In today’s world, no matter what scale or situation, there are advisors or counselors for those in need. Whether it is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or an average-Joe, both pursue advice from a trusted professional, for example, a financial advisor or a therapist. Has it always been like this? Have all spectrums of the social sphere sought out counsel from trusted individuals? In her novel, Persuasion, author Jane Austen examines the relationship between advisor and advisee during the eighteenth century. While not all classes are accounted for, Austen depicts the relationship by using a wealthy family, the Elliot’s, and their family friend/advisor, Lady Russell. The Elliot family consists of Sir Walter and his three daughters, Elizabeth, Anna, and Mary. Lady Elliot died some fourteen years prior to novel’s main setting. Lady Russell was Lady Elliot’s best friend and since her death, she has remained close with the Elliot’s especially her goddaughter and the middle child, Anne. Lady Russell is the most persuasive character and describes the role of advisors in an individual’s ethical decision-making process throughout the novel. Two instances demonstrate Lady Russell’s persuasion and its effectiveness, Sir Walter’s spending habits problem and Anne’s decision whether to marry Captain Fredrick Wentworth or not.
As a jab towards the upper class of her time, Austen’s Sir Walter is a conceited, silly, vain, man with a problem of extravagantly overspending. (5) His irresponsibility has brought debt onto the family. Lady Russell, along with help from another family friend, Mr. Shepherd, devised a plan to free the Elliot’s of their debt. First, they suggested that Sir Elliot cut his spending, a concept, which strongly he o...
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... was wrong in her advice, she was in the right to offer her opinion, further proves the importance of an advisor in the role of an individual’s decision-making process.
Austen, through the events in her novel Persuasions, proves that advisors do have a very important role in the decision-making process of an individual. They are there to guide the advisee when facing a tough decision, or when a change in lifestyle must be made for the better. Advisors might not always be right, and can even misguide the advisee, but they are doing so with the right intentions in mind. Austen’s closing to the novel leaves the reader questioning the advisor role and importance, but as Anne admitted, despite the classic Austen fashion of ending novels with a happy ending, Lady Russell was in the right to misguide Anne at such a young age. Everything seemed to work out in the end.
Through the character of Silas, Howells illustrates the themes of affluence, ambition, rise/fall as Silas undergoes challenges with social standings throughout the novel. One would think that as a result of Silas’ huge fortune attained through his work in the paint business, that he would rank high in the social standings. However, in giving the reader a clearer sense of the Lapham’s wealth, Howells states, “They went upon journeys, and lavished upon cars and hotels; they gave with both hands to their church and to all the charities it brought them acquainted with; but they did not know how to spend on society” (pg. 25). Howell’s parallel structure in repeating “they” followed with a distinct action- evidenced through the words went, lavished, and gave— emphasizes and builds momentum to the contrast seen in the phrase “they did not know” in referring to their inability to connect with society. Due to Silas’ extreme wealth in addition to his exceedingly strong desire to ...
This novel is mainly focused on Elizabeth Bennet as she struggles to overcome her prejudices about Darcy, a rich and handsome suitor who has taken a liking to her, while the tales of the other Bennet sisters as they grapple with their own prejudices and search for the truth unfolds concurrently. Jane Austen suggests through events in the novel that structuring the truth to fit one’s personal idealism and prejudices can unfairly color one’s opinion of another and inhibit one from finding self-fulfillment. The interplay between truth and idealism will be explored in this essay by analyzing how idealism influences truth, the difference between the idealistic interpretation and reality in Pride and Prejudice, and the effect of using idealism to construe the
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Jane Austen completes her story with a “Cinderella ending” of Catherine and Henry marrying. However, her novel is more than a fairytale ending. Although often wrong and misguided in their judgments, she shows the supremacy of males that permeated throughout her society. Jane Austen takes us from a portrayal of men as rude, self-centered, and opinionate to uncaring, demanding, and lying to downright ruthless, hurtful, and evil. John Thorpe’s and General Tilney’s total disregard for others feelings and their villainous ways prove Austen’s point. Whether reading Northanger Abbey for the happy ending or the moral lesson, this novel has much to offer.
Jane Austen’s time and nowadays sees the same situation. Not all marriages are based solely on love. As shallow as it might sound, when considering marriage, most, if not all people, consider wealth and the reputation of their partner. The norms of Jane Austen’s time in relation to wealth, reputation and marriage are much more elaborated by each individual's upbringing. Works Cited Austen, Jane.
