Little Friendship in Jane Austens Persuasion Essay

Little Friendship in Austens Persuasion Jane Austens Persuasion is a dark novel. From the jolting breaks in the romantic drama--the falls of little Charles and Louisa Musgrove--to the heroines depressing existence--Anne Elliot has a great tendency to lowness (Austen 66)-- to the overall autumnal mood, the work is at times a gloomy, though always interesting, read. Perhaps its darkest facet though is the ubiquitous presence of an antagonist. While Mr. Elliot appears, most blatantly, to be the villain, in actuality, it is Lady Russell, whose persuasions are both manipulative and, frighteningly, pervasive, who should truly bear that stigma. Upon learning that Anne will not be marrying Mr. Elliot, Mrs. Smith very†¦show more content†¦His letter denouncing his relationship to the Elliot name is entirely part of his afflicted past (DaDundo 26). At one point, even Anne ponders the notion of her name and finds it a charm she can resist, rejecting the idea of marriage to Mr. Elliot (Austen 106). Yes, Anne does resist his insinuations of marriage, in spite of his careful wooing and the potential of being Lady Elliot, but it is not due to a lack of deportment on Mr. Elliots part. His manners are always impeccable; everyone finds him agreeable. And, as manners are one of [Austens] most vital ways of interpreting characters, whose misbehavior and small fallings-off from proper behavior, may point to more important moral faults (Craik 33), Mr. Elliots good manners demonstrate that those hidden moral faults are non-existent at present or unimportant things of the past. Yet there is still Mrs. Smiths aforementioned tirade against him to consider. She relays her message to Anne with a conviction that is difficult to ignore. However, that conviction has a basis not truly founded on the person of Mr. Elliot, but rather on the circumstances of Mrs. Smith herself, making hers an unreliable testimony. Not only is she physically and emotionally ill; she is a self-admitted injured, angry woman (Austen 132). Only in her wounded state are her words the absolute truth to her. She hates Mr. Elliot for what she believes he is responsible for. However, in truth, heShow MoreRelatedJane Austens Persuasion Essay1625 Words   |  7 PagesIn the early 1800s Jane Austen wrote what would be her last novel, Persuasion. Persuasion is set during the â€Å"Georgian Society† which greatly affects the characters views and actions throughout the novel. Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth quickly fell in love when Anne was just nineteen years old, but because he wasnt wealthy enough, Anne was not given the permission by her father, Sir Walter, to marry him. 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Austen prided herself on creating literature that depicted realistic characters and honest situations, but perhaps more importantly, she strove to create fiction that was moral and instructional as well as entertaining. So whatRead MoreJane Austen And The Golden Mean2893 Words   |  12 PagesCamila Hernandez Mrs. Izquierdo English 10 Per.3 26 February 2015 Jane Austen and The Golden Mean One of the most famous authors of the Regency period, Jane Austen, the novelist whom wrote Sense and Sensibility and many other novels, made a splash in the literature world for women. Being a woman was very difficult during the Regency period and women were not treated as equals to men. In the novel, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen shows the strength of women and how even when all the odds are