The Definition of a Gentleman in Jane Austen’s Persuasion

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Recommended: Upper and lower class theory of social class

The novel Persuasion by Jane Austen uses two different perspectives of what it means to be a gentleman; namely, Anne Elliot’s merit-based perspective and Sir Walter Elliot and Lady Russell’s aristocratic perspective. At the time, landed gentry and aristocrats believed that a man could only be considered a gentleman if he owned land; came from a wealthy, noble family; and did not need to work for an income. However, due to the rise of the middle class in England, Austen also included other opinion: that it was possible to become a gentleman through study, adherence to social decorum, and intelligent thought. Through Anne and her two closest adult mentors, Austen shows the old ideals clashing with the new, and the gradual loss of power of the aristocrats in English society. It is through these two perspectives that the reader is able to evaluate the two types of gentlemen and understand why Anne preferred the company of the Crofts over the company of her own family. While Persuasion shows that a man can be a gentleman through either personal effort or family status, Austen uses Anne’s critical perspective on her own family to show that middle class gentlemen are more valuable acquaintances than aristocratic gentlemen.

Sir Walter Elliot, the first character mentioned in the novel, is a caricature of the prejudiced and conceited English aristocracy. As Alice Drum, a professor at Franklin & Marshall College, writes; “Sir Walter is ridiculous in his vanity and self-importance” (106). As a baronet, Sir Walter feels superior to the middle class and has a personal dislike for working men. This behaviour is first seen in his treatment of Mr. Wentworth, the brother of Captain Wentworth and curate of Monkford. When Mr. Shepard refer...

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...on: Penguin, 2003. Print.
Cantor, Paul A. “A Class Act: Persuasion and the Lingering Death of the Aristocracy.” Philosophy and literature 23.1 01 Apr 1999: 127. Johns Hopkins University Press. 04 Nov 2013. Web.
Drum, Alice. Pride and Prestige: Jane Austen and the Professions. College Literature 36.6 (Summer 2009): 92-137. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 21 Nov 2013.
Hart, John. “Jane Austen’s Sailors: Gentlemen in the Military Capacity.” Persuasions 4 (1982). 04 Nov 2013.
Martin, Graham. “Austen and class.” Women's Writing 5.1 (March 1998): 131-144. 04 Nov 2013. Web.
Monaghan, David M. “The Decline Of The Gentry: A Study Of Jane Austen's Attitude To Formality In Persuasion.” Studies in the Novel 7.1 (Spring 1975): 73-87. 04 Nov 2013. Web.
Sales, Rodger. Jane Austen and Representations of Regency England. London: Routledge, 1994. 04 Nov 2013. Web.

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