5 Reasons Persuasion is my Favourite Jane Austen Novel
Jane Austen’s Writing Table - taken at Jane Austen’s house in Chawton.
Ask anyone to name a Jane Austen novel and there is a pretty high chance that the answer will be Pride and Prejudice. Even people who have never read Jane Austen or hate the classics/romance/female authors… whatever it may be,
‘it is a truth universally acknowledged…’
that most people think of Pride & Prejudice the minute they hear the name Jane Austen.
The love for her second novel is HUGE (Sense & Sensibility came first, in case you were wondering). Mr Darcy is a veritable buzzword for swoonworthy heroes, Elizabeth Bennett is a wonderfully witty heroine, and the humour and observations throughout still ring true today. It has given us Bridget Jones’ Diaries and dozens of other spinoffs, both on screen and on the page. I love it, I really do, BUT…
Persuasion is my favourite.
Here’s why:
I LOVE that our heroine Anne Elliot is an introvert (like me). She is quiet, calm and considerate, and has a rich inner life, which, as the reader, we get to see in a way those around her do not. Although Anne is quiet and amenable, she is not meek or pathetic in any way. She is strong and wise, choosing to stay out of the dramas and conflicts that go on around her, instead observing closely and speaking up only when necessary. Most introverts know what it is like to feel unseen, overlooked, or misunderstood by others, especially those who are louder and take up more space, but reading Anne’s story can confirm what we all know deep down: quiet people can be heroines too.
Anne is older. At 27, Anne is the oldest of Jane’s heroines, making her a little wiser and more world-weary. As an older woman, I love that about her. I loved her when I first read the book in my late teens but now, in midlife, I love that she is a little melancholy and more grounded. The way she observes the giggling, excitable behaviour of the Musgrove girls towards Captain Wentworth is so wonderfully done, and something that any older reader can identify with. You can almost hear her sigh as she watches them fawning. Not that she is immune to blushing or reacting to Captain Wentworth herself, but she behaves in a far more measured way.
She has had her heart broken. When I first read Persuasion, I had just had my heart broken and was a bit of a mess - think ice cream consumed by the tub, and copious tears. Ah, yes, such fun! What comforted me when reading Persuasion was not just Anne’s love story, but also that of Captain Benwick, who finds love again after the terrible grief of losing his wife. I took comfort from the idea that, whatever happened, love could and would come around again. And of course, it did.
She is a Bibliotherapy fan. Yes, even back in Jane’s day, the knowledge that the written word could heal was kicking around. In Persuasion, Anne and Captain Benwick discuss poetry, and Anne goes on to recommend things he should read to heal and comfort his broken heart. It is so kind, so gentle and such a beautiful reflection of a book lover’s behaviour that you can’t help but love Anne for it (and Jane for writing it).
I think it is the most romantic of all Jane’s books. I’m well aware many may not agree. Wentworth is not brooding, mysterious, or particularly complex; he is kind and, well, quite ordinary in many ways. To me, he feels the most realistic of all the heroes, the kind of person you might actually want to end up with. And, I think there is something deeply, unfailingly romantic about two people who are meant to be together, ending up together. Anne never stops loving Wentworth, and he never stops loving Anne. And, when the time is right, the universe brings them back together for a second chance. Ah, swoon. That is a beautiful love story.
Persuasion was the last of Jane’s novels, published six months after she died. I think her own maturity and the skills she had developed from writing her other novels combine to make this her best book and Anne her loveliest heroine.
