The Endurance Of Love (Persuasion - Jane Austen)

Member Name: campb3ll

Product:	Persuasion - Jane Austen
Date:	14/09/01 (1716 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: As fresh and captivating today as it was 2 centuries ago

Disadvantages: The style of language may take some getting used to

At the age of 19, Anne Elliot falls head over heels for Frederick Wentworth. Anne is the daughter of a baronet, Sir Walter Elliot, and Frederick has no connections or money or any other advantage to recommend him. Under such circumstances, is it possible to judge whether or not Anne should go ahead with an engagement? In any case, Anne is persuaded by Lady Russell - a family friend and close personal friend - that refusing Frederick's proposal is the wisest course of action.

Some 8 years later, when Anne is 27, circumstances drastically change. Her father, Sir Walter is financially embarassed and is forced to let the family home, Kellynch Hall, to Admiral and Mrs Croft and retire to rented accommodation in Bath. This paves the way for a renewed acquaintance with Frederick, now Captain Wentworth, as Mrs Croft is his sister. The renewed acquaintance is obviously difficult and Frederick goes out of his way to ignore Anne, chosing instead to blantantly court the affections of her sisters-in-law, Louisa and Henrietta Musgrove. The state of affection between Anne and her family - Sir Walter, Elizabeth and Mary - is unlikely to promote her peace of mind. In fact, Mary, wife to Charles Musgrove, is more than happy to hope for a speedy marriage between Frederick and either Louisa or Henrietta.

This difficult and, perhaps, unnatural state of affairs is brought to a swift close after a visit to Lyme by Anne, the Musgroves and Frederick. At Lyme, Louisa suffers a serious accident and is placed under the care of the Harvilles who are good friends of Frederick. Louisa's affections are rapidly gained by Captain Benwick, a close friend of the Harvilles, and Henrietta's affections are committed to her cousin, Charles Hayter. This means that Frederick is free, whether or not he wants to be, to pursue other potential brides including Anne.

Over in Bath, Sir Walter and Elizabeth, his eldest daughter, are quite happy parading around and sucking up
to any important sounding friends and relations. A welcome addition to their circle of acquaintance comes in the form of William Elliot, the heir and nephew of Sir Walter. The young Mr Elliot, recently widowed and desperate to promote goodwill between himself and the Elliot family, seems too good to be true as, previously, he was married to a rather "unsuitable" woman and wasn't the slightest bit interested in the family or the estate. Still, Anne is momentarily mutually attracted to him - a blessing in disguise because this spurs Frederick into action. Although Anne still loves Frederick and deeply regrets "losing" him 8 years ago, Frederick has yet to show whether he retains any affection towards her. To the background of the cheerful, noisy Musgroves and the parading, indifferent Elliots, Anne and Frederick must come to some kind of understanding. A thousand little obstacles stand in their way: the demands of family, the bustle of Bath, the past regrets and disappointments, the uncertainty of each other's feelings, the influence of Lady Russell, the attentions of William Elliot and many more trivial afflictions.

It is hardly unreasonable to presume that, finally, Anne and Frederick will get their act together rather than pass up another chance for happiness. Everything points to this conclusion. However, in getting to this conclusion there are a thousand little details, sub-plots, characters and surprises to engage the reader's attention. This novel, like all of Jane Austen's novels, is highly diverting and captivating. Austen manages to inject both life and character into the most mundane elements of everyday life. Persuasion is Austen's last finished novel. To those of you out of the literary loop, it may be surprising to realise that this novel, last written but not last published, makes up a total of 6 finished novels. On these 6 novels alone rests Austen's reputation as one of the finest female writers in
this country. It is all but impossible to suppose that "Persuasion" (or indeed any of the other novels) could disappoint as a picture of late 18th century life, as a picture of modern life, as a snapshot of society or as a highly entertainly story. There is nothing you could say about one of Austen's novel that could not apply to them all; the stories may change but the attractions remain the same. Read it - read them all.

Summary: