Self and society: Persuasion

Abstract

The society of Highbury in Emma is extremely restricted and the novel never moves outside that society, making us acutely aware of its claustrophobic limitations. In the end, however, Emma settles down to ‘perfect happiness’ with Mr Knightley, apparently finding fulfilment without needing to move outside her immediate social circle. At the end of the last chapter I suggested that the ending expressed a conservative position, a defence of the establishment social order and of society’s claims over those of the individual. Persuasion (1818), Jane Austen’s last completed novel, is rather different. It begins with the heroine, Anne Elliot, and her father and sister leaving the family home; the action of the novel moves from the Somersetshire countryside to Lyme Regis and finally to Bath; and it ends with Anne Elliot’s marriage to a naval officer, breaking entirely with family tradition and social expectations. It is thus very different not only from Emma, but also from Pride and Prejudice where Elizabeth similarly moves away from her family on her marriage but makes a brilliant match which again tends to support established social patterns.