Jane Austen’s 1818 novel Persuasion has been interpreted by critics as either a parody on upperclass vanity or a maturing love story. While the novel does contain elements of both themes, one should not forget the main narrative: Anne Elliot‘s personal growth into a poised, openheaned woman. Unlike Austen‘s other livelier protagonists such as Lizzy Bennet from Pride & Prejudice or Emma Woodhouse from Emma, Anne Elliot, with her quiet and melancholic manner, resembles more of a ghost than lady at the start of Persuasion. Over the course of the novel, through different interactions with Captain Wentworth, Anne’s behavior begins to change. Her silenced emotions come alive, embodied in her physical reactions and a new, flushed and revived appearance. Although Anne at first appears disconnected from her own life and unwanted by her own family, her interactions with Captain Wentworth over the course of the novel initiate her personal emotional growth, resulting in a renewed physical presence within the space of her desires and her daily life.
When the reader is first introduced to Anne Elliot, her opinions and her presence are unwelcome amongst her sister, Elizabeth, and her father, Sir Walteri Although she helps her family, they do not care about her state of being: “mbut Anne, with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, which must have placed her high with any people of real understanding, was nobody with either father or sister: her word had no weight; her convenience was always to give way; 7 she was only Anne”. Pushed to the background, Anne‘s grief over the loss of her mother and her love, Wentworth, goes unnoticed. This neglect, along with her emotional troubles, causes Anne’s “bloom” to “vanish early”. Quite literally, Anne becomes almost non- existent within her own home, noted by her father to be “faded and thin,” then she is later left behind as her father and sister move to their new residency in Bath. Anne is no longer a participant within her own world, both emotionally and physically.
She avoids confronting her own feelings and engaging in interactions or conversations that could develop her maturity. Even her kindness, although always a good trait, is used as a shield of sorts. It’s easy for Anne to dodge potentially uncomfortable situations with a face of quiet compliancy, especially since her family regards that behavior as normal. Anne volunteers to take care of Mary’s children to avoid interactions with Wentworth and the new Kellynch tenants. In another instance, amid sadness over Wentworth, she offers to play music to conceal her pain “Anne offered her services, as usual, and though her eyes would sometimes fill with tears as she sat at the instrument, she was extremely glad to be employed, and desired nothing in return but to be unobserved” Anne, at first, chooses to make herself invisible, to wallow in her sadness rather than become confident and move on with her life.
She remains stuck within her own emotional burdenst Despite her age, she has not grown into the space of her body and mind — however that will soon change. Anne’s first reunion with Wentworth makes her aware of her own bodily presence, When Anne is first introduced to him, Austen describes her behavior as skittish fragments of action, like that of a startled bird taking flight, “Her eye half met Captain Wentworth’s; a bow, a curtsy passed; she heard his voice 7 he talked to Mary, said all that was right; said something to the Musgrove, enough to mark easy footing: the room seemed full — full of persons and voices — but a few minutes ended it.” Although Anne is going through the motions of politeness, she doesn’t seem to be entirely present. She does not speak, she drowns in the fullness of the room, she can’t meet Wentworth’s eye, and she waits for all of it to be over so she can disappear. When confronted by this uncomfortable revival of past love, Anne attempts the usual strategy: make herself small and vanish — however it does not work, Wentworth notices her fading appearance “altered beyond his knowledge”, much to Anne‘s embarrassment.
Not all of Anne’s personal growth is centered around Wentworth‘s presence; Anne interacts with many other characters in this novel, the Crofts and Mrs. Smith for instance, that help her gain a better understanding of her own strength However, Wentwotth’s appearance that catalyzes these changes. Because of Anne’s romantic interest in him, Wentworth’s actions stir Anne’s previously silent emotions and bring both her body and mind, restoring her lost bloom. After Anne‘s meeting with Wentworth, she’s out of her comfort zone. She is suddenly more aware of herself, her body and her presence. Anne tries to avoid seeing him after that incident by volunteering to take care of Mary‘s injured son, but Wentworth, by physically taking the boy from Anne, breaks through her barrier of voluntary kindness. “And he was resolutely borne away, before she knew Captain Wentworth had done it. Her sensations on the discovery made her perfectly speechless. She could not even thank him… His kindness in stepping forward to her relief — the manner — the silence in which it had passed”.
