Jane Austen (16 page)

Whatever plans Jane and Tom Lefroy may have had for their future lives, these plans were thwarted, allegedly, by people meddling in their affairs. Inter-marriage did take place between the Lefroys and the Austens when, on 8 November 1814, Benjamin (later the Revd) Lefroy, the late Mrs Lefroy’s youngest son, married Anna, eldest daughter of the Revd James Austen, at Steventon Church. To Jane, this event must have seemed to be something of an irony.

On 18–20 November 1814, Jane found herself counselling her niece Fanny Knight, who consulted her about an affair of
the heart. In advising Fanny, Jane revealed the qualities which she herself regarded as prerequisite in a husband, while at the same time pointing out to Fanny how rare it was to encounter the ideal candidate. Jane said, referring to the gentleman in question, Mr John Plumptre:

She went on to say:

How poignant these words seem, bearing in mind Jane’s own disappointments in her quest for a suitable partner.

The novel was begun in 1815 and completed in August 1816. Jane provisionally entitled it
The Elliots
but it was published as
Persuasion
by John Murray in December 1818, after Jane’s death.

Persuasion
is, undoubtedly, Jane Austen’s most profound work and has much to say about the nature of love – as expressed by a man for a woman and vice versa. The heroine is Anne Elliot whose ‘elegance of mind and sweetness of character … placed her high with any people of real understanding’. However, in the eyes of both her father and her sister, she is nobody. ‘Her word had no weight; her convenience was always to give way; – she was only Anne’. As regards to her appearance, Anne’s ‘bloom had vanished early’ and she is described as ‘faded’, thin’, and ‘haggard’, to the extent that her father was doubtful whether anybody would consider her as a potential marital partner.

Anne is one of three daughters: Elizabeth being the eldest and Mary, who is married to Charles Musgrove and lives at nearby Uppercross, the youngest. Their father Sir Walter Elliot, a widower of Kellynch Hall in Somersetshire, is a person to whom vanity is ‘the beginning and the end’ of his character, both in regard to his person and to his situation. For this reason, the only book he ever bothers to read is
The Baronetage of
England
, in which all the titled people of the country are listed.

Lady Russell lives in the nearby village of Kellynch. Described as ‘a sensible, deserving woman’ she had been the late Lady
Elliot’s great friend, and after her ladyship’s death, she became, for Anne in particular, a replacement mother. The heir to the Kellynch Estate is the Elliot sisters’ estranged cousin William Elliot Esq., who has married ‘a rich woman of inferior birth’.

For years, Sir Walter has lived beyond his means and he is now persuaded, both by his lawyer Mr Shepherd and by Lady Russell, that the only way open to him, if he is to discharge the claims of his creditors, is to quit Kellynch Hall – which will be let. The family, in consequence, move to Bath, a place which Anne dislikes. However, Lady Russell – who does like Bath – will join them there for a part of every winter.

The new tenant of Kellynch Hall is Admiral Croft (who fought at the Battle of Trafalgar) and his wife. The Crofts have local connections in that Mrs Croft has a brother, Mr Wentworth, who had once been curate of nearby Monkford. When Anne learns of the connection between the Crofts and Mr Wentworth, she is disturbed. This is because the latter is the brother of Captain Frederick Wentworth, a commander in the Royal Navy.

Described as ‘a remarkably fine young man, with a great deal of intelligence, spirit and brilliancy’, Captain Wentworth had come to Somersetshire in the summer of 1806 to stay for a while with his brother at Monkford. He and Anne had met at a time when he ‘had nothing to do, and she had hardly any body to love…’ They fell deeply in love and became engaged. However, Sir Walter had not looked favourably on the association of his daughter with a person who had ‘no connexions’ and no fortune. Lady Russell was of the same mind, believing that the engagement was ‘indiscreet, improper and hardly capable of success’. The outcome was that the couple had parted and Captain Wentworth left the country.

Although Anne had been acquainted with Captain Wentworth for only a few months, her regret at parting
from him persisted and had, for her, ‘clouded every enjoyment of youth’. As a result, ‘an early loss of bloom and spirits had been their lasting effect’. That was seven years ago and in the intervening period, no one ‘had ever come within the Kellynch circle, who could bare a comparison with Frederick Wentworth’, even though, on one occasion, Anne had received a proposal of marriage from Charles Musgrove, who subsequently married her younger sister Mary.

Whereas Anne does not blame Lady Russell in any way, for guiding her away from Captain Wentworth, she feels certain that had she maintained her attachment to him, she would now be a happier woman in consequence. Meanwhile, she learns that the Captain has gained promotion and become a wealthy man.

After the Crofts take possession of Kellynch Hall and the Elliot family relocate to Bath, it is decided that Anne will not, at first, accompany them. Instead, she will stay for a while with her sister Mary at Uppercross, as the latter, ‘who was always thinking a great deal of her own complaints’, declares that she cannot possibly do without her (Anne). Anne misses Kellynch greatly:

When Anne and Captain Wentworth are reunited once again, it is not at Uppercross but at the Great House, the home of the Musgrove family. On this occasion, all that happens is that their eyes meet, with a bow on the one side and a curtsy on the other. When Captain Wentworth has departed, Mary tells Anne that her sister-in-law Henrietta Musgrove of Uppercross, had asked Captain Wentworth what he thought of her (Anne). The
Captain had replied that Anne was ‘so altered he should not have known her again’. Despite her mortification at hearing these words, Anne acknowledges the fact that the years have ‘destroyed her youth and bloom’. What makes her feel even more wretched is that she herself has

The result is that from then on, whenever the two meet, the only conversation is ‘what the commonest civility required. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers’.

