“Persuasion” is a novel written by Jane Austen in 1816. This novel tells the story of a girl named Anne Elliot. She comes from a noble family where she lives with her older sister and father. Her younger sister got married and lived with her husband. The Elliot family is on the verge of bankruptcy and is trying to strengthen their financial condition in every way. The main character is Anne Elliot, and the novel describes her love story. Seven years ago, she was engaged to a sailor named Frederick Wentworth, who had no money and acquaintances at that time. In other words, she was a simple sailor who did not suit Anne’s social status. For this reason, Anne’s deceased mother’s friend forces her to break off the engagement (Austen). However, Anne could not forget her lover during this time, who had built a career for himself over these seven years. In addition, the novel is also comedic and ridicules high society and their aspirations for life. The novel, with its satire, condemns the moral values of high society and their willingness to sacrifice what is dear for the sake of their reputation by satirizing the material values of such a social institution as family.
Anne’s father, Walter Elliot, is a very hypocritical character of the novel, who values money over everything. Therefore, the man values his appearance the most and material things that show the belonging to the higher class of society. Austen points out that “Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot’s character; vanity of person and of situation” (Austen 3). He, being from a noble family, appreciates what is visible through a person’s eyes and not what lies inside the body. An excellent example of the father’s behavior is that he flaunts his appearance every morning. Moreover, he writes a book about himself and his family. The author satirizes Sir Walter’s hypocrisy when he does not include the description of his middle daughter Anne in this book because Walter considered her unattractive but entered her name as a fact. It can be assumed that he preferred to put his family in the best light, missing family members who may not correspond to his desired reputation. Moreover, Anne’s father, Walter, openly declares that he did this because she is unremarkable (Austen). In such behavior lies the author’s mockery of people of high society. In other words, Walter is the most typical prototype of all other high society people who measure their love and sympathy on appearance.
Furthermore, Walter’s family shows their respect and sympathy solely because of the status of a person. That is, the mind and human dignity did not bother the family since this or that person’s situation and position in society were much more critical. Then, when the family wanted to get to know their distant relatives whom no one knew, the meanness of the family manifested itself. During the acquaintance, the main character tells a ridiculous joke, and for this, the girl’s family feels ashamed in front of other people (Austen). However, when the others laughed and started joking, Walter also laughed to please the women of the highest status in society. It is hilarious when a person can transcend his inner desires to please others and simultaneously be sad.
Austen also satirized the material value of Walter’s family is a meeting with Mr. William Elliot, a distant relative and the heir to Mr. Walter’s fortune. Through the two men did not maintain a relationship for a long time, and Anne’s father had a dislike for William. It was because the young men did not suit this standards, however, the situation changes when William is nearing wealth. Walter magically changes his attitude toward William as if there is no discord between them. It speaks to the hypocrisy of the Anne family and once again confirms that the family has no moral relations with each other and with people in general.
Against the background of Walter’s family, the author of the novel Austen shows the values possessed by high society. Unfortunately, they are not related to morality and ethics. Everyone is looking for benefits from each other, while material benefits satisfy their needs in the best possible way and maintain their status in society. The author conveys the meaning of value through satire by ridiculing funny situations. Walter’s family can step over their loved ones through their dignity and pride for material well-being and a place in society. If the high society supported moral and ethical values and sought to achieve them, they would consolidate their status in society as noble people, not just people from high society. Although people belong to the most elevated position and have considerable wealth, they should receive a moral education to comply with their status fully.
In conclusion, Lane Austen’s work “Persuasion” is a representation of the fact that many people of that time valued material things more than family and relationships with loved ones. Moreover, it presents a distortion of the morality of these individuals, such as the father of the main character Anne. In addition, the author conveys how family member is able to disrespect each other because of their appearance even if it is a relation between father and daughter. Therefore, they value other people not because of their humanity but high status in society.
Work Cited
Austen, Jane, and Deidre Lynch. Persuasion. Oxford University Press, 2008.