Each of Jane Austen’s characters in her novel, Pride and Prejudice, experiences a significant character development. Whether the change occurs by self-realization or through the assistance of another character varies from each individual character. For Austen’s leading man, Mr. Darcy, his character improvement is documented through his two marriage proposals to Elizabeth Bennet and her subsequent first rejection of his proposal. His first proposal demonstrates his extreme arrogance, elitism, and blindness to his many flaws. While his latter proposal shows not only the recognition of his deficiencies, but the overall improvement in his mentality. Mr. Darcy’s two proposals, though having the same intended end result, are completely different
The social/economic upper-class in England in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray are depicted through the characters’ lifestyles, wealth, and behaviors. Woolf, Austen, and Wilde give insightful portrayals of the characters by emphasizing their social roles in the England society. Their portrayals of the characters suggest that they are critical of the upper-class’ factitious lifestyles.
Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion emanates the social and political upheaval caused by the war and depicts the transition into nineteenth century realism where class and wealth was considered extremely important in the social hierarchy. She explores the reactions to the newly diverse interactions between different social classes and although she was “no snob, she knew all about snobbery.” Therefore, she is able to realistically portray the views of upper class characters such as Sir Walter Elliot and contrast them to men who have earned their wealth, such as Captain Wentworth. Whilst Britain was involved with the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in the early nineteenth century, the navy had a profound involvement therefore this is not only reflected in Austen’s real life, but also in her novels. This alters the narrative in the novel as a whole as Austen depicts how wealth and being upper class is no longer limited to hereditory but can also be earned through professions such as being in the navy. As a result, the contrasts between the opinions and actions of the men who work for their wealth and the men who merely receive it from their family are profound.
Jane Austen's Attitudes to Marriage in Persuasion In Persuasion, marriage is one of the major themes of the novel, and Austen's attitudes towards marriage are present in chapter four of the novel. The first episode in which we can examine Austen's attitudes to marriage is in chapter four. In chapter four we must notice that there is no direct speech, which shows that all of the narration is Austen, with her views and opinions being presented to us. When talking of Mr. Wentworth, Austen says ' He was a remarkably fine young man, with a great deal of intelligence, spirit and brilliancy' and of Anne 'an extremely pretty girl, with gentleness, modesty, taste and feeling.'
Jane Austen Society of North America, Inc. A Brief Biography. jasna.org. 26 April. 2014.
In her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen brought to life the struggles and instability of the English hierarchy in the early 19th century. Through the heartaches and happiness shared by Elinor Dashwood, who represented sense and her sister Marianne, who stood for sensibility, Austen tells a story of sisters who plummet from the upper class to the lower crust of society and the characters that surround them. Austen juxtaposes the upper and lower classes in English society to give the reader a full understanding of the motivation to be a part of the upper class and the sacrifices one will give up to achieve such status. Austen exposes the corruptness of society, the significance of class and the fundamental building blocks both are to the decision-making surrounding her protagonists, Marianne and Elinor.
The short story Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid is a mother’s compilation of advice, skills, and life experience to her daughter. The mother believes that her offer of practical and helpful guidance will assist her daughter in becoming a proper woman, and gaining a fulfilling life and respectable status in the community. Posed against the mother’s sincere concern for her daughter’s future is Sir Walter’s superficial affection to his daughters in the novel Persuasion written by Jane Austen. Due to his detailed attention for appearance and social rank, Sir Walter has been negligent to his daughters’ interests and fails to fulfill his responsibility as a father. Throughout both literary works, the use of language and tone towards persuasive endeavors reveals the difference in family dynamics and the success of persuasion on the character’s transformation.
She first begins with the introduction of Jane Austen’s life circumstances, how small amount of money she had with her mother and her sister and the better life circumstances of her five brother whilst they had got access to work that was paid, inheritance and preference and also the right for independence, personal power that is prosperous and masculinity.
Austen was raised in an unusually liberal family where her father was a part of the middle-landowning class. They had a moderate amount of luxuries, but were not considered well off. Unlike many girls of her time Austen received a fairly comprehensive education. She received this mainly through the undivided support of her family. Austen and her sisters, like most girls of their time, were homeschooled. Austen’s zealous parents encouraged the girls to play piano, read and write. Her parent’s encouragement led to her interest in writing. Austen’s father housed an extensive library filled with books which kept Austen occupied for years (“Sense and Sensibility” 119). Through her observant nature and passion to read and write, Austen was able to eloquently write of the many “hidden truths” of social and class distinction during her time. They included daily societal changes some of which foreshadowed future societal leniency. Familial support also extended societal norm of marriage. Her parents attempt...
...Emma’s voice in order to relate the inside ideology, while simultaneously using a somewhat ironic third-person narrative voice in order to provide critical social commentary on the social attitudes of the Highbury society depicted in Emma. Emma’s voice allows the reader to gain an unadultered insight into the lives of the people of Highbury, providing the narrative with a Austen uses a somewhat similar dichotomous technique in Persuasion, in which she splits the novel into two halves -- one in which advocates for the traditional system of formality, and another that works to eradicate the very same system that she extolled so highly in the first half. Under the deceptive guise of “political inaction,” Austen actually provides commentary on the underlying social and political issues that pervade the novel through the literary technique of heteroglossia (Parker 359).