Olvia's story reminds me very much of Lydia's in P&P, but I guess the respectable young woman seduced into running away with a deceiving cad was a standard and very popular plotline! One thing that struck me in ch.21 was that Olivia's, not Lydia's, was the expected reaction at the time: "The rest of my wretched life must be infamy abroad and shame at home", etc., etc. Compare that to Lydia, who comes home unrepentant and pretty much the same as ever (though of course, Lydia never had time to be abandoned). I know I should read VoW on its own merits, but I keep mentally comparing it to JA's writing, which just makes me appreciate JA's subtlety and realism all the more. BTW, isn't the rhyme at the beginning of ch.24 referred to in one of JA's novels, as well? It made me think of Marianne Dashwood, who really *should* have died of a broken heart, but who had the temerity to recover and be happy with someone else!