It appears to Anne that Captain Wentworth is attracted to Charles Musgrove’s sisters Henrietta and Louisa, though she is not sure which one he prefers. In the end she decides that he is not in love with either of them. ‘They were more in love with him; yet there it was not love. It was a little fever of admiration…’

Anne, her sister Mary, the Musgrove sisters, and Captain Wentworth and Charles Musgrove go for a long walk. They encounter Admiral Croft and his wife who have taken a drive in their gig. When the Crofts offer a lift ‘to any lady who might be particularly tired’, Captain Wentworth takes the initiative by assisting Anne into the carriage. She is thereby impressed by ‘his perception of her fatigue’ and also by his ‘resolution to give her rest’. In fact, she regards this as:

Captain Wentworth receives a letter from his friend Captain Harville, who has settled for the winter with his family at Lyme (Regis) on the Dorsetshire coast. Harville had been wounded two years previously and his health has been poor ever since. When Wentworth visits Lyme and describes the ‘fine country’ round about, Anne, Mary, Charles and his sisters Henrietta and Louisa, decide that they too would like to visit that place.

At Lyme, where the party stays at an inn, Anne is able to comfort Captain Benwick, a friend of Captain Harville, who is residing with him. Benwick is in low spirits, having been engaged to Harville’s sister Fanny, who had died the previous summer while he was at sea. Anne feels that Benwick’s chances of happiness are, if anything, better than hers. She cannot believe that he has ‘a more sorrowing heart’ than she has. He is also younger than her and she feels sure that he will rally again ‘and be happy with another’. She also feels that Benwick is reading too much poetry and ‘ventured to recommend a larger amount of prose in his daily study’. While they are in Lyme, they encounter William Elliot, the heir to Kellynch Hall.

When Anne is finally reunited with her family in Bath she finds that ‘they have no inclination to listen to her’. Their conversation ‘must be all their own’. William Elliot pays the Elliots a visit and attempts to make amends for his former neglect of the family. Lady Russell’s opinion of him is an extremely favourable one and she believes that Anne and William would make a happy couple. Not only that, but were Anne to become the future mistress of Kellynch this would be ‘the highest possible gratification’ to her ladyship. But Anne has reservations about William, being suspicious of his sudden desire for a reconciliation with the family. She also distrusts him because:

This, Anne sees as ‘a decided imperfection’ in his character.

While in Bath, Anne takes the trouble to call on her former governess Miss Hamilton – now Mrs Smith – a widow who is in poor health and ‘unable even to afford herself the comfort of a servant’. She does, however, have a Mrs Rooke to nurse her.

When the Crofts visit Bath, Admiral Croft informs Anne that Captain Wentworth is also on his way there. When, subsequently, they catch sight of one another in the street, Anne experiences a mixture of ‘agitation, pain, pleasure, a something between delight and misery’. They exchange pleasantries until William Elliot arrives and walks off with Anne, arm in arm.

Anne and Captain Wentworth attend a concert in the Octagon Room. They discuss Louisa Musgrove and Captain Benwick, who have formed an attachment to one another – something of which Wentworth disapproves. ‘He is a clever man, a reading man – and I confess that I do consider his attaching himself to her, with some surprise’. They reminisce about Lyme, which to Anne’s mind was a place of real beauty. William Elliot comes and sits next to Anne and begins to flatter her, even alluding to the fact that if he dared, he would make her a proposal of marriage. Anne’s thoughts, however, are for Captain Wentworth, who suddenly approaches her in the middle of the concert to wish her goodnight. ‘Is not this song worth staying for?’ asks Anne, who does not wish him to leave. ‘No, there is nothing worth my staying for’ he replies sombrely.

Anne calls, once again, on Mrs Smith who apprises her of the real character of William Elliot:

She knows this because William was formerly an intimate friend of her late husband. William, continued Mrs Smith, was anxious to make his fortune in a quicker manner than his profession as a lawyer would allow. He was, therefore, ‘determined to make it by marriage’. As for the honour of his family, he held it ‘as cheap as dirt’. Anne finally concludes that William is ‘evidently a disingenuous, artificial, worldly man, who has never had any better principle to guide him than selfishness’. She had been right to be suspicious of him, for having previously despised the baronetcy, he had suddenly become determined to renew his acquaintance with the family, solely with the object of inheriting the title and becoming Sir William.

At the White Hart Inn – where the Musgroves are lodging – Anne encounters Captain Wentworth and Captain Harville. While Wentworth composes a letter, Anne and Captain Harville discuss Captain Benwick. Harville shows Anne a portrait of Benwick which had been painted at Fanny’s (Benwick’s late fiancée and Harville’s sister’s) request. Benwick now intends to give this portrait to Louisa Musgrove. ‘Poor Fanny! She would not have forgotten him so soon!’ says Harville. Anne and Harville then debate whether it is men or women who love the longest or the strongest. The debate ends with Anne saying that the only privilege she claimed for her own sex was ‘that of loving longest, when existence or when hope is gone’.

Captain Wentworth hands the letter he has written to Anne, then leaves the room. It reads as follows: