Appearance Versus Reality in Anne Elliot's Persuasion Essay

Anne Elliot is a kind and principled young woman. In her younger years she is somewhat passive and easily persuaded by those around her. Anne grows up however, and in developing her character she transforms into a confident and straight thinking young woman, no longer easily swayed by persuasion of her friends and family nor political correctness of social relationships. She begins as a passive character but grows into an active character as she learns who she is and becomes more sure of herself and her decision making abilities, as is I believe common in growing up. The reader can see a transition through the book wherein Anne is no longer so easily persuaded by those around her. Anne finds herself, and follows her heart; due to being in proximity to Wentworth she realized the strength of the love she still has for him, reveling in the realization (via his letter and subsequent conversation) that the long held love is mutual.

Through her sarcastic and contemptuous tone in Persuasion, Austen portrays how many members of the upper class only cared about appearance and thought of themselves as being more attractive and overall better than everyone else. After Mr. Elliot had come to Bath and spent time with the Elliots, they could not stop talking about him. Sir Walter, while discussing the flaws in his appearance, said that “‘He did not mean to complain, however. Mr. Elliot was better to look at than most men, and he had no objection to being seen with him any where’” (Austen 93). Despite having spent a large chunk of time doing nothing but “complain[ing]” about Mr. Elliot’s appearance, Austen mockingly states that criticizing him was not his intent. Sir Walter actually thinks of Mr. Elliot as “better

In Persuasion, by Jane Austen, there are many exceptional characters. Perhaps two of the most memorable are Sir Walter Elliot, and his daughter, Anne Elliot. These characters are well shaped and have something about them that transcends time and social class, enabling readers of the all ages, to feel they have something in common with them.

Within Jane Austen’s book Persuasion, she addresses issues of wealth, class, looks, and love through her use of humor. Love plays a major role in this story because to Sir Elliot, the father of Anne Elliot, a major character, looks and one’s fortune and one’s position in society. Anne Elliot wanted to marry Captain Wentworth, however since he was poor at the time, Sir Elliot looked does upon him and did not want Anne to marry him: Anne turned down his offer of a hand in marriage. Later in the story, Captain Wentworth reappears; this time he is rich. All of a sudden women are all over him and Sir Elliot thinks highly of him. When Anne and was reacquainted with Captain Wentworth, she

In the early 1800s Jane Austen wrote what would be her last novel, Persuasion. Persuasion is set during the “Georgian Society” which greatly affects the character's views and actions throughout the novel. Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth quickly fell in love when Anne was just nineteen years old, but because he wasn't wealthy enough, Anne was not given the permission by her father, Sir Walter, to marry him. Eight years after this incident, the roles have reversed; Sir Walter has lost all of his money and Frederick Wentworth is now known as Captain Wentworth. Throughout the novel, Anne tries to overcome struggles with social class in order to fulfill her longing of being with Captain Wentworth. Therese Anderson's statement about the

Here, the story is about the characters of the Elliot family and the girls Elizabeth, Anne, and Mary. She criticizes here also the norm that tries to separate women and men by separating so called domains; which asserts that males should act in the public domain and the women in the domestic domain. However, unlike Pride and Prejudice, here she shows some hopeful settings where the characters show desirable actions. Anne’s future husband Captain Frederick Wentworth seeks a woman with strong character and independent mind while another character, Mr. and Mrs. Croft share ‘domains.’ In the end, she tries to explain that what the people think as ‘gentlemen,’ or how men should behave, are actually people who seek comfort, avoids work, likes to be titled, and is

In the excerpt from Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion, Anne Elliot is faced with a decision normally seen as a dream come true by nineteenth century women of marrying her knighted cousin. However, in true Brothers Grimm fashion, Anne was reluctant to enter into the incestious relationship of her dreams even at the wishes of close family friend, Lady Russell. Through her narrative techniques of selection of time frame, character selection, and an omniscient point of view, Austen illustrated the nature of the proposed relationship and the desires of both Lady Russell and Anne. The time frame Austen selected for her story emphasized the weight of the proposed union set in a time where titles were worth more than life, the scenario of marrying a knighted man and being able to keep it within the family bloodline was a win in all aspects.

In Persuasion, the last of Jane Austen’s works, the readers are immediately intrigued by the autumnal tone of the piece, and the mellowness of the main character, Anne Elliot. Anne, a twenty-seven year old upper middle class woman, met and fell in love with Captain Frederick Wentworth at the age of nineteen. She was however, forced to break off the relationship at the time because Wentworth was deemed an unsuitable match. Eight years later, they meet again and by that time Captain Wentworth has made his fortune in the navy and has become an attractive catch. Anne was now uncertain about his feelings for her. Persuasion examines English society’s view of marriage and

Austen also highlights society’s pressures in marriage as Charlotte Lucas most likely will not get another chance of marrying and cannot wait for love therefore this marriage is a business deal. Mr. Collins reaction to the refusal solidifies Austen’s portrait of this absurd character and of society’s prejudices. Finally Mr. Collins' comic inability to believe that Elizabeth could possibly be sincere in her recurring refusals illustrate what little respect he has for her and also the fact that this proposal is more of a business deal than a affirmation of love, in contrast Mr. Darcy’s feelings for Elizabeth are fervent.

