ESPECIALLY INTERESTING RESPONSES FROM WEEK FOUR

Dan Hass
It struck me as I was reading, how little Anne Elliot’s physical appearance is described. Could this minimalist description be intentional? Of all the characters in Persuasion, Anne is the most morally and intellectually beautiful. Her physical appearance is mentioned second – almost as if Austen goes out of her way not to describe her appearance. We are given a condescending description at the beginning of the book. She is “faded and thin” and can do nothing to evoke esteem from her father. As the reader, we know Anne better than anyone; we are privileged enough to know the depths of Anne’s mind when no one else can. Thus, we see a great deal of personality description. We know her traits and attributes well, and as these show through later in the story, Austen offers a more flattering description of Anne. It is as if the social harmony the plot is working towards is directly tied to Anne’s appearance and the ability to have a beautiful mind show through plain skin.

Professor's Reply: Your opening observation seems a sharp one, Dan. And, if I read you right, you're suggesting that the concern of the novel is more with physical and moral health (both of the heroine and the nation) than with pleasing appearances? Thus, as Anne becomes increasingly valued for her moral integrity (by, for instance, Mrs. Smith, Captain Harville, and the newly self-aware Wentworth), she regains some of the bloom of good health. Thus "pleasing and being pleased" is gradually sidelined as a desideratum in women.


Marcin Michalski
Fate clearly allows for the love of Anne and Captain Wentworth to flourish as is apparent through the numerous ‘coincidences’ that bring them together.  A subtle fateful event occurs in chapter ten when the Crofts give Anne a ride home in their carriage.  Two elements of this encounter stand out.  First, the idea of ‘true love’ appears when Mrs. Croft says “’if Miss Elliot were to hear how soon we came to an understanding, she would never be persuaded that we could be happy together’” (78).  This line likely enforces Anne’s idea or belief in true love being genuine.  It is assumed that the Crofts quickly knew they were ‘meant’ to be together and married not long after beginning their relationship.  While people would think it to be risky and dumb to marry quickly, the fact that the Crofts are still together probably impresses Anne while also fortifying her feelings towards Captain Wentworth (making the idea that she loves and always has loved him a real possibility).  The other crucial element of the encounter is the partnership exhibited by the Crofts which Anne realizes through Mrs. Croft’s command of the carriage.  This likely intensifies Anne’s feelings towards Wentworth as she feels the likelihood of a similar partnership with him, and more importantly, that a marriage that is likely to last is a marriage in which partnership and mutual contribution are key elements (as is evident by the Crofts' long lasting marriage).

Professor's Reply: I notice in your response a lot of uses of "likely" and "probably" and I'm unable to endorse these thoughts except to say "maybe or maybe not." We simply don't know, do we? But perhaps what you're very sensitively picking up on here is the way Austen, through the arrangement of her narrative, is impressing on Anne (and therefore on us) the importance of the sentiments as well as the deliberative judgment in choosing a partner. Anne, years earlier, had tried so hard to judge wisely and rationally that she had tended to override those passions that made the Crofts come "to an understanding" so quickly. This is not to say the passions should be privileged instead, but a careful negotiation of feeling and reason is necessary.

Louis Forristall:
“She had shewn a feebleness of character.” (Austen, 54) Feebleness of character is something that Anne Elliot shows often in Persuasion. However it is not just Anne but nearly every woman in the novel. Mary Wollstonecraft outlined what was and wasn’t necessary for a rational woman in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Something I found interesting in this week's reading is how only one of the women in the novel properly fits Wollstonecraft’s guidelines for a reasonable woman, Mrs. Croft. Mrs. Croft is a woman of sound mind, body, and character, which can be seen by her willingness to accompany her husband on his long trips at sea. During one of the dinner parties Mrs. Croft speaks of how women are “rational creatures” and even scolds her brother for treating women as if they were “all fine ladies.” (Austen, 62) However, Mrs. Croft’s control over herself does not extend over her husband, another necessary quality of the rational woman. This can be seen through Anne’s observation of how their driving of the cart is symbolic for the way their relationship works, the two of them working together smoothly and successfully. While trying to apply Wollstonecraft’s guidelines to the other women in the novel it can be seen that none of the others meet the full requirements of being a rational woman. Anne is one of the only other women who come close to fulfilling Wollstonecraft’s requirements. Although she is very intelligent and does not exist only to please and take pleasure, she lacks self-control something very important to being a rational woman. Anne’s lack of self control can be seen by her refusal to marry Captain Wentworth in the past due to the influence of her father, sister, and Lady Russell.

