Thank you all for an enjoyable GR! Several of the interesting points were new to me, such as the poignancy of reading Hamlet.

Back at the start, I made some noises about trying to 'render the grid' of labels that get applied to characters in the text. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time both to keep up with the discussion and to harvest all the labels, so I chose the discussion. I'm still interested in 'rendering the grid' at leisure after the GR, but for what it's worth here's a 2-dimensional principal components analysis of the narrator's labeling in chapters 1-6.

Two dimensions obviously don't tell the whole story - witness Elinor landing in almost the same place as Lady Middleton! But on the bright side, Sir John and Lady Middleton end up poles apart, Edward is nearer to Elinor than to Fanny, and Fanny is like John but further out.

Anyway, the rough idea of the method I used was to find a linear combination of labels that spread the characters out as much as possible, and then to find another one (independent of the first) that did more of the same in another dimension.

It's all equations from now on, sorry. ;-)

Principal component 1 (left to right) = -0.07 * cheerfulness + -0.43 * eagerness + 0.09 * elegant manners + -0.15 * feelings + -0.20 * frankness + -0.70 * generosity + -0.10 * good looks + -0.01 * liberality + 0.12 * prudence + -0.07 * sense + -0.47 * warmth + -0.06 * well-disposition

Principal component 2 (bottom to top) = 0.01 * cheerfulness + 0.02 * eagerness + 0.26 * elegant manners + 0.22 * feelings + -0.47 * frankness + 0.52 * generosity + -0.09 * good looks + 0.04 * prudence + 0.06 * sense + -0.60 * warmth + 0.10 * well-disposition

Edward = -2 eagerness, -1 frankness, 2 gentility, 0 good looks, 2 improvement, 2 pleasingness, 2 quiet, 2 shyness, 2 understanding

Elinor = 2 cleverness, 2 discretion, 2 feelings, 2 prudence, 2 sensibility, 2 steadiness, 2 understanding, -2 warmth, 2 wisdom

Fanny Dashwood = -2 generosity, 2 indelicacy, -2 liberality, 2 ungraciousness

John Dashwood = 0 feelings, -1 generosity, -1 liberality, 2 respectability, 2 steadiness, -1 warm heart, 0 well-disposition

Lady Middleton = 2 elegant appearance, 2 elegant manners, -1 frankness, 2 good looks, 2 good-breeding, 2 graceful address, 2 tallness, -1 warmth

Margaret = 2 feelings, 2 good-humour, 2 romance, 0 sense, 2 well-disposition

Marianne = 2 amiability, 2 cleverness, 2 eagerness, 2 feelings, 2 generosity, 2 interestingness, 0 prudence, 2 romance, 2 sense, 2 sensibility

Mr Dashwood = 2 cheerfulness, 2 good-heartedness, 2 sanguinity

Mrs Dashwood = 2 carelessness, 3 cheerfulness, 2 eagerness, 2 feelings, 3 generosity, 2 good-heartedness, 3 sorrow, 2 warmth, 2 wretchedness