That is really fascinating about the arch form of Marianne sandwiched by Elinor. I never would have noticed that. Seems something a writer would notice. I didn't notice all the characters unburdening themselves onto Elinor either.

I've always thought of it in terms of ebbs and flows. The most I've ever noticed is after every bit of action we retreat into Elinor's thoughts for an assessment. The volumes flow together so seamlessly; the only division I noticed was that the book told me I was starting a new volume. duh :-)

I had to ditch my volume copy (each vol starts with ch1) so that I could keep track of the chapters for the GR.