Consider the role of the sudden catastrophe or accident in Austen: the injury to Louisa Musgrove in Persuasion; the illness of Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, or of Jane Fairfax in Emma; the elopements of Lydia and Wickham in Pride and Prejudice, or of Maria Rushworth and Henry Crawford in Mansfield Park. (These examples are given only to suggest the topic’s possible range; for example, there are also comic possibilities: turkey theft in Emma.)
