Finally Coming to a Conclusion about Persuasion

I continue to have a smorgasbord of ideas as I wind down on Persuasion, but I believe that they are all important to truly understanding the message that Austen wishes to send to her readers. Although I am not yet able to narrow down my final thesis, I have picked up a few more key ideas that will help to bring my thesis to life.

Jane Austen’s Persuasion is a book with an extremely strong message of feminism. Although there are women in the book that elude sexuality and beauty, Austen writes her story around a “plain” girl. Anne is not a typical woman, in fact, she is not beautiful, she is extremely intelligent and well read, and she extremely steady in character. Anne is the opposite of what we would normally view as a heroine, but she embodies all the qualities that make a woman worth admiring in my mind. Three men in the book fancy Anne: Elliot, Wentworth, and Charles Musgrove. Although there are many women in Persuasion that possess typical heroine behaviors, these three men see beyond appearance and stature to the quality of Anne’s spirit and her consistent fortitude and patience.

In a previous blog, I touched on the idea of social class (more specifically, if Persuasion paints the picture of a typical social hierarchy). I think that Anne is the character that prevents this novel from being thrown into the pile of novels that write about the importance of class and rank. Although Anne’s father and sisters are concerned with their status, Anne is not. Anne thinks for herself. I think that this message is so powerful because Austen then chooses to have the defiant Anne as the character that is most desirable in the novel. Although she has a spirit of her own, Austen does not present her as an outcast; instead, she is the center of the narrative. Anne is not maverick in her society, but she is able to think for herself and in context with the time period, I respect Austen for giving her that influence.

With Anne as the protagonist of the narrative, I found myself wondering; who or what is the antagonist of the narrative? I think that Anne has many contrasting antagonists in Persuasion. First of all, is society itself. Society and its strict rigors on social class prevented Anne from sharing her love with Wentworth in the first place. Although Anne works through this obstacle and has come out a better stronger person, Anne is clearly influenced and hampered by society. An additional contrast to Anne is her entire family. As a unit, they represent an antagonist in Persuasion. Anne’s father, Anne’s older sisters, and Sir Elliot are individuals in this society that differ from who Anne truly is and what Anne truly believes.

I think that the ideas that I have talked about in my blogs serve to create a strong final thesis. With reflection I think that I will be able to gather my thoughts to create a cohesive conclusion on Austen’s Persuasion.(531)