Persuasion response

Anne grows up a lot in this novel; by the end she can't be persuaded as easily as she was by Lady Russell. She is also very perceptive which allows her to form better judgments based solely on her own observations. There is very little discussion of gender save the scene toward the end when Anne and Harville discuss the constancy of women in love; their discussion flows over to art expression in which men have more advantage and tend to paint women in a poor light. Another image of women is the role of Mary Musgrove in the novel; she is ironically made a mother, but her number one concern is herself. She uses her children to get what she wants, such as the case of her son's injury. Anne is definitely presented as the heroine of the story, but does that make her the modern heroine? She doesn't possess many of the characteristics we expect to find in heroines, but she is strong of character, expects people to do good things, enjoys intelligent discussion, and strays from gossip and persuasion. If not a modern hero, she was a hero for her time, at least. Anne also has much of the Elliot pride in her, but it affects her differently than it does Sir Elliot or Mary; instead, Anne takes pride in elegance of mind and amiability. I think this makes Anne a more realistic character; she has her flaws, but they aren't overwhelming, and she puts her abilities and mind to good purpose.

Modern day comparison: Cinderella

Themes:

• Upward class movement: juxtaposition of lower class men who are amiable and caring to upper class men (Elliots) who are vain and arrogant
• Beauty: Anne versus Elizabeth
• Pride
• Assumptions that lead to pain or embarrassment
• Persuasion v autonomy
• Confusion is huge throughout the novel; Wentworth and Anne are confused regarding each other; Elliot trying to win Anne; internal struggle, too
• Humor: Mary and Sir Walter are hugely funny; they are foil to the complicated arena of Wentworth and Anne, and they serve many similar functions as the comedic foils in Shakespearean plays
• Suppressed emotions

Austen in context:

• Women in this period are supposed to be fragile; they can't express anger, but boys can express anger if it is in a directed arena; they are considered weak
• Passionate and intense feeling are only acceptable if they serve the family=family unity is extremely important, as Anne proves through her fidelity to her family's happiness
• Within novels, emotions are never really conquered because there would be no rebellion and no room for growth
• The healthy way for a young man to focus his anger was through politics or work; Wentworth proves this by immersing himself in the navy
• 3 most threatening emotions: anger, fear, and jealously. Anne experiences some of these, but she doesn't allow them to rule her, making her the picture of emotional perfection in the Victorian Era.