At twenty-seven Anne is fully matured and for her falling in love appears to be a distant dream. The last eight years have been spent by her in regret and she does not have any hopes of finding true love again. The novel is narrated in two different settings. From the time of Michaelmas to Christmas, Anne stays in the countryside at Somerset, initially with her sister and later with Lady Russel, her friend. She spends two days at Lyme where several of the characters in the novel have their destiny changed due to the events that occur during this time. Anne has to reluctantly leave for Bath and live with her father Sir Walter Elliot who is portrayed as being rather snobbish and a spendthrift. He had taken a house in Bath in order to reduce the expenses while his country estate was given on rent to the sister of Wentworth who stays there with her husband. Anne undergoes a lot of mental hardships in staying at Bath and considers herself to be confined in an environment of hopelessness and artificiality. She gets reprieve from the place by way of help rendered by Captain Wentworth who still believes to be in love with her just as she too had not forgotten him.
Persuasion is one of Jane Austen’s most mature novels and depicts the intense feelings of tender love on the part of Anne, whose character is in the nature of being patient and gentle but also firm at the same time in making her a befitting heroine in the story. Though Austen is not considered to be a revolutionary, she has not delicately reflected on the changes taking place in the establishment of marriage and society during her time. In this novel she has relayed the ideals of a traditional marriage but has also challenged them at the same time. The novel depicts in this regard the role of characters such as Anne, Crofts, Mary and Charles as pushing against and breaking the borders of these different areas thus enabling them to merge into the system. The characters of Admiral Croft and Mrs. Croft are seen as challenging the doctrine of the diverse spheres yet their relationship is seen as symbiotic in depending on each other for contentment and happiness.
Anne’s mother is no more while her father and elder sister are shown to be very selfish and arrogant. Her younger sister is also not in keeping with her expectations and is rather manipulative and irritating to her in view of her being a hypochondriac. Anne is rarely seen as a happy person and despite her sweet nature and high intellect nobody seems to appreciate her for what she is. She lives in virtual isolation and within a contracted social sphere whereby, she “was nobody with either father or sister; her word had no weight; her convenience was always to give way; she was only Anne (Austen Persuasion 8-9). Her only confidante is Lady Russell who was the best friend of her mother. The lady has good intentions for Anne and means well for her but is seen as having flaws in terms of her tendency to overvalue social positions while making opinions about other people. Such flaws in Lady Russell made Anne feel disturbed since she was the one who influenced her into breaking off her engagement with Captain Wentworth, whom she had indeed loved so passionately. She was made to think adversely about him due to his lower status and connections in society and his lack of wealth. It is evident throughout the novel that Anne never recovered fully from the heartbreak. The novel begins by making her appear as a sad person who is not given much value by her father and is disrespected by her elder sister. She was in fact resigned to leading an empty life. With the return of Wentworth who had become rich with the prize money that he had received, Anne feels pained initially but gets her life into motion again with the solace of his presence.
Austen has depicted Anne Elliot as holding both modern and traditional principles in her character. She is observed as being the distinctive “sentimental core”, while also being determined. She is viewed as being the emotional strength for her family, more so in contrast to Mary Musgrove. Mary is not seen as concerning herself with her own children in keeping with the duties of a housewife and instead Anne usually takes over such duties in making offers so that Mary “leave little Charles in [her] care,” after an injury, so her and her husband can meet Captain Wentworth (Austen Persuasion 1122). The children are hence more attached to Anne and generally “respected her a great deal more than their mother” (Austen Persuasion 1114, 1122). But at the same time Anne cannot be said to be always caring as she is often seen to be assuming her masculine role on several occasions and situations. When the child Louisa fell from the wall, Anne reacts in a very calm and responsible manner while the others get panicky and jittery. She behaves very rationally in addressing the stunned crowd and directs them to help Wentworth. She literally orders captain Benwick to go and bring a surgeon for Louisa because “he knows where a surgeon is to be found” better than anyone else there (Austen Persuasion 1152). Everybody has expectations from her and asks her “what is to be done next?” and looks up to her as if she were a man ordering people around (Austen Persuasion 1152). Such instances in the novel amply prove that Anne as a character pushes against the borders of her spheres and breaks into assuming masculine roles and authority much against what women were expected to do during the given time.
Anne is seen as valuing the institution of marriage and is dutiful towards her parents. She is filled with intense love for those who are near to her and does not do so merely for the sake of meeting obligations as set by society. She sees in Lady Russell a motherly role and despite the fact that she is persuaded by her to break her engagement with Captain Wentworth; she respects her a great deal. Jane Austen has attempted to use her authorial voice in the novel by assuming the role of Anne Elliot. Anne’s character has been chosen by her as being representative of her personal views thus making Anne’s role blurred at times as compared to other female protagonists. The entire story is revealed as perceived by Anne and is a reflection of her viewpoints and observations. The reader is prompted to sympathize with Anne and to recognize and accept the moral perspectives emanating from her actions. Hence her qualities are spontaneously rated as being very high. She has the sweetness in her character and an elegant mind which elevates her in people’s minds.
Anne is a character that is always having good intentions as also an almost compulsive craving for self-sacrifice. She sometimes has a sense of self-abandonment but feels grateful when others feel good about her, especially at the time when she realizes that Captain Wentworth has become jealous. The other characters greatly differ from Anne in that she has an unbreakable faith in regard to the human nature. She feels very happy in relationships with people and has a vision of fulfilling her desires by getting married to a man with whom she falls in love. There is no disillusionment in her for she cannot be satisfied with alternatives such as riches, pride, arrogance and egoism as others have succumbed to. Essentially Anne is portrayed as a kind-hearted person just as her mother was. She is also depicted as a woman who has not been allowed to express herself freely given the adverse circumstances that have shrouded her life; the death of her mother and the breaking of her engagement with her lover.
Anne is all alone and is separated from her family and except Lady Russell, has close contact with very few people to relate with. It is mainly by way of her inner strength and faith that she proves herself and gets the happiness that she strives for. After having met Harville family and Benwick at Lyme she finds people with whom she can connect. It is here that Anne proves her capabilities and is able to garner additional self-confidence. From this point in the novel she begins to open up and speak openly.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Persuasion. Penguin English Library. 1975