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Jane Austen

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Biography:

Born December 16th 1775
Parents reverend George Austen and Cassandra Austen
7th child 2nd daughter
Closest to her brother Henry
Lived in an environment of open learning, creativity, and dialogue
Had an exceptional bond with her father
Sent off to boarding school in 1783 at the age of 8 for her formal education
Quite common for the family to invest time and energy into making home based productions of existing plays or writing and acting out their own creations
Kept her own works written in notebooks for future reference
Married Mr. Bigg-Wither
First novel written in 1790 Love and Friendship

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Time Period:

Jane Austen lived in the late 1700s through the early 1800s.
Back then, they ate a lot of grains and that is about it.
Home spun wool and linen for clothes
The hygiene was very poor, hardly anyone ever bathed
Women were basically property of their husbands and had very little rights.
Poor living conditions

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Writing Style:

Jane Austen’s writing style is a combination of parody, burlesque, irony, free indirect speech, and a degree of realism.

PERSUASION:

Summary:

* This novel takes place in Somersetshire, Lyme Regis, and Bath, England, from the

summer of 1816 to the spring of 1817. The Elliots, a family of rich background encounter many financial issues. They come to the conclusion to rent the mansion they owned to another rich family which causes drama. It turns out that the middle child of the Elliots (Anne) was once married to a brother of the Crofts (the family that moved in).

Anne (the main character) is embarrassed with her family after they act snooty at some

parties that their family attends. Their family was once rich but they still pretend that they are even though most of their income comes from the Croft family. She is upset with them and tries to leave.

Eventually Anne leaves to the town of Bath (an outside town, she is not used to the customs of

the small town) and finds herself reunited with Captain Wentworth. They are acquainted with each other and still very fond of each other. They trade looks and smiles with each other for a while until the captain acts upon her. She sends him signals that he should just propose (again). "I like you. Do you like me? Check Yes or No.” Soon after, they run into each other on the street and finally manage to get all their misunderstandings sorted out. They end up getting married and everything ends well. http://www.bridalbuds.com/wp-content/uploads/crying_bride.jpg http://www.wisteriaformations.co.uk/articles/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/money-1ccc.jpg

Main Characters:

Anne Elliot- She starts outs a young lady that is always undervalued and underestimated by her family, she eventually moves and away and gets with a man, who she eventually breaks up with because of a friend, that the entire Elliot family dislikes. He turns up back in her life again later in the story and she wonders why she ever listened to her friend, but he has not forgiven her. This causes her to be very sad and you realize how quiet she is as she bottles up her emotions. Overall Anne is not self-centered at all and always puts others in aspiration; she seems to bottle up her emotions and is always underestimated by her family.

Captain Frederick Wentworth- In Captain Wentworth’s world, what you do is who you are. So for instance, in the novel’s backstory, Anne cancels their engagement; Wentworth passes judgment on her character: obviously, he thinks, she must be pitiful to be so easily persuaded. He is a self-made rich man who likes to read people by their past actions.

Sir Walter Elliot- He is an obnoxiously vain person. Sir Walter is vain about two things: his appearance and his title. Which is funny because he has not earned anything in his life, everything has been given to him. Towards the end of the novel we do start to see a change in faith though.

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Themes:

Friendship

Friendships form an alternate network of alliance to family in the novel.
The big difference is that you can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends.
Friends are just as important as family, if not more sometimes.
The kind of people a character likes reveals something about his or her values.
Friends step up when family doesn’t in the novel.

Appearances

Appearances can be deceiving but they can also be revealing.
Looks can sometimes reveal more about the person observing rather than the one being observed.
Characters who receive compliments from other on their appearances are often those who have something the other desire to have or share.
Anne gets prettier as she gets happier, suggesting that physical appearance is more than just superficial.
While one of the messages in the novel is that physical appearance is not a clear marker of character, the novel does often link the way a character looks with who he or she is.

Symbols and Literary Techniques:

The Baronetage

The Baronetage symbolizes Sir Walter Elliot’s social status in his neighborhood. The Baronetage is a genealogical guide to the British aristocracy and is the only book the Sir Walter reads. It contains a list of the Baronets all the way back to 1611. Sir Walter’s daughter Elizabeth shares his liking for the book but thinks it represents her in a negative way. She thinks it symbolizes her inadequacy in society. Her main purpose is to marry someone with an entry in the Baronetage. Because of the pressure on Elizabeth, she is more interested in pleasing society by marrying someone with an entry whether the marriage is happy or not.

Kellynch Hall

Kellynch Hall symbolizes power in Persuasion. It is a huge house in the neighborhood that everyone admires. It belongs to the highest ranked family which is the Elliot’s. The family holds most of the power and the house is almost like a mini white house compared to the surrounding houses. The owners of the house are responsible for all citizens and land in that neighborhood. They are to be a perfect example for the families that look up to them. Unfortunately, the Elliot’s failed to live up to the standards of the living in Kellynch Hall and are kicked out. This symbolizes a social shift in who is gaining power and who is losing it.

Literary Techniques:

Characterization

uses characterization to add humor to her stories
points out specific reasons for the characters actions

Irony

describes characters in 2 different ways

“conceited, silly father”

irony used to describe situations

describing Anne and Wentworth’s engagement (not getting married for love)

verbal irony

speaking differently than the character feels

Foreshadowing

Sir Walter and Mr. Shepherd are discussing potential tenants for Kellynch Hall
Anne talks about Captain Wentworth’s arrival and her attitude about the situation foreshadows her reaction to him later on
Henrietta Musgrove and Charles Hayter’s reconciliation