Professor's Reply: Louis, I agree with you in your strong approval of Mrs. Croft! She's splendid isn't she? And your application of Wollstonecraft made very good sense. But I'm not sure I agree with the point about Anne's "feebleness of character" that you set out with. Now that you've finished the novel, perhaps you can see in retrospect that this description was focalized through the eyes of a proud, indignant Wentworth who later in the novel comes to recognize his own foolishness. And then, the phrase "lacks self-control" could perhaps be refined with an alternative like "lacks independent mindedness"? Anne hasn't at nineteen years old learned the confidence of defending her own feelings and judgment as she does later in Bath when defending herself against the manipulative William Elliot!

Kyle Redmon
Jane Austen seems to be doing something very tricky in Persuasion. She manages to produce an enticing and fulfilling romance while avoiding any potential threat to the social institutions of her day. Socially speaking, it is improper for Anne and Captain Wentworth to end up together, but the undermining of the wealth of Anne's family allows their love to be fulfilled without entirely destroying the institution of marriages as strategic alliances for the benefit of the aristocracy. In some ways, Austen might be seen to outwardly reject the strict use of marriage in these terms, but I think that she must have great affection for the traditional marital system because it actually allows for the fetishism of the "forbidden love" that is the cornerstone of this novel. Much like the fin 'amour tradition of the Middle Ages, Austen is able to create an environment where fantasy of the forbidden love, provides an outlet against the strict, conservative social order while not actually challenging it. For as we see at the end of the novel, that forbidden love can only become legitimate if the circumstances are stacked in the absolute perfect way.

Professor's Reply: "I think that she must have great affection for the traditional marital system": Oh Yes Kyle! What a sharp response! You're hitting splendidly on a tension in this novel between the forbidden marriage as a novelist's favorite plotting device, and the historical shift to a companionate marriage which any educated woman would surely favor. I wonder if you can find in subsequent novel's (by the Brontes, Dickens, George Eliot et al) alternatives to class as the criterion for forbiddenness? For instance, moral criteria: a man's immoral past, or his political alliances, or his poor health that makes him forbidden to a respectable woman?


Jeremy Kogan
From my somewhat limited, though reasonable, knowledge of Jane Austen, I know that much of her writing has a strong focus on class, wealth and gender relations. What that boils down to is a system of classifying characters based on arbitrary, quantitative values and possessions. However, Persuasion seems to be different in that its purpose is to disrupt the previously conventional order of aristocracy in favor of a more competitive, capitalism-based order. The Elliots are occupying a tumultuous time in England; a time in which the aristocracy is losing favor and upstart industrialists are increasing their wealth and power in the nation. These two sides are directly embodied in character oppositions like Sir Walter Eliot and Captain Wentworth. Sir Walter is the epitome of a wealthy upper-class man who is obsessed with his baronetage so much that the idea of letting his home to someone who actually worked to gain respect is ludicrous. Captain Wentworth, on the other hand, embodies the classic hard-worker, a Navy captain, whose wealth isn’t staggering but is existent, nonetheless. His value to the story lies in the fact that, while young, he has worked quite hard to attain what he has. His chosen profession is one that requires motivation, and a sincere effort—qualities Sir Walter knows little of. Where it gets interesting is Anne Eliot’s place right in the middle of them. To me, Anne represents the decision England must make regarding its future. Is England to side with the conventional aristocracy or is it to begin the tumultuous process towards change?

Professor's Reply: Interesting thinking, Jeremy. Where I'd love to see you adding another layer is in viewing Wentworth, Croft et al as not merely hard workers, but men of expertise--they are a professional class with know-how that is useful to the nation. Sir Walter doesn't even have the competence to retain the advantages of landed leisure that he has inherited, let alone contribute anything further. What becomes interesting as we move into the Victorian period is whether we find your "upstart industrialists" (e.g. Josiah Bounderby) as attractive as Austen's professionals, because while they make money, it's questionable whether they really contribute to the wellbeing of their fellow-citizens.

