Persuasion 12/1

Something of interest is the association of independence with class mobility, mostly prevalent in Vol. I of Persuasion. Characters such as William Walter Elliot and Captain Wentworth are referred to as having independence “He [William Walter Elliot] had purchased independence by uniting himself to a rich woman of inferior birth” (50) and “had he [Captain Wentworth] wished ever to see her again he need not have waited till this time…when events had been early giving him the independence which alone had been wanting” (93, both cases refer to their financial situation, having obtained their personal wealth by some action of their own not by inheritance  through blood relation. A bit curiously Elliot gains his fortune by marrying a wealthy woman, marriage more commonly the “female means” of moving class strata (daughters being unable to inherit family property).  Though neither Wentworth nor Elliot have a title of “distinguish” among the country nobility, both occupy a sphere of relative freedom from social constraints of rank (demonstrated more so by Wentworth)  and economic dependence on inheritance money that those such as the baronets are bound to.  In contrast to this others such as Charles Musgrove remain dependent on family fortune, “They were always perfectly agreed in the want of more money and a strong inclination for a handsome present from his father” (80).