Difficulties: Austen's Persuasion
Jane Austen's Persuasion Raises Issues of Love, Trust and Loyalty
Persuasion, published after Austen's death in 1817, is a novel about the issues surrounding both persuading and being persuaded, as well as about social class dysfunction
Jane Austen's (1775-1817) most well known works, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Emma and Sense and Sensibility have received wide examination by both scholars and the populace at large. Her novel Persuasion, (1818) however, is often forgotten, even though it contains as much ethos, pathos and logos as a reader could wish for.
Austen begins the story seven years into the characters journey. Anne Elliot has turned away the man she loves most, Captain Wentworth, because of advice she has accepted from a mother-figure. He returns to the small English village they both belong to, and from there she finds that her heart belongs to him still. The reader gets an in depth look at not only Anne and her character, but also of the characters of her family and friends, who all fall far short of Anne herself. Traveling from Lyme to Bath, the reader gets a beautiful picture of the landscape, as well as what the aristocracy at the time did in that environment.
Characters:
Anne: The main character, whom the reader follows through the travails presented by her family and her love of the man she cannot have.
Mary: Anne's younger sister, married to Charles and living near the old family home in her own cottage. Mary is spoiled as well as hypochondriacal. She demands attention, and when she does not receive it, becomes "ill." She has two children, and although the reader meets them once during the novel, for the most part they are left in the shadows.
Elizabeth: The oldest of the sisters, she is very like their father. She believes herself far higher in station than most people around her, including both of her sisters. Always on the lookout for a "proper" suitor, she remains single throughout the novel, doomed, it seems, to a life of living with her father as a pseudo wife.
Sir Walter William: The father of all three sisters, and a Baron. He is determined that the Baron name be kept by only the most suitable man, who, because he has three daughters, he feels must be the cousin William Elliot, (throughout the book, "Mr. Elliot.) He is pompous, and almost absurdly vain. As Admiral Croft remarks upon moving into the family home, he has had all the mirrors removed from Sir Williams room, as one could not "get away from oneself." Sir Walter's lack of financial sense has caused the family to move to a smaller property in Bath, renting out the family Hall to Admiral Croft and his wife. He also has a distinct dislike for anyone who does not have "perfect" features, eg freckles, a red nose, bad teeth, etc.
Lady Russell: Anne's best friend, she was also Anne's mother's best friend and confidant, and after her death, she treats Anne like the daughter she never had. It is Lady Russell's advice, more than any others, which influences Anne to turn Captain Wentworth away. She is portrayed as a kindly woman, if not misguided by her good intentions.
Captain Wentworth: The love of Anne's life. After Anne refused his proposal, he went away to the military, and only after seven years does he return to his English home. There is conjecture about his being in love with a cousin of Anne's, Louisa, but that is soon proven inaccurate. He is "a gentleman, with good manners and a handsome carriage." This makes him an acceptable match, especially as he has become wealthy by the standards of the day and is attractive as well.
Analysis:
Persuasion is an interesting novel about the vagaries of giving and accepting advice, instead of going with one's own instinct. Lady Russell gives Anne advice, or persuades her, that her life is more suited to a man with a better social position. In this, Lady Russell is very much like her father and Elizabeth. Social status is of the utmost importance, although Anne often finds herself mortified about the way in which her family conducts themselves because of their perception of their own importance.
There is a substantial amount of dry humor involving the idea of vanity and selfishness, as her family are depicted as "pretty little things" without any substance. This story presents in depth questions about social status and rank in society, and the possibly devastating effects it may have on the people who move in "those" circles.
A reader should question, however, just how perfect Anne Elliot really is. It is possible to see her as one who has, albeit in a different way, set herself above her family in her desire and belief that she is better than them because she is not so vain or socially conscious. Is her failure to be persuaded stubbornness? Will she actually be happy with Captain Wentworth? Is advice taken readily, due to a feeling of obligation, the advisors fault, or the one who accepts it?
