Persuasion - Jane Austen
Janeca Latore
AP English 12
Mr. Connelly
April 7, 2012
Persuasion
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 naval profession, the two ways individuals could improve their status, as well as how easily one can be persuaded. The novel poses the question to the reader whether it is better to be firm in one's convictions or to be open to the suggestions of others. As seen through Captain Wentworth and Anne’s actions, what the novel examines as well as what it questions are the major themes of the novel. The novel have three main settings, the country houses in Somersetshire where the novel begins, the village of Lyme Regis where the characters take a trip in the middle of the story, and finally the town of Bath, where everyone ends up. Persuasion can best be compared to another one of Jane Austen’s books, Pride and Prejudice. Both novels talk about the lives of two main characters, Anne in Persuasion and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice, and how they both refused proposals and ended up with the guy in the end. Throughout Persuasion, each setting presents Anne with a different sense of well-being. The narrator explain how Anne’s family views her when stating that, “Elizabeth has succeed, at sixteen to all that was possible, of her mother’s rights and consequences…but Anne, with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, which must have
AP English 12
Mr. Connelly
April 7, 2012
Persuasion
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 naval profession, the two ways individuals could improve their status, as well as how easily one can be persuaded. The novel poses the question to the reader whether it is better to be firm in one's convictions or to be open to the suggestions of others. As seen through Captain Wentworth and Anne’s actions, what the novel examines as well as what it questions are the major themes of the novel. The novel have three main settings, the country houses in Somersetshire where the novel begins, the village of Lyme Regis where the characters take a trip in the middle of the story, and finally the town of Bath, where everyone ends up. Persuasion can best be compared to another one of Jane Austen’s books, Pride and Prejudice. Both novels talk about the lives of two main characters, Anne in Persuasion and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice, and how they both refused proposals and ended up with the guy in the end. Throughout Persuasion, each setting presents Anne with a different sense of well-being. The narrator explain how Anne’s family views her when stating that, “Elizabeth has succeed, at sixteen to all that was possible, of her mother’s rights and consequences…but Anne, with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, which must have
Cited: Austen, Jane. Persuasion. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1997. 1-188. Print. Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Barn& Nobles, Inc, 2001. 1-282. Print. Moses, Felix. "Learning Romance The Jane Austen Way."Victorian Web. N.p., 12 A. Web. 9 Apr 2012. <http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/austen/moses1.html>.