How Does Anne Change Throughout Persuasion?
How Does Anne Change Throughout
“Persuasion”?
Throughout the novel Austen develops Anne’s character steadily, and purposefully shows her evolution from a timid and nervous spinster to a confident and liberated young woman. This dramatic transformation is conveyed through her own actions and the perception of the other characters towards her.
In the beginning of the novel Anne is introduced with little consequence, since she “was nobody with either father or sister: her word had no weight; her convenience was always to give way;-she was only Anne.” This shows her position within her family and how she must be treated by them, also indicating the reasons for her low self-esteem and nervous manner. This situation is also mirrored by Austen’s style within the first few chapters, where she concentrates her description on Walter and Elizabeth Elliot, further showing Anne’s inferiority within her own family. Despite this Lady Russell’s opinion of Anne is very different, as “it was only in Anne that she could fancy the mother to revive again,” showing that deep inside Anne there was a much more confident and lively woman looking to break free, but struggling to do so. The major turning point in the novel is during Anne’s trip to Lyme and following Louisa’s accident, it is during this incident that Anne’s true self finally breaks free and that her companions are able to see the real Anne. The first example of this is immediately after Louisa’s fall when Anne cries “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.” This sudden outbreak of control and strength is quite unlike the Anne that Austen had so far described, but shows that in truth Anne’s character has not been explored to its limits by this stage, and this is proven by the surprise and disorientation of her acquaintances who rely on her instructions to deal with the situation. The comparison here is clear,
“Persuasion”?
Throughout the novel Austen develops Anne’s character steadily, and purposefully shows her evolution from a timid and nervous spinster to a confident and liberated young woman. This dramatic transformation is conveyed through her own actions and the perception of the other characters towards her.
In the beginning of the novel Anne is introduced with little consequence, since she “was nobody with either father or sister: her word had no weight; her convenience was always to give way;-she was only Anne.” This shows her position within her family and how she must be treated by them, also indicating the reasons for her low self-esteem and nervous manner. This situation is also mirrored by Austen’s style within the first few chapters, where she concentrates her description on Walter and Elizabeth Elliot, further showing Anne’s inferiority within her own family. Despite this Lady Russell’s opinion of Anne is very different, as “it was only in Anne that she could fancy the mother to revive again,” showing that deep inside Anne there was a much more confident and lively woman looking to break free, but struggling to do so. The major turning point in the novel is during Anne’s trip to Lyme and following Louisa’s accident, it is during this incident that Anne’s true self finally breaks free and that her companions are able to see the real Anne. The first example of this is immediately after Louisa’s fall when Anne cries “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.” This sudden outbreak of control and strength is quite unlike the Anne that Austen had so far described, but shows that in truth Anne’s character has not been explored to its limits by this stage, and this is proven by the surprise and disorientation of her acquaintances who rely on her instructions to deal with the situation. The comparison here is clear,