The moment is both surprising and relieving for Anne, The physical contact, the “sensations,” reestablish the presence of her body. Wentworth unburdens her not only from the child but from their role as the silent caretaker of her family, giving her space to mature. As Anne becomes closer to the different Navy families in Lyme and Uppercross, she becomes more aware of her wants and her being. She no longer caters to the needs of her selfish family and distances herself from their landed, upper-class frivolity by associating with the Crofts, Mrs. Smith in Bath, and traveling with her friends. When she’s reunited with her father and sister, Sir Walter notices Anne’s newfound vigor, “less thin in her person, in her cheeks; her skin, her complexion, greatly improved; clearer fresher”. Once in Bath, Anne is bolder both in her words and her actions as she deliberately continues to visit impoverished Mrs. Smith and, at the novel’s conclusion, subtly declares her love for Wentworth in her conversation with Captain Hawille.
Anne skillfully disguises her feelings by stating that women remain devoted to their love, they do not forget 7 an allusion to her prolonged separation from Wentworth. She understands the power of her own words and feels a “nervous thrill all over” her body with the energy of her secret confession. Her sensations are amplified when “Captain Wentworth’s pen ceased to move, his head was raised, pausing, listening, and he turned ‘round the next instant to give a look 7 one quick, conscious look at her”. Both Anne‘s body and mind are strengthened by the knowledge that he understands the meaning of her words. Anne‘s progression is clear: she moves from a passive, quiet phantom to a woman fully-formed with the ability to take control of her life and achieve her desirest Anne’s embodied emotions do not just benefit her own existence.
When Wentworth’s actions once had the ability to stir her feelings and provoke Anne’s physical presence, Anne is now able to do the same to him. “You pierce my soul,” he writes in his love letter to her, “I had not waited these ten days, could l have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine”. Austen marks this as the final step in Anne’s journey to self-realization. She is no longer faded and thin; her words can tangibly effect Wentwotth and she has the confidence to express her desires. Through the realization of her emotions for him, her once ghostly, ignored body has materialized, renewed, and she can now reach out to Frederickt This power balance between the two — with Elizabeth always effected and Wentwotth the one who effects — is equalized at the novel’s conclusion, Austen‘s own words best describe this transformation in the second to-last chapter, shortly after Wentworth‘s letter and their romantic reunion.
“He joined them; but, as if irresolute whether to join or to pass on, said nothing — only lookedt Anne could command herself enough to receive that look, not repulsively. The cheeks which had been pale now glowed, and the movements which had hesitated were decided. He walked by her side” (224-225). Anne has progressed since the start of Persuasion, no longer avoiding Wentworth’s eyes or surprised at his touch. Her inner strength is expressed outwardly in her radiant complexion and decided movements. Note how Austen places the pair within this space: Anne walks beside him as an equal, not trailing behind or feeling out of place. She allows herself to be observed, to match Wentwonh stride for stride, and this strong, healthy physical presence is proof that she truly has matured beyond her past melancholy Persuasion is not just a parody or a love story. It’s also the story ofAnne Elliot’s personal growth. After her first heartbreak at nineteen, she chooses to be a ghost, pleasing others to deflect all kinds of attention, She loses her youthful glow, becomes withered and invisible, Wentworth, through physical and eye contact, breaks down her emotional barriers and heightens Anne’s awareness of herself.
As Anne engages with Wentworth, her emotions become embodied in her revitalized appearance. She becomes an active player in her own life, going as far as using her skills of conversation to slyly confess her love for the Captain, While Anne does not need Wentworth to exist, the end of their first engagement passed over her like a dark cloud, trapping her within anxiety and insecurity. Austen subtly develops Anne’s confidence. She uses the time ofAnne and Wentworth’s reunion as a catalyst for this transformation by addressing one of Anne’s biggest limitations. By expressing Anne’s emotional growth through the changes in her physical behavior, Austen creates a character that does not just mentally mature, she also begins to take up space within English society — whether it‘s beside her lover or in defiance of her self-centered family. Anne Elliot’s story is more than just one about love. It’s about Anne’s powerful emotional growth from quietly vulnerable to confident and openhearted and her physical return into youthful bloom.
