Persuasion by Jane Austen Persuasion

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Persuasion

Persuasion by the renowned English novelist Jane Austen was written between August, 1815 and August, 1816 and was her last novel. (Persuasion by Jane Austen) it is interesting to note that the title of this work which captures the central theme so well was only a working title. Austen died before she could give the book a title to her liking.

Like so many of her previous novels, Persuasion deals ostensibly with a love relationship. However, love in this period of English history was intimately intertwined and linked to social norms and expectations. Social class and status as well as wealth were aspects that determined many marriages and influenced many love relationships.

Austen is also concerned with the position and role of women in a society, where advancement for females could only be achieved through marriage to men of wealth, status and power. One of the themes will be discussed in this paper is the way that the central female character, Anne Eliot, is persuaded by class and status to deny her love for a man. The novel also explores the way in which she and others in the novel have to come to terms with their own sense of value and love in spite of the social norms and conventions that influence and even determine their lives. This paper will view the novel in terms of its social and cultural context and on this basis explore some of the central themes of this 19th Century novel in an attempt to show why it is still important to the contemporary reader.

2. Plot and overview

The basic plot of this novel is as follows. The narrative begins seven years after the main character, Anne Eliot, has refused to marry Frederick Wentworth. The reason for her refusal underlies the central theme of class and social status that pervades this and many other novels by Austen. The man who Anne Eliot fell in love with seven ears ago was handsome and ambitious but also poor and without any high social standing.

Anne's family and particularly her father Sir Walter Eliot and her sister, were intensely conscious of class and status in society. They were opposed to the relationship and engagement between the Anne and Frederick Wentworth. Anne was persuaded not to marry the man by Lady Russell, who had become her mentor after the death her mother. The reason given to Ann is that it would not be "wise" to marry a man with no fortune and no family connections in society. His future prospects were also deemed to be uncertain.

She therefore breaks off her engagement. After a period of twenty-seven years we encounter her as a spinster. However, there is a certain irony in that when Ann and Wentworth meet again their fortunes have changed. She and her family have become relatively poor while the Wentworth family have become rich and have risen in terms of status in the society. However, it is also clear that even after all the years that have passed that Wentworth has not forgiven Ann for her rejection of him. This leads to various complex and awkward situations -- situations that force her to grow as a person and to become more aware of the selfish machinations of people in society. Due to her father's pecuniary failures Sir Walter is forced to let the family estate to Admiral Croft, who is Wentworth's brother -- in -- law.

The old attraction that Wentworth had for Ann is revived and he begins to see her positive qualities displayed in various situations. He is impressed at her calmness and rationality in a crisis and his old admiration and affection for her begin to return. Anne and Wentworth eventually are reconciled and they once again become engaged. However, the difference is that this time, because of the changes in fortune and status in the Wentworth family, the Eliot family finds this match to acceptable. The fact that the Eliot's have become less fortunate and have financial difficulties also makes the engagement between Ann and Frederick Wentworth more attractive to them. Lady Russell, who initially persuaded Ann not to marry Wentworth, now admits that she was wrong to do so.

The above very brief and very abridged synopsis does not begin to do justice to the complexity and richness of the text and the various subplots that add depth to the novel. As is often the case in Austen's books, the subplots add to the texture of the works and assist in expanding on the central characters and themes of the works. In Persuasion we could refer to the important subplots surrounding Mrs. Clay, as well as that of William Elliot. Through the events of these subplots we see how Anne Eliot becomes more astute in her observations and insight into people in society and is no longer easily persuaded by the views of others. For example, she instinctively distrusts William Eliot this feeling is vindicated when she discovers the truth about this character and his relationship with Mrs. Smith. As she becomes aware of the way that people manipulate others for status and power and their own ends, Anne begins to see how persuasion functions in society and begins to rely more on her own judgment in life.

2. Themes

2.1. Class, power and status

As is often the case in novels by Jane Austen, the background to the plot is a central concern with the structure of English society of the time and the plot is usually shape by the demands of class, status, wealth and decorum. The fact that the central female character is persuaded not to marry has consequences that reverberate throughout the novel.

