mean the same Mr. Ferrars,' a sentence she is daring the other woman to contradict. Lucy calls her trusted, but the word is a weapon: 'I should never have mentioned it if I could not trust you to keep our secret.' Elinor is bound to silence by the very confidence that wounds her.
Key lines & what they mean
- “If only this rain would stop!”
- A light, complaining wish from the room — the weather everyone is stuck inside together.
- “If only you would stop.”
- The dry answer, also using if only, which turns the same wish into a joke at the complainer's expense.
- “Now I have the whip hand over you, for you cannot give her back.”
- Mr. Palmer's marital joke, treating his marriage as a bargain and his wife as something that cannot be returned.
- “London has swallowed our company.”
- Mrs. Jennings's line on everyone's absence, sad and slightly comic at once.
- “I should never have mentioned it if I could not trust you to keep our secret.”
- Lucy's claim of trust, which is really an instruction to Elinor to tell no one what she has just heard.
- “We surely do not mean the same Mr. Ferrars.”
- Elinor's careful reply, giving herself room to hope while knowing the two Edwards are one and the same.
- “But we loved each other with too great a passion for prudence.”
- Lucy's romantic justification, casting her secret engagement as a love too strong to obey caution.
Theme
- Secrets — Lucy shares a confidence only when it gives her power, using Elinor's discretion as the trap that keeps her silent.
- Betrayal — The revelation exposes Edward's engagement and leaves Elinor unable to show, or even admit, that she is hurt.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel3/7
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“If only you would stop.”
Por qué es buena
She mirrors his wish back with one word changed, and the deadpan makes the cut land.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
If only you would stop asking.
“Now I have the whip hand over you, for you cannot give her back.”
Por qué es buena
One image, the whip hand, captures the older woman's delight in having the upper hand.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
We have the whip hand in this negotiation.
“London has swallowed our company.”
Por qué es buena
London as a beast that swallows people makes an empty room feel eerie and exact.
Registro
literary
Úsala tú
The city has swallowed all my old friends.
“I should never have mentioned it if I could not trust you to keep our secret.”
Por qué es buena
She frames the secret as a test of trust, which both flatters Elinor and traps her.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
I should never have told you if I could not trust you.
“We surely do not mean the same Mr. Ferrars.”
Por qué es buena
Elinor denies the match out loud, and the over-correct politeness betrays her shock.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
We surely do not mean the same company.
“But we loved each other with too great a passion for prudence.”
Por qué es buena
She turns a risky engagement into a romance, excusing herself with passion and prudence.
Registro
literary
Úsala tú
We were young, with too great a hope for caution.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ Lucy's confession
Edward and I have been secretly engaged... these five years. You may well be surprised. I should never have mentioned it if I could not trust you to keep our secret. Edward would not mind... for he looks on you as his own sister.
She starts with a bombshell and ends with flattery, wrapping the blow in sisterly warmth.
Siguiente · 15brook no refusalLa escena: Lucy Reveals Her Secret EngagementIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- A polite question can hide a calculated move.
- Elinor's calm face costs her more than anger would.
- Lucy sells her secret as a proof of trust.
- Rain forces a confession no one wanted.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhat secret does Lucy reveal to Elinor?
That she and Edward have been secretly engaged for five years. She says she would never have told anyone she could not trust to keep the secret.
Why does Lucy ask about Mrs. Ferrars first?
She is testing the ground and drawing Elinor out before the confession. She wants to know how much Elinor knows about the Ferrars family.
How does Elinor respond to the news?
She stays composed and says they surely cannot mean the same Mr. Ferrars, though she knows at once that they do. She gives nothing of her own feelings away.
How does Lucy prove the engagement is real?
She supplies details about Edward's upbringing, saying he spent four years under the tutelage of her uncle, Mr. Pratt, in Plymouth.
Why is this scene so painful for Elinor?
Because she has feelings for Edward herself, yet she cannot show them or ask questions. Lucy's request for secrecy traps her into silence about the very thing that hurts her.