] I want to talk about what happened at this dinner party a bit more, and what the 'screens' might mean, etc. but first I thought I'd try to find a few pictures of screens for you.

] Now, what do you all think of the symbolism of the ladies at this party looking at and talking about these items that are meant to hide one's face?? ;-)

I wondered what the screens were supposed to be, they must have been small enough to hold one in each hand. I found the link below that gives some history of firescreens. The section called "Horses, banners and poles" is very interesting. I was thinking maybe they were the end panels to the "horse" type of fire screen? (quote from the site): "In the late 18thcentury, screens tended to be fairly light and often had small, oval panels". If I read this correctly, they would have been used to regulate the heat from the fire - in this case Mrs. Ferras is completely cooled by them when she hears Elinor painted them.
;-)