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2. Is Anne Elliot Austen's most perfect heroine?
4. There are three women in Persuasion about whom opinions wildly differ.
a. Mrs. Russell:
Is Mrs. Russell a true friend to Anne despite her occasional bad advice? How do you feel about her eagerness to match Anne with Mr. Elliot? (Does anyone feel sorry for Elizabeth when Mr. Elliot suddenly switches his attentions from her to Anne?)
b. Mrs. Clay:
Mrs. Clay is a destitute widow with no beauty, the sort of character that Austen, in other books, might be sympathetic to. Why is Mrs. Clay then such an unsympathetic character? What is so despicable about her hopes of marrying Sir Walter? Are you persuaded that Mr. Elliot could be bullied into marrying her?
c. Mrs. Smith:
Mrs. Smith is the most controversial character of all. Like Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility she allows a friend for whom she professes to care to come perilously close to a disastrous marriage without saying a word to stop it. Did you find this forgivable in Colonel Brandon? Do you find it forgivable in Mrs. Smith? It is quite likely that Mrs. Smith's property in the West Indies included slaves. Were you picturing the restored and contented Mrs. Smith at the book's end as a slave owner?
8. Captain Wentworth has doubts about the marriage of Captain Benwick and Louisa Musgrove. How do you rate their chances of happiness? Will they be happier than Charles and Mary Musgrove?
9. In Bath Anne begins to believe that Wentworth still cares for her. Why can't she simply tell him she is uninterested in Mr. Elliot? Does this drive you nuts? Would you say something to him if you were Anne?
Is it still the man's job to pursue, the woman's to be pursued?
9. What arguments are there for Anne’s having listened to Lady Russell eight years earlier?
How does Anne view this persuasion by the end of the novel?
11. How are Anne Elliot’s values displayed through her words and actions? Is Anne Elliot a
passive or an active character?
Consider her actions when the family leaves Kellynch;
During the stay in Lyme Regis;
During the concert in Bath;
After reading Wentworth’s letter.
13. Does Anne go through the growth that Austen’s other heroines do, to self-knowledge and
moral and intellectual improvement? What does Anne need to learn? Does Anne become
more independent near the end of the novel?
14. Does she mature emotionally? Would she have stood up to Lady Russell at the end if
needed? Is Anne a Cinderella figure?
15. What role does Mrs. Smith play in the novel? What is the effect of Mrs. Smith’s
revelations to Anne?
16. Does Wentworth go through a process of self-discovery? Does he change? If so, how?
18. Why are Wentworth and Harville upset by Benwick’s inconstancy to the memory of Fanny
Harville? How are Benwick and Louisa similar?
19. Why is this novel set in so many different locations? What do these places represent:
Kellynch, Uppercross, Lyme, Bath? How does Bath reveal Sir Walter’s true nature?
20. The characters are subject to different types of persuasion. Who is persuaded by
rank/class/family connections? Who is persuaded by self-interest? Who is persuaded by
self-importance?
21. Does the novel embody a feminist viewpoint? Consider Anne’s conversation with
Harville. Consider Mrs. Croft’s character and actions.
22. The cancelled final chapters of Persuasion are a glimpse into Austen’s writing process.
What do they show? How do they differ from the revised ending?
English manners and morals.
- Captain Wentworth and Anne are constantly in each other’s company. What keeps them from speaking honestly to each other? Would you invite two people who had once been engaged to the same social gathering? Both the Captain and Anne are very polite to each other. How might things be different today?
- The Crofts are portrayed as one of the few happily married couples in the novel. What is it about their relationship that seems so different from the other relationships portrayed in the book?
- Austen writes of Captain Benwick: “His reading has done him no harm, for he has fought as well as read.” What does this statement indicate about what was important at this time? To what extent have attitudes changed in our time?
- Anne believes she was right to be “persuaded” by Lady Russell not to marry Captain Wentworth when he proposed years earlier. Explain her reasoning. Do you agree with her Why...or?
ill for delicate, ironic observations on social custom, love, and marriage nor her ability to apply a sharp focus lens to English manners and morals has deserted her in her final finished work. (From the publisher.)
4. When younger, was Anne right to have followed Lady Russell's advice? Did it show passivity on Anne's part or good judgment to have allowed herself to be guided by her elders? Contrast her with Louisa Croft's assertion later in the book that she would never be dissuaded from following her own desires.
9. What kind person is Captain Wentworth? What kind of woman does he say he admires? What is the impact on him when he learns that Anne turned down Charles Musgrove in marriage?
11. When Anne meets Captain Benwick in Lyme, what drew the two together? Were you expecting a romance to develop between the two? Why...or why not?
15. In all of her novels, Austen casts a gentle, satirical eye on English society. In Persuasion, her gaze seems more critical: what might she be saying in this work about rank and property—and about the possible rise of a middle class?
16. In a letter, Austen described Anne Elliot as "almost too good for me." Do you find Anne "too good" to be true? Is her goodness cloying and sentimental? Or is her goodness something different—an integrity combined with strength and acceptance? How do you see the heroine of this novel?
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