Persuasion and Jane Austen Book Club - Essay Example

Persuasion and Jane Austen Book Club This essay is based on Persuasion by Jane Austen and Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler and makes an analysis of how the story unfolds despite efforts by Lady Russell and Jocelyn in each respective book trying to control the destiny of the people they love. However there are some unplanned circumstances that lead to the situation developing differently than Lady Russell and Jocelyn anticipated given that Wentworth comes back having achieved wealth while in the case of Sylvia and Grigg, Jocelyn finds out that the later has feelings for her instead. In persuasion by Jane Austen, Lady Russell manages to convince Ann that Wentworth is not the best suitor for her leading to Ann turning down Wentworths proposal of marriage. Lady Russell takes advantage of her position in the Elliot family where she has played the role of a mother since the death of Ann’s mother to persuade not to marry Wentworth. Lady Russell together with the rest of Ann’s family believed in the “value for rank and consequence” (Austen 11) which was the basis of their opposition to the union between their family and Wentworth. Wentworth is not a wealthy individual and therefore represented a lower class compared to that of Ann who is from a lineage baronet. Lady Russell is in this case concerned with Ann’s future since Wentworth cannot promise to sustain her. Lady Russell uses the power of persuasion to control what becomes of Ann’s future. The ability Lady Russell that possess is well highlighted in Austin’s description of the woman who is depicted as being “a woman of sound rather than quick abilities...she was a benevolent, charitable, good woman...most correct in her notions of decorum...she had a cultivated mind, and was, generally speaking, rational and consistent--but she had prejudices on the side of ancestry" (Austen 42). Although some might consider the influence Lady Russell has over Ann as a selfish disposition that does not take into consideration feelings of her goddaughter, she was motivated by her protective love of Ann. Lady Russell had concerns over the future of her “most dear and highly valued god-daughter, favorite, and friend” (6). She is therefore worried that just like Anne’s mother was blindly consumed by romance to marry Sir Walter Elliot who is seen as being irresponsible due to careless spending that leaves the family in debts. To avoid what a future in which Lady Russell sees Ann turning suffering for the wrong choice she makes at the monument, she warns Ann “you’re making the same mistake your mother made two-and-twenty years ago (Austen 11 ).” The choices made for Ann resulting in the end of her romance with Wentworth haunts her when the novel opens eighteen years since she made that decision. She now realizes that the arguments used to break her engagement were shallow and worthless and regrets that she accepted to follow them. Although Lady Russell supported the family opposition to the marriage between Ann and Wentworth due to the love for her goddaughter, it contributes to Ann’s sadness with the persons in her life based on the feeling that she could be better if she had married Captain Wentworth. The choices Lady Russell makes for her goddaughter results to eight years of pain for Ann and contradicts what parents should want for their children. The vision she has about the kind of future Ann should have obscures her judgment of the situation and fails to see past material property in their relationship. However, Ann has learned from her mistakes leading to her ability to make decisions indecently based on her emotions. The past experiences leads to changes in her life where she can no longer let Lady Russell control her therefore resulting in the lessening of the influence on Anne. Lady Russell however takes time to realize the growth in character that Ann has gone through making her increasingly assertive in pursuing what will make her happy. This lack of understanding leads to Lady Russell lamenting the Anne’s rejection of Charles Musgrove proposal noting the he was “of good character and appearance” and the heir to property in size and importance “second in that country” only to Kellynch (Austen 28). The increased assertiveness and search for personal happiness becomes apparent when Lady Russell tries to impose another suitor, William Elliot, on Ann. Russell perceives William Elliot as the most appropriate suitor based on their need to maintain family reputation. When suggesting this courtship, Lady Russell is not aware of the questionable past of the man she deems as fit for Ann but is only motivated by the prospect that Ann can now succeed her mother as a “more highly valued” (Austen 160) Lady Elliot. Further Lady Russell is concerned about the happiness of Ann claiming “if Mr. Elliot should some time hence pay his addresses to you, and if you should be disposed to accept him, there would be every possibility of” happiness (Austen 159). However, Ann rejects Lady Russell’s advice this time choosing to go by what her heart tells her. She still has feeling for Wentworth and is hurt by the attention he is commanding from the other ladies. In The Jane Austen Book Club Jocelyn thinks she can control the lives of those around her by predicting what is suitable for them. In the prologue, it is said was the convener of the book club and had picked the entire member for the club. The narrator notes that although Jocelyn had toiled them the aim of the club was to catch up on their favorite Austin books, they suspected there was other reasons behind the formation of the club. This suspicion might be true because every member of the group had an issue that they were dealing with at that particular time. Although she seems happy with the way her life was going, Jocelyn’s decision to convene the book club might be due to her feeling of loneliness since she had never been married and only had her dogs to live with. Allegra might have been invited by Jocelyn because of her trouble with her girlfriend in addition the accident she had in the past added to the separation process that her parents, Sylvia and Daniel were going through. Although Prudie’s marriage is also at risk due to her recent encounter with 28-year-old French teacher that has left her confused about her feelings to husband Dean. Although Bernadette is now satisfied by her life she had been married six times with al leading to divorce therefore playing a big role in her later single life and lastly there is Grigg who has had troubles with his father. Consequently, Jocelyn might have brought this group together based on her belief that it will play a role in making them cope with the different challenges they were going through in their lives. After Jocelyn and Grigg meet in a “hotel currently cross-hatching science fiction buffs and dog handlers, in a lift rather overcrowded with some singularly impolite vampires she does sees him as perfect for her friend saliva as it will destruct her from her marriage problems (Austen 128). In fact, this is not the first time that Jocelyn takes the role of a matchmaker given that Sylvia husband had also been her boyfriend in high schools (Fowler 3). Her concern over the happiness of her friend goes a long way back to when they were still in school and she still wants to be there for sylvan even after the years that had gone by. The narrator hints at Jocelyn’s satisfaction with fixing people claiming “This early success had given her a taste for blood; she’d never recovered” (Fowler 4). However, her controlling of other people’s lives does not only end with her friends as she had already started with the identification of a suitor for Allegra with the narrator noting this had taken around six months. Grigg becomes aware of Jocelyn’s wish for him and Sylvia to start dating although the two did not have feelings for each other. Grigg had instead developed an attraction toward her but was not was convinced Jocelyn’s would not accept him based on the way she treated. However, he still warns Jocelyn against interfering in Sylvia’s adding “It’s not for you to decide who she loves” (Fowler 176). The interference according to Grigg was not the best thing to do since Sylvia needed to “work out her own happiness” (Fowler 176). Things further take a different turn than Jocelyn had expected when she also begins to have develop feelings towards Grigg and contemplates dating him. This is after Sylvia had told her she was not interested in having him for a fling advising Jocelyn to instead “fling him” (Fowler 231). Through the consequence of the control that Jocelyn and Lady Russell exert on the people they love has great implications to perception held by Fowler and Austen on control, change, and acceptance. The authors seems to imply that even when one loves those around them, it is best to let them find the own way in life. Happiness does not come from the controlling people’s destiny but from supporting them through the problems, they might be going through. Both Ann and Sylvia accept the verdict of Lady Russell and Jocelyn respectively knowing they care for them and want them to be happy. However, the choices they make only comes back to haunt them in future as it does not translate into them being happy. It is therefore important that such people change their belief and have confidence that those they love will be able to make the best choices when n the right time comes. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Persuasion. Vol. 7. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Fowler, Karen Joy. The Jane Austen Book Club. London: Penguin, 2005. Read More