A Romantic Persuasion

Charlotte Bronte once remarked in 1848 that Jane Austen was “a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers” (Tarlson, 14). Jane Austen has a reputation based on her propriety of being a good, genteel woman untainted by the social upheaval surrounding her. Indeed, there is not a single, direct mention of the Napoleonic wars in any of her novels besides the presence of soldiers and sailors. However, beneath this simple exterior lies an unexplored literary world, much like that of the secrets of the Victorian home found in Wuthering Heights. Austen was increasingly affected by the French and Industrial Revolutions, the ideas contained within of individuality and social change espoused by Romantic poets, which can be catalogued with each subsequent novel. In particular, Persuasion, her final novel, is filled with “emotion, passion, and the revolutionary ideas of the Romantics” both in terms of the themes mentioned above and structure (14).

The structure of Persuasion, resembles Romantic literature in a number of ways, and is not merely confined to themes. Unlike Austen’s previous works, the narration of the novel although remaining objective, follows Anne Elliot’s understanding of the events much like a stream of consciousness: “the only interpretation and penetration of character, motivation and behavior we are given are Anne’s” (Thomas, 901). For example, when Frederick Wentworth removes Anne’s nephew from jumping on her back, Anne assumes that “her conversation was the last of his wants” because Wentworth preoccupies himself with the child (80). Like Wuthering Heights’ Lockwood and Nelly and Frankenstein’s Walton and Victor, the reader is trapped in a character’s point of view. However, there are instances in all three texts where the object of the protagonist interrupts the prevailing perspective. The monster in Frankenstein is allowed to tell his version of previous events and, likewise, Wentworth’s view interrupts Anne’s point of view in his letter to her at the end of the novel and their ensuing walk to Camden Place. These texts’ “narrative mode[s] favor subjectivity of interpretation” rather than objective reason much like the Romantic Poets of the age (Thomas, 903). Austen complicates the matter of subjectivity even further in Persuasion: despite having an objective narration and a concentration on Anne’s misinterpretations of the objective narration, Austen also allows the reader to conjecture the meaning behind Wentworth’s statements and actions as well as Anne’s. This creates a “doubling of what is already double voiced” (Thomas, 902).

Doubling or mirroring is a constant theme throughout Persuasion and Romanticism, such as in Blake’s “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” An inferior and exaggerated mirror of the main couple can be found in Captain Benwick and Louisa Musgrove; he is too much of the Byronic hero brooding over his fiancée’s death and she has too much superficiality. And yet, the two bond over Romantic poetry. Mirroring, a repetition and return, is also found in the locations: Ironically, neither Anne nor Wentworth are able to express their feelings in the country, “showing city politeness controlling natural feeling.” In Bath, the situation is reversed, “showing natural feeling manipulating city protocols to its own best ends” (Thomas, 914). Additionally, scenes from the beginning of the book are echoed in the end: Anne overhears Frederick’s conversation about firmness of character and persuasion to Louisa while on the walk to Winthrop. In the end of the novel, Frederick overhears Anne’s remarks about constancy to Captain Harville. Both characters speak in generalities; neither character intends for their conversation to be heard by the object of their affection. This type of plot device and the role of the third party as an indirect mirror of the object of their intention are a major occurrence in Coleridge’s conversational poems (Thomas, 909).

Anne’s speech on constancy should also be noted for it’s lyrical quality resembling an elegiac ode. Her speech exemplifies the definition of Romanticism: “A spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility.” She has experienced profound suffering and regret from having refused Wentworth’s proposal eight and a half years ago; she recalls these feelings on the matter and “elaborat[es] with passionate intensity the theme of surviving devastating loss in solitude… Wentworth, an enigmatic object for Anne, remains as remote and inscrutable as Keats’s Grecian urn” (Thomas, 917). Anne does not need an audience in Harville or Wentworth because her ode stands on its own and is only accidentally overheard. However, by speaking her feelings Anne is clearly able to see her own ideas about the world and others begin to respond to her ideas, a direct contrast to her earlier passive self; she is also able to reject the ideology of her aristocratic class and create happiness for herself on her own terms.

Like Byron’s “Manfred,” Anne is in pursuit of her happiness and an end to her regrets over a past love. (It can even be stated that Anne is a Byronic hero of sorts. She recognizes her moral capability, the regret over refusing Wentworth, has a passionate presence, and is self-critical and introspective.) With each subsequent meeting with Frederick, Anne comes to a better understanding of their relationship no matter how little or small, despite restrictive social intercourse. Anne, “achieves an insight, faces up to a tragic loss, comes to a moral decision, or resolves an emotional problem” with every encounter (Thomas, 900). However, this epiphany usually occurs in solitude, “recollected in tranquility.” In the incident where Wentworth removes her nephew from her back Anne states: “she was ashamed of herself, quite ashamed at being so nervous, so overcome by such a trifle; but so it was; and it required a long application of solitude and reflection to recover her” (81). A greater understanding occurs during Anne and Frederick’s meeting at the concert:

“She was thinking only of the last half hours, and as they past to their seats, her mind took a hasty range over it. His choice of subjects, his expressions, and still more his manner and look, had been such as she could see only one light. His opinion of Louisa Musgrove’s inferiority, an opinion which he had seemed solicitous to give, his wonder at Captain Benwick, his feelings as to a first, strong attachment, - sentences begun which he could not finish – his half averted eyes, and more than half expressive glance, - all, all declared that he had a heart returning to her at last; that anger, resentment, avoidance, were no more; and that they were succeeded, not merely by friendship and regard, but by the tenderness of the past; yes, some share of the tenderness of the past. She could not contemplate the change as implying less. – He must love her” (185-86).[1]

Manfred, similarly, comes to a greater understanding of his state with his subsequent meetings with the hunter, the witch, and eventually the abbot. For instance, when Manfred is dying he comes to the conclusion “‘tis not so difficult to die” due to the questions the abbot has about Manfred’s fate. Manfred’s and Anne’s conclusions to the meetings above are the result of imagination. Imagination is in reference to the ability to read into the situation, and come to a deduction whether completely wrong or right. Anne, for instance, often comes to the wrong conclusion in regards to Frederick’s actions, “the result of the ‘wild imagination’” (Thomas, 902).

