Persuasion by Jane Austen - Assignment Example

Persuasion by Jane Austen“Anne Elliot, with all her claims of birth, beauty, and mind, to throw herself away at nineteen; involve herself at nineteen in an engagement with a young man, who had nothing but himself to recommend him, and no hopes of attaining affluence, but in the chances of a most uncertain profession, and no connexions to secure even his farther rise in the profession, would be, indeed, a throwing away, which she grieved to think of! Anne Elliot, so young; known to so few, to be snatched off by a stranger without alliance or fortune; or rather sunk by him into a state of most wearing, anxious, youth-killing dependence!

It must not be, if by any fair interference of friendship, any representations from one who had almost a mother’s love, and mother’s rights, it would be prevented” (Austin 23).“Persuasion” is a novel by Jane Austen which was the last work completed by the writer. The whole novel covers a dozen of themes; the author broached topics such as life of aristocracy, their prejudice, the Royal Navy, post-military times and the topic of persuasion itself. For my critical analysis I have chosen a short passage from chapter 4.

This extract is a kind of explanation, why it is so dreadfully undesirable for Anne to marry Frederick Wentworth. This man has neither fortune nor proper acquaintances which might be beneficial for Anne Elliot, a daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, once wealthy and arrogant baronet. The lines in this passage do not belong to any particular person in the novel, they are said by the narrator. However, they appeal to beliefs and views of quite a lot of characters. Sir Walter Elliot, Lady Russell, Mary Musgrove and a number of others believe that a person without any rank or title is not worthy of being treated equally to nobility.

There are rare exceptions, just like in case of Anne Elliot, when no attention is paid to a person’s social status. Anne wants to marry Frederick despite his lack of affluence. And this characterizes her as a candid, frank and carefree person. But Lady Russell, a woman of more conservative beliefs, uses her overwhelming influence on Anne and makes the young girl leave her plans. The theme of class inequality raised in my chosen extract is not limited only by this passage. The details of it help the reader to understand the ideology of characters, their views at proprieties and rules of social behavior and interaction.

This is an introduction to a topic which is echoed throughout the whole novel. This passage reflects the views of Victorian aristocracy on class distinctions and their perception and interpretation of cross-class relationships. Having read this passage we understand the logic of Sir Walter Elliot and Lady Russell, when they try to reassure Anne not to marry Capitan Wentworth. It also helps to realize why Mary Musgrove does not approve of the marriage between Henrietta and Charles. In global sense it is an example of how Jane Austen portrayed and revealed flaws and defects of society of those times.

The vanity, arrogance and conceit of Austen’s own social circles were a subject of irony and satire and were reflected in the novel. She portrayed a woman, who despite belonging to aristocracy does not share the widespread points of view. She used to be young, susceptible and easily influenced, but later she becomes a mature, self-sufficient woman who is capable of making her own independent conclusions. To sum up, this passage concerns the issue of social correctness and inequality. In its narrow sense it reveals Sir Walter Elliot’s disrespectful attitude towards Capitan Wentworth and his unwillingness to permit Anne to marry Frederick.

However, broadly this extract exposes ambitiousness and intolerance of aristocracy in general which can be witnessed throughout the whole novel.Works CitedAustine, Jane. Persuasion. Web. http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/j-austen/persuasion6x9.pdf