Persuasion

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After the excitement and joy of being immersed in Pride & Prejudice, is it any wonder that I should want to continue the literary high with more? What is that old saying? You can have too much of a good thing. After Pride I moved right along to the next book on the shelf, which happened to be Persuasion, and it may have been something of a mistake…

This novel, Jane Austen’s last and published posthumously, tells the story of sweet-natured heiress Anne Elliot. When her father’s fortune begins to dwindle in support of his lavish lifestyle, the family is force to let their home, Kellynch Hall, to new tenants. However, this opens up old emotional wounds as the new tenants, Admiral and Mrs. Croft, have connections with one Captain Frederick Wentworth, a former flame of Anne’s. Once very much in love with him, despite his financial inferiority, Anne was persuaded to break the engagement by her family and close friend, and has regretted it ever since. Now, eight years later, Wentworth has prospered and intends to marry and Anne looks on with regret as he sets his affections on another. Or might there be a second opportunity for her?

In all honestly, diving into Persuasion after the upbeat, biting, and funny events of Pride & Prejudice was probably not the best idea. While Persuasion continues to deal with relevant social themes and is a compelling love story in itself, the characters and events chronicled are rather gloomy and plain in comparison. Anne is rather a weak heroine; sweet and good-natured, but rather mildly mannered and all emotional drama and turmoil seems to be a little diluted through her.

I suppose the real argument is that this is a subtler and emotionally intimate novel of Austen’s, one that does not need bumbling and clucking male and female caricatures to increase the drama as the ethical conundrums that attack the protagonists are strong enough to speak for themselves. If I’d been in that frame of mind, I might have gotten more out of Persuasion; and of course time between episodes of Austen would not have astray either. Sadly, I must admit that my enjoyment of this book was marred by my diving into it after having swum in the warm and vibrant waters of Longbourn and Pemberly. Everything else is cold in comparison.

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But Persuasion is definitely not without its charm. While the characters and events are a little more subdued than previous Austen novels, the sentiments, drama, humour, and social commentary that coloured all her books is still present and quite enjoyable. There are still some lovely and exaggerated characters, Anne’s younger sister Mary for example, that keep the story floating with bubbles of laughter and cringing moments; a definite plus. And by the time the love story itself comes into effect, intrigue and investment is solidly established, making you want to steadily continue rather than call it quits.

Persuasion was written by Jane Austen and published posthumously by John Murray in 1818