Persuasion

In the pivotal moment where Captain Wentworth listens in to Anne’s telling of her true feelings regarding the lasting power of a love that has lost any chance of fulfilling its desires to Captain Harville, it seems that Jane Austen runs an underlying commentary about the differences of the emotional constitution of men and women in society. Of course this scene is used by Austen to clear the confusion and apprehension of the love that these two characters have for each other, but it also smartly comments upon the prevailing beliefs of a man and a woman regarding the merits of each their sexes. For Anne she emphasizes the belief that women are more capable of tender feeling and lasting sensibility than men, she states that “We certainly do not forget you, so soon as you forget us.” “We live at home, quiet, confined, and our feelings prey upon us. You are forced on exertion. You have always a profession, pursuits, business of some sort or other, to take you back into the world immediately, and continual occupation and change soon weaken impressions” (224). The way Austen presents this concept is interesting because she doesn’t seem to be against this type of “confined” existence of women, but instead is just commenting upon its nature and how it affects the feelings that women feel, and how the opposite of men affects their feelings as well. This is interesting the compare this to the writings of women like Wollstonecraft who comment upon these concepts in order to incite social change. Also Captain Harville’s comments of “histories are against you, all stories, prose and verse” and “but perhaps you will say, these are all written by men”(225) are interesting to consider because they tell of Austen’s frustration of how there was little opportunity for women writers of the time and histories were for men to tell. Subsequently allowing men control over the telling of stories that may be biased. By successfully publishing books such as Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice Austen was able to write her own stories and provide the public with an accurate portrayal of a woman’s view point.