Is persuasion a positive or negative force in Persuasion?

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Gaurav G. Chhetri                 5/9/2007

English A1 SL                Melina

Is persuasion a positive or negative force in Persuasion?

Persuasion, a book of love and influence by Jane Austen is where people have been persuaded in various cases even against their own will. Characters in the book have been positively and negatively predisposed by each other. They have different views on the word persuasion; some look it as a positive aspect while others look it as someone’s vulnerability. One can clearly see that Anne is foremost the most persuaded character throughout the book. On the other hand Louisa Musgrove is an example of a character who is not easily persuaded. In the novel Jane Austen uses the word persuasion as a positive force as well as a negative force and finally at the end of the novel she concludes by revealing the readers whether persuasion is a positive force or negative force.

One can see the word persuasion being used throughout the book. The meaning of the word is “A strongly held opinion; a conviction” today. However if one looks at the older meaning of the word it has more than one meaning. It means “An established creed or belief, especially religious one”. “The act or process of an instance of moving someone by argument and entirely and expostulation to a belief, position and course of action”. The word persuasion has been used in its different sense in the book as well.

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Anne was persuaded by Lady Russell that she should not marry Captain Wentworth. Captain Wentworth thinks that one should have the firmness in character and also believes that getting persuaded easily is clearly a negative force. On the other hand Anne believes that, any person of her age would have received counsel. Girls that rushed into marriages without counsel ended up with bad marriage or future. Hence, Anne thought that it was right for her to get persuaded by Lady Russell in this matter and her getting persuaded was the positive force.

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