In essence, the novel is about unrequited or lost love and love found again. This also refers to a perennial theme in her works, which is the difference between true love and love that is mediated or influenced by societal concerns and by issues such as class and wealth. A fact that is very clear in the novel is that Anne's love for Wentworth was perverted by society and by the demands of status and class.

It should be remembered that social status and class consciousness were very much an endemic part of English society during the period in which Austen wrote. Class stratification and divisions were very rigid in British society. In Persuasion it is the landed gentry or the upper-middle class who are represented through the descriptions of the Eliot Family. Austen make very clear the "…traditions of this structured social group as well as its restricted vision of those outside the group." (Persuasion: Themes)

The concern with class and social status can be seen in the references to Sir Walter's interest the Baronetage. This is a book that records the family history and their social standing. Sir Walter Elliot is reminded by the book of his "…exalted social position." (Persuasion: Themes) However, as one commentator states, the pride that he takes in his social position "…has degenerated into an inflated vanity and aesthetic sense, as he can appreciate only things that, like his own visage..." (Persuasion Study Guide)

The character of Sir Walter is important in the novel as he becomes a symbol of false pride and pretension and all that Austen views as being opposed to natural love and relationships between people. In this sense the novel is also a critique of pretentious and class pride in society. This view is succinctly summarized in the following quotation.

Sir Walter is a traditional gentleman of the landed gentry, the upper-middle level of the British class system. Through his characterization, Austen records all that she finds pretentious and shallow in the most conservatively rigid members of this group. In her detailed depiction of Sir Walter's manners and fashionable pursuits, Austen lays the ground-work for her critique of the superficialities of the middle class. (Perkins)

This shallow view of life is also to be found in Elizabeth and other characters in the novel.

Furthermore, social pride and the failure to be sensitive to the feelings of others through an over -- concern with class and status is the reason why Ann Eliot is persuaded to decline her relationship and engagement with Wentworth. As will also be discussed in this paper, a central concern in this novel is to show how true love is upset and often corrupted by social status and pretensions. This refers to the one of the central theme and intention in the novel of making us aware of the way that social concerns can interfere with the natural progress of love. (Perkins) Jane Austen's critique of society is extended in the character of William Eliot. As referred to, Anne is suspicious of this character and he proves himself to be "black and hollow at heart." (Perkins) Yet he is accepted by many on the basis of his wealth and status.

Of course, when one speaks of social status concerns about money cannot be far behind. Monetary wealth is intimately aligned with social standing and when the Eliot's run into financial difficulties as result of pretentious living standards, this has profound implications for the plot and main characters.

Power is also another factor that plays a role in the desire for social status. In this novel Austen explores the ways in which power over others is related to class and wealth. We have already seen how the power associated with class and social hierarchy has succeeded in changing the direction of Anne's life through the persuasion of Lady Russell. An interesting aspect of the novel is that Austen also examines the shifting and changing patterns of power in the society at that time. As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, a division has arisen in English society between the old aristocracy and the new middle classes, represented by the individual entrepreneur. This can be seen in the way that power shifts in the novel between the Eliot and Wentworth families. (Persuasion by Jane Austen: In a Nutshell)

2.2. Women in society

Another factor that is important and which is related to the above themes in the novel is the position of women in society. Austen, in portraying the main female character in contrast to the other characters, attempt to show how women have to contend with a society dominated by male ideas of hierarchy and status, while at the same time attempting to find their own sense of identity and self-worth. Central to the problems that Anne Eliot faces is that women in the society have to live within rigid class distinctions. This is the reason why she is persuaded not to marry Wentworth and the reason for her wasting twenty -- seven years of her life as a spinster.

This refers to the fact that women in English society during this period had no option but marriage. Furthermore, it was required that a women 'marry well' if she was to advance in society and overcome status barriers. In this light Anne can be forgiven for being persuaded by Lady Russell not to marry beneath her status, or at least her action can be better understood.