Persuasion - Jane Austen

In this scene, Austen conveys Anne’s sense of not quite belonging, she doesn’t fit with rest of her family, and she doesn’t quite belong to the group in the White Hart Inn either. Anne is all alone, caught up in her feelings, she has been living in the past, now she is filled with hopes for the future. It is not until Mrs. Musgrove tells Mrs. Croft, “there is nothing I so abominate for young people as a long engagement,” that Anne starts to listen. Recognising “its application to herself,” Anne feels “a nervous thrill,” and “instinctively glance[s]”at Captain Wentworth. He has stopped writing his letter, he is listening and gives her “one quick, conscious look” (Austen 163). All it takes is this one exchange of looks for the lovers to communicate

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

Jane Austen's Persuasion is a dark novel. From the jolting breaks in the romantic drama--the falls of little Charles and Louisa Musgrove--to the heroine's depressing existence--Anne Elliot has a "great tendency to lowness" (Austen 66)-- to the overall autumnal mood, the work is at times a gloomy, though always interesting, read. Perhaps its darkest facet though is the ubiquitous presence of an antagonist. While Mr. Elliot appears, most blatantly, to be the villain, in actuality, it is Lady Russell, whose persuasions are both manipulative and, frighteningly, pervasive, who should truly bear that stigma.

When reading Persuasion, the reader quickly becomes captivated by the romantic notion of the novel, and is immersed in the lives of Anne and Captain Wentworth as they rekindle a lost connection. Besides writing a captivating love story, Austen also makes direct and indirect commentary about the ethos of her time, and plenty to make any social scientist interested. Nonetheless, whatever Austen’s commentary on her society is, she utilizes the Navy to convey many of her ideas. As Albert Camus once said, “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”

In Persuasion, thoughts are greatly privileged over actions. As a result, readers are given insight into characters’ thoughts and actions. One way this is accomplished is through Theory of Mind. This concept, developed by Lisa Zunshine, is the ability to explain behavior through their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and desires. The society in Persuasion is based upon this principle. Everybody is concerned with what other people think. They infer a certain action as an indication of either a positive or negative emotion. They also predict the emotions that a character will have as a response to a certain action. One point in the novel for which this is true is when the Elliot family is concerned with their relationship with Lady Dalrymple. They worry that she will not approve of their guests. Sir Walter is described to use his theory of mind frequently. When Anne is trying to marry Captain Wentworth, he does not care that she loves him. Rather, he is concerned with Wentworth’s social status and wealth. He did not want to have his

The Repetition in Persuasion Persuasion represents a fantasy that keeps its appeal. The novel achieves the wish that a missed chance might return and that a past moment might be persuaded to repeat itself, not as it was, but as it was not. In fact, it is possible to read this novel as an experiment in narrating the relations between desire and history. Austen associates this ability not only with desire and subjectivity through the narration, but also with history itself, via a narrative structure that challenges a progressive path as well as the logic of cause and effect.

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.

In Persuasion by Jane Austen, the roles of women are “set in opposition to the public political world of men, a world created for women and by women” (Walzer 689). Persuasion brings into literature a new look on females especially through the naïve and easily persuaded Anne Elliot. Anne Elliot is the quiet female character who majorly conforms to society and what it dictates as indicated by her mentor Lady Russell. Anne “with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, which must have placed her high with any people of real understanding, was nobody with her father and sister” (Austen 1146). Anne has all of the characteristics that man would deem desirable, but society only sees the weakness of being persuadable. “Anne is, furthermore, the embodiment of the female ethic of service to others” which is why her father and sister walk all over her; her subservience is consistent with the women of the time (Walzer 700). Her very meek and simple character is the evident in the short and rushed sentences that compliment Anne’s character (Page 49). Austen creates a world in which females can and do succeed without the aid of men or the embodiment of masculine traits (Walzer 689). Female voices and perspectives are used to counter the male dominance of society and of the home (Walzer 689). Also, she creates a “realm set in opposition to the public, political world of men, a world created for women and by women in the novel” which allows the female characters and their feminine traits to be exalted rather than be made dependent on the masculine traits (Walzer 697). This entire book centers around a man recognizing femininity as something to be exalted and cherished rather than left dependent on men who see feminine traits as weak. It is not the fact that Anne is feminine that creates such a controversial book, but rather the bowing down of men

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.

In Jane Austen’s Persuasion, she examines life among the 19th-century landholding elite in Britain, and the proposition of marriage between several couples creates a dynamic social atmosphere. Austen’s novel centers around Anne Elliot, the unmarried daughter of a Baronet, however, there are several auxiliary characters that play into the social atmosphere of courtship and marriage. These characters give the reader an insider look into the complexities of courting during the period. The experience of courtship develops the characters of Persuasion by putting them in hyper-realistic social settings for the time.

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 weaves the theme of travel throughout her novel, Persuasion, to solidify the value she places on sincerity of character in relation to social decorum. However, travel in this context is more broadly defined as any change or movement from one place to another. Changes of setting, social standing, or time, for instance, are all examples of travel that result in the reinforcement of Anne and Captain Wentworth’s sincerity and, in turn, knowledge of the other’s character. The scene where they finally reveal their love for each other after being separated for eight years is the prime example of Austen’s conviction that

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

In the masterpiece that is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen there are many important and substantial ideas that reflect the virtues and the consequences of following or not following them. Jane Austen’s work has been applauded in it authentic feeling and the realistic way she captured emotions and character development. Austin depicts an important truth that can sometimes be overlooked in her book and that is people need to continually better themselves. These theme are most evident in the characters of Mr Darcy whom changes throughout the story and Mrs Bennett who does not and the consequences of both who made the decision whether consciously or not to change.

The most dynamic character in Jane Austen’s Persuasion is Anne Elliot. Although Anne may have lost her youthful beauty, she still possesses an intellectual beauty that allows her to grow as a dynamic character. Unlike her sister, Mary Musgrove has remained static in the novel thus far. I enjoyed this reading because I related Anne’s character to my past self. While I am very much related to Anne’s character, as someone who has grown out of her past flaws, I find it more difficult to relate to Mary as she remains static.