What is the importance and attitude to marriage in the novel? (Persuasion, Jane Austen)

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Persuasion Essay –Jane Austen

What is the importance and attitude to marriage in the novel?

In Persuasion, marriage is one of the major themes in the novel and we first see Austen’s attitude towards marriage in chapter four, where her view and opinions are shown. When talking of Mr. Wentworth it says “He was a remarkably fine young man, with a great deal of intelligence” and Anne is introduced as “an extremely pretty girl, with gentleness, modesty, taste and feeling.” The novel also is majorly focused on wealth andstatus but when speaking of both, Austen doesn’t mention anything about their wealth. It says of both Wentworth and Anne that “they were gradually acquainted, and when acquainted, rapidly and deeply in love.” Even when talking about the couple, Austen doesn’t mention anything about their wealth but about their love and possible marriage as if this overshadows and takes importance over the social life and riches of the couple.

Sir Walter Elliot has a very stubborn and vain view of marriage and its importance. In the novel it is made clear that he believes that not only do you have to marry either equal to or above your social status but that they should be wealthy and attractive. This is made clear by the way he treats his daughters. Elizabeth Elliot is Sir Walter’s favourite by far, because of her beauty and this would help her achieve a husband of high importance hence giving the Elliots a better name. As it says in the novel, Sir Walter was most hopeful of Elizabeth; “Elizabeth would one day or other, marry suitably.” As Anne had let him down and was his least favourite, because she “had been a very pretty girl but her bloom had vanished early”. Also because Anne had almost married a Captain Wentworth seven years previous who she loved but her family and friends convinced and persuaded her to leave him, because he had very poor social status and little wealth, and marrying him would be considered a crime to Sir Walter Elliot. Mary, Sir Walter’s other daughter is married to Charlie Musgrove. “Mary had merely connected herself with an old country family of respectability and large fortune, and had therefore given all the honour, and received none”, this shows us that he was disappointed with Mary and so Elizabeth was his only daughter left on which Sir Walter depended to bring the family name more status. It is clear, that Sir Walter does not have much regard for love or its importance in a relationship, he doesn’t consider it relevant.

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There are mixed views on marriage in the novel, while Sir Walter, Lady Russell, Mrs Clay and their friends all share similar views. Anne is different; early in the novel we learn she is sensible, much more so than the rest of her family.  So when we learn the story of Anne and Captain Wentworth, and how they were deeply in love we are surprised that she was dragged into her families’ vain self-importance views. As Anne left the man she was happily in love with because her family convinced her that he was not important enough for her or ...

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