In this passage, Jane and Elizabeth are discussing the recent engagement of their friend Charlotte Lucas to their cousin, Mr. Collins. Elizabeth commences by asserting that there are few people who she thinks well of in this world due to the lack of sense that many people seem to actually have. Elizabeth is also very disgruntled by the fact that a person she had respect for, Charlotte, agreed to marry a “conceited, pompous” man like Mr. Collins and states that she has essentially lost respect for Charlotte. Jane, on the other hand, attempts to defend Charlotte’s “prudent, steady character” by reminding Elizabeth that Charlotte is from a large family and therefore it is necessary that she marry a man with a good fortune like Mr. Collins. Elizabeth

A classic work of English literature, Jane Austen’s novel, Persuasion, centers on the story of protagonist, Anne Elliot. Intelligent, kind, and considerate, much of Anne’s struggles throughout the text may be attributed to the ease with which she is persuaded by her family to act as they see fit. While this may paint the character as being easily manipulated or lacking strong character, it is argued that a deeper understanding of Anne Elliot as a character may be attained upon closer analysis of her surroundings, the context within which she was brought up, and her family dynamic. Born in 1787 (Austen, 1998, p.5), the character of Anne was likely subject to a different socialization process than a female child born in the twenty-first century.

Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion explores how society worked in the 1800’s. It shows the issues of living in a patriarchal society and how social class was very important. Through Sir Walter Elliot’s character, it is shown how the upper classes have certain standards of behaviour and character traits that they show.

Taking place in Somersetshire, Lyme Regis, and Bath England from 1816, Austen’s “Persuasion” a common theme of persuasion (the action or fact of persuading someone or of being persuaded to do or believe something, not the title of Austen’s book) does not only apply to Anne Elliot, but as well as many individuals around the world. In one way or another, whether coerced or not, everyone has been persuaded into doing something that was not ideal. For instance, in “Persuasion”, at the age of nineteen, Anne and Lady Russell, the female figure in her life, did not agree on the engagement of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth, a man who, “...had no fortune. He had been lucky in his profession, but spending freely, what had come freely, had realized nothing. But, he was confident that he should soon be rich;—full of life and ardour, he knew that he should soon have a ship, and soon be on a station that would lead to every thing he wanted. He had always been lucky; he knew he should be so still.—Such confidence, powerful in its own warmth, and bewitching in the wit which often expressed it, must have been enough for Anne; but Lady Russell saw it very differently.—His sanguine temper and fearlessness of mind, operated very differently on her. She saw in it but an aggravation of the evil. It only added a dangerous character to himself.” (Austen) And with that, Anne couldn’t have possibly disobeyed such an important female paragon in her life regardless if she loved Captain

Jane Austen’s title “Persuasion” is very relatable to characters in many different ways. The first character that this title can relate to very much is Anne Elliot. She is the protagonist of Persuasion, and is very intelligent and thoughtful. Anne takes pride in her looks but gets very sad after overhearing Captain Wentworth think she has changed her appearance for the worst. However, overall, her persuasion comes from within herself as she is not only intelligent but also very strong willed. We see this in chapter 5 when a little farther perseverance in patience and cheerfulness on Anne’s side produced a cure on Mary after she claims that she is feeling sick. Anne also manages to persuade Mary to get off the sofa and visit the Musgroves at the Great House. She also says to Mary “your parents ought to call upon you as soon as possible and they must feel what is due to you my sister”. She also says that “they may as well go and sit with them a little while, and when they have got it over then we can enjoy the walk”. In this scenario, she had always thought that the connection style she used on Mary as rather irresponsible, but she didn’t care about it since the believed that there were continual subjects of offence that neither family could do without. This goes to show that Anne is the ultimate expert when it comes to persuasion as she has the ability to use high levels logic and rational to persuade herself but she also has the ability to empathize and understand forms of

Persuasion 27) as she did not want Anne “to throw herself away at nineteen” (Persuasion 26). Smith states that Lady Russell’s “view of marriage […] is shaped by patriarchal standards, such as the wealth in property of the prospective husband” (161). Since Wentworth does not fulfil the most important criterion, namely having inherited either fortune and/or an estate from his deceased parents (cf. Persuasion 26f.), Lady Russell does not consider him a suitable/worthy candidate for Anne. In addition to that, she is quite biased against Wentworth as his fearless and optimistic nature with regard to his future conveys to her the impression of a “dangerous character” (Persuasion 27) or even “an aggravation of the evil” (ibid.). By implication, if someone does not stem from a higher class background and is neither wealthy nor an estate owner, she will try to find as many negative aspects in their character as possible to attempt to save Anne from a bad marriage. Young Anne, on the other hand, let herself be persuaded by Lady Russell due to the fact that she made a continual effort to dissuade her (cf. Persuasion 27). At the beginning of Austen’s novel, which is set eight years after that incident, Anne still has not come to terms with this past incident although reckoning