Elizabeth Wells
I find Austen’s treatment of the sailors in Persuasion quite interesting. I find it particularly interesting when looked at in contrast with how Jane Austen usually portrays military men in her novels. In Persuasion most of the sensible, intelligent characters, the ones that Austen wishes for us to see as “good” and “worthy” are in some way associated with the navy. Captain Wentworth, Admiral and Mrs. Croft, the Harvilles, Captain Benwick, and so on are all described as positive characters and they are all tied to the navy. I find this interesting mainly because typically, as we mentioned in class, Austen portrays military men as frivolous, shallow, manipulative, and rather useless. So why portray the naval men in such a positive light? After pondering on it for a moment, I decided that it must be their usefulness that Austen admires. When crisis happens, such as Louisa’s fall, the most helpful are the naval people. For example, Benwick fetches a surgeon and it is the Harvilles who actually take in and nurse Louisa. This is vastly different from say, your useless Mr. Wickam from Pride and Prejudice, and I believe the difference is that Austen sees the navy as useful because they go to sea and earn their living. Why she sees the landed military as frivolous and shallow in comparison to the navy I know not, but it does seem from her novels that she sees the two branches of military on very different levels.

Professor's Reply: Very shrewd observation, Elizabeth! You're right that the navy are given far more distinction than the military in this novel, and in other literature of the nineteenth century (for instance, Hardy's novels and Swinburne's poetry). Consider that Britain is an island nation with a relatively small army, but a substantial and well-developed navy. It was this that enabled the country to expand its empire and trade even though it did not, like France or Austria have a huge standing army. Naval men, having to cope with the elements for months on end, developed the reputation for ingenuity, resourcefulness, and hardiness and thus become exemplary of civic virtue.

Alex Lambert
One of the major themes of Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion is that of reading and the impact and reflection it has upon each of the characters in the novel. However, it is important to note that the climax of the novel comes not entirely from an instance of reading, but rather one of writing: the discovery that Captain Wentworth has written a poem to Anne revealing his love for her. “I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach” (191) he declares, showing that the written word is his last resort in expressing his feelings to Anne.
            Rather than subverting the importance of reading throughout the novel, however, this critical instance of writing serves to show that reading is such a crucial part of Anne’s character that Wentworth must seek her out through this medium to express his long-withheld feelings of love for her. The revelation also serves to break down some of Anne’s perceived sensibility: though she is better at reading people around her than the other characters in the novel, she was still unable to foresee Captain Wentworth’s declaration, or in fact his feelings for her throughout the story.
            Thus, the novel is brought to a close by acts of both reading and writing. While throughout the novel reading is the defining characteristic of most of the characters, the ending shows that those who read must rely upon the writers to find their path in life.

Professor's Reply: Two things struck me about this response: first, the little slip that turns Wentworth's letter into a poem which delighted me enormously since it enhanced Austen's portrayal of him as a man of feeling and sympathy! More solemnly, your emphasis on the importance of writing as the correlate of reading, Alex, makes the good point that the activity of informing and cultivating the mind implied in the activity of reading must be accompanied by the activity of self-expression. Similarly interpreting people must entail the correlative art of conversation or exchange of views.

Carrie Thomas:
While Charlotte Bronte claimed that Jane Austen’s writing primarily addressed the human mind as superior over the human heart, the novel Persuasion addresses both passion and reason.  As a young 19-year-old, Anne Elliot yields to the reasoning of Lady Russell’s beliefs about her engagement to Captain Wentworth and ends the relationship, “being prudent and self-denying” (28). Anne’s natural personality makes her frequently do things that benefit other people, such as sit through her sister Mary’s complaints and help with her household at Uppercross Cottage. 
            After Anne broke off the engagement, her reward for using reason and not entering into a risky marriage was a life of being underappreciated by her family and she has not met anyone else who has affected her in the same way as Wentworth. “The only thoroughly natural, happy, and sufficient cure” (28) to Anne’s heartache over Wentworth, Austin claims, would be another relationship. Therefore, a new love and passion for someone else would help her heal. Anne has been living in a sort of limbo for eight years due to the lack of passion in her life.
            Anne is also not immune to impassioned writings; however, she believes that they should be balanced with more logical readings. She is able to converse with Captain Benwick about the poetry of Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott, but she also recommends that he “have a larger allowance of prose in his daily study” (85).  In Persuasion, reason and passion are both presented as valuable attributes as long as one finds a correct balance.

Professor's Reply: What you say here, Carrie, seems to me thoroughly sensible, but to press your point further, what are the consequences of an imbalanced reading diet of too much reason, or too much passion? Bronte seems to think a certain coldness or abstraction is the outcome, but what does Austen herself imply in this novel?