Persuasion Analysis

The novel begins with Sir Walter with his nose in a book. It soon becomes obvious, however, that Sir Walter is no bookworm: the Baronetage is the only book he reads. And what is the Baronetage? It'...

Persuasion has three major settings: the country houses in Somersetshire where the novel begins, the village of Lyme Regis where the characters take a trip in the middle of the story, and finally t...

While Anne doesn't narrate the story directly, we do get the story mostly through her eyes. That also means we get her blind spots too. A good example of this is when, after seeing Captain Wentwort...

You've got your true lovers parted and then reunited...classic romance. And while there's melancholy and ennui to be had (think Anne, Captain Benwick), there's also plenty of hilarity ensuing (pret...

Persuasion's humor is more like a reality show than a stand-up comedian – instead of pointing and laughing at the absurdities of its characters, most often it lets the characters simply be th...

Jane Austen was a grand master of the devastating turn of phrase. (Casting directors for her biopic would do well to look to Janeane Garofalo or Ellen Page.) Her calling card is subtlety – sh...

Before we get into the deep meaning of the title Persuasion, a useful fact: Austen didn't actually call the book that. As far as we know, she meant to use the title The Elliots, but she died before...

At first glance, the end of Persuasion might seem all puppies and sunshine. Anne and Captain Wentworth get together at last! Mr. Elliot gets the boot! Even Mrs. Smith gets rich! Sounds like a class...

Anne had previously been engaged to Captain Wentworth, but broke up with him because her family and friends disapproved. The initial situation is a bit strange because it relies on major action hav...

Anne regrets rejecting Captain Wentworth; Wentworth is angry at Anne for rejecting himAt the beginning of the novel, both Anne and Wentworth define themselves in relation to a brighter past, and bo...

At Kellynch and Uppercross, Anne and Wentworth meet again after a previous broken engagement, and Wentworth courts Louisa.At Lyme, Louisa injures herself and Anne meets Mr. Elliot. Anne discovers e...

In a letter about Persuasion to her niece Fanny Knight, Jane Austen wrote, half-jokingly, that Fanny "may perhaps like the heroine, as she is almost too good for me." (Source)Captain Wentworth's fo...

The only evidence of sex ever having happened is all the kids running around.

John Debrett, The Baronetage of England (1.1)William Dugdale (1.4)Sir Walter Scott, Marmion (11.23)Sir Walter Scott, The Lady of the Lake (11.23)Lord Byron, The Giaour (11.23)Lord Byron, The Bride...