As stated earlier, Persuasion centers on Anne’s quest for her object, Wentworth, which will supposedly bring her happiness. A Romantic shift occurs in Anne when she is able to physically express herself through the use of her imagination, such as with her the “constancy” speech. The more Anne begins to assert herself and her independence, the more progressive and happier she becomes. Her changes can be understood using the Hegelian dialectic, a key too in Blake’s “Marriage of Heaven and Hell”: the thesis – Anne’s passiveness, antithesis – her assertiveness, synthesis – “recognition of the value of her own ability to choose for herself” (Tarlson, 5). It is important to note that the antithesis stage coincidentally begins when Anne speaks about Benwick’s Romantic tastes in poetry of Byron and Scott: “Literature serves a very different purpose in Persuasion than in her other novels, because it is something to be considered, treasured and used as a moral and emotional guide… it necessitates her rejection of the social and familial pressures upon her in favor of an enlightened emotional life” (Tarlson, 12-13). Romantic literature, in particular, allows Anne to realize the amount of freedom she should be able to have in pursuit of her happiness. Anne rejected Wentworth because she was persuaded to believe that he would not be able to provide materially for her because he was not part of the aristocracy. However, when she accepts him the second time, she chooses him not because Wentworth is a different man, but because she has the courage to choose for herself without regard to the aristocratic notions of class (Tarlson). She has the ability to change herself and her situation for the better and takes advantage of it. As a woman, she is able to be both a rational and emotional creature, unlike Austen’s previous novels where sense reigns supreme over sensibility. Anne remains a fine example of asserting her liberality without being criticized, an empowering assertion for women contemporaries of Austen.

Austen, however, does criticize class in this novel through her characterizations of Sir Walter Elliot, Anne’s father, her sister Elizabeth, and her cousin. These people disparage those of lower rank even though they are impoverished themselves because they cannot spend within their limits. There is never an attempt to change their situation. Sir Walter, for instance, remarks of Anne when she wishes to meet Mrs. Smith, a widowed schoolfellow who lives in bad conditions: “everything that revolts other people, low company, paltry rooms, foul air, disgusting associations, are inviting to you” (125). Austen hints that if the aristocracy had the ability to change, they could rehabilitate these paltry conditions in England, a revolutionary idea that perhaps these people do not deserve their superior position in society. She also addresses the rise of the merchant class with characters such as the Crofts and other naval men. These self-made characters show the shifting power as a direct result of the Industrial Revolution (Tarlson, 11).

The lack of a mother figure in the text is also significant because without a role model for her daughter, society becomes the prominent guide. Austen infers that a reformation is needed because society at large cannot fulfill this role because of the focus on class distinction. As a mother, society fails because of the presence of Mrs. Smith’s situation. On the other hand, Anne is able to reject this notion because of society’s, and especially her family’s, indifference. Austen also fights the idea of the mother as a guiding influence that was so prominently idealized during the nineteenth century in portraying her closeness to her children as natural (Tarlson, 16). This reiterates Austen’s idea that an individual’s ability to grow as a person and interpret situations as she chooses is a result of rejecting a mother’s direct influence. Such a revolutionary idea is Romantic.

Persuasion is a Romantic text in theme and structure; it contains sensitivity to loss, solitude and estrangement, interest in memory (the long regret over a refused proposal), the complexity and understanding of the passage of time, recovery of the past, concern with the poor and marginalized figures, and the importance of feelings. All of these can be applicable to the influence of the Romantics. However, they may also be the influence of Austen’s personal life and not solely to her reading. So the question remains: Can Jane Austen can be construed as a Romantic? Based on the ideas presented in her final text and some similar issues pursued in her later works, the answer could be a yes. While her earlier works reject such overwhelming sensibility, the ability to change and adapt in accordance to the world was a revolutionary idea Austen aspired to herself. As a direct result, Persuasion is a revolutionary novel meant to instill the courage of individuality upon her readers, especially women, to pursue happiness without regard to class, reason, or propriety.

Works Cited:

Austen, Jane, and Susan Weisser. Persuasion. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2005. Print.

Tarlson, Claire. "Jane Austen, Persuasion, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Lethbridge Research Journal 1.1 (2006): 1-18. Web. 15 Dec 2009.

Thomas, Keith G. "Jane Austen and the Romantic Lyric: Persuasion and Coleridge's Conversatoin Poems." ELH 54.4 (1987): 893-924. Web. 15 Dec 2009.

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[1] I chose this very long quote because it not only serves as an example of Anne’s understanding and increased knowledge, but also because it shows the narrative following Anne’s stream of consciousness and the immense feelings found in a Romantic text like Persuasion.