Though shy in real life, Jane Austen’s personality and wit shines through her heroines in her novels. Her works provide an inside perspective of her world and her mind. Her last completed work, Persuasion, challenges and also defends the status quo of class structure in early nineteenth-century British society through the character of Anne Elliot. Anne Elliot provides the reader with a sense of pride concerning her birth and rank, which was expected from a woman of her standing at that time. Additionally, she demonstrates humbleness while interacting with lower status characters within the story, which shows Austen’s rebellious approach to the class structure of her time.
The protagonist of Persuasion, Anne Elliot, embodies all that Austen …show more content…
Anne Elliot is very different from the rest of her family. Sir Walter Elliot and Elizabeth are much more concerned with appearances, of which is less of a priority to Anne. Keeping this notion in mind, she takes pride in practicality, patience, and intelligence. She is levelheaded in stressful situations such as after Louisa’s fall in Lyme, “…for Heaven’s sake go to him. I can support her myself. Leave me and go to him. Rub her hands, rub her temples; here are salts, take them, take them.” (105). Anne’s reaction in this disastrous situation shows a control that even the men could not execute.
Austen was experienced in overcoming the ideals of men and women of that time. Her works were published anonymously for fear that people would not buy a book written by a woman. Jane Austen’s work did not bear her name until after her death. It was not considered to be socially acceptable for a female to be a published author. Against all odds, she became a very respected author, albeit unbeknownst to the people of the nineteenth …show more content…
Uniquely, Austen wrote about a couple who were equals and happy in their marriage, the Crofts. The Crofts are the ultimate role models for Jane Austen’s criteria for a successful and joyful marriage, “But by coolly giving the reins a better direction herself, they happily passed the danger; and by once afterwards judiciously putting out her hand, they neither fell into a rut, nor ran foul of a dung-cart…” (88). The carriage ride is a metaphor for the Croft’s marriage. They each have their strengths, which allow them to have an equal partnership, something that was unheard of during Austen’s
The protagonist of Persuasion, Anne Elliot, embodies all that Austen …show more content…
Anne Elliot is very different from the rest of her family. Sir Walter Elliot and Elizabeth are much more concerned with appearances, of which is less of a priority to Anne. Keeping this notion in mind, she takes pride in practicality, patience, and intelligence. She is levelheaded in stressful situations such as after Louisa’s fall in Lyme, “…for Heaven’s sake go to him. I can support her myself. Leave me and go to him. Rub her hands, rub her temples; here are salts, take them, take them.” (105). Anne’s reaction in this disastrous situation shows a control that even the men could not execute.
Austen was experienced in overcoming the ideals of men and women of that time. Her works were published anonymously for fear that people would not buy a book written by a woman. Jane Austen’s work did not bear her name until after her death. It was not considered to be socially acceptable for a female to be a published author. Against all odds, she became a very respected author, albeit unbeknownst to the people of the nineteenth …show more content…
Uniquely, Austen wrote about a couple who were equals and happy in their marriage, the Crofts. The Crofts are the ultimate role models for Jane Austen’s criteria for a successful and joyful marriage, “But by coolly giving the reins a better direction herself, they happily passed the danger; and by once afterwards judiciously putting out her hand, they neither fell into a rut, nor ran foul of a dung-cart…” (88). The carriage ride is a metaphor for the Croft’s marriage. They each have their strengths, which allow them to have an equal partnership, something that was unheard of during Austen’s