persuasion
Persuasion (original title Persuasion ) is the last complete novel by Jane Austen . It was written between August 1815 and August 1816, but was not published posthumously until 1818 .
The novel is set in 1814 in the historic county of Somersetshire (now Somerset ) in south-west England and in Bath , a popular seaside resort.
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While Jane Austen was writing the novel, the first signs of her illness made themselves felt, from which she died two years later at the age of 41.
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Anne Elliot is the middle of three daughters of the Baronet Sir Walter Elliot. Her father is only too aware of his good looks and standing and lives beyond his financial means. Anne's mother, a sensitive and sensible woman, has long since died, and her older sister Elizabeth is similar to her father in character and has taken on the important role of her mother in the rural and feudal environment at a very young age. Anne's younger sister, Mary, is a nervous and dependent woman who is in a sanity marriage to Charles Musgrove of Uppercross Hall, heir to a simple but well-respected peasant in the neighborhood. With her high level of education and her sensible nature, Anne is an exception in this society and does not find much sociability in her relatives. At the age of 27, still unmarried, an 'old virginity' seems predetermined.
Eight years earlier, Anne was convinced by her mother's former closest friend, Lady Russell, who had become her own close confidante, to give up an engagement to Frederick Wentworth, whom she loved very much despite being only briefly acquainted. As a friend of her mother's, Lady Russell felt responsible for Anne, with whom she was the closest of the three sisters. Lady Russell had not thought it wise to marry a penniless naval officer of no special origin and little future in the middle of a war.
Wentworth re-enters Annes life, is forced as Sir Walter, because of financial difficulties his country estate Kellynch Hall, he can entertain no more, for rent. The tenant is Wentworth's brother-in-law, Admiral Croft. Wentworth himself rose to the rank of captain in the Napoleonic Wars , and made a sizable fortune of about £ 25,000 in prize money by raising enemy ships. Anne's father and sister Elizabeth and a friend of Elizabeth, Mrs. Clay, move to Bath. Anne is given the job of looking after Mary, who feels sick in Uppercross.
The Musgroves, including Mary, Charles, and Charles' younger sisters Henrietta and Louisa, are delighted to have the Crofts and Frederick Wentworth as new neighbors. Both Musgrove sisters are drawn to Wentworth, although Henrietta is already informally engaged to her cousin, Charles Hayter, a clergyman. Hayter is barely accepted as a son-in-law, although he is socially and financially inferior to the Musgroves. Charles, Mary and the Crofts continuously speculate which of the two sisters Wentworth might marry.
The relationship between Anne and Wentworth is very cool and reserved during the inevitable encounters, especially from his side, so that no one suspects a previous relationship or stronger feelings between the two. Anne's love for Wentworth has not waned, but she sees it as lost because of her past behavior.
All of the younger members of society take a trip to see a close friend of Captain Wentworth, Captain Harville, near Lyme Regis . Louisa Musgrove has an accident through her own impetuous behavior, in which Anne's prudence in the organization of help is clearly evident.
Louisa's recovery is very slow and her personality appears to have changed in the accident. She is now drawn to another friend of Wentworth's, who mourns the death of his fiancée, a sister of Captain Harville. The two find each other because Wentworth left because of fears that the relationship with Louisa could become too close.
Anne goes to Bath, where Sir Walter has since resumed his lavish lifestyle, albeit on a smaller scale than in Kellynch Hall, with Elizabeth and Mrs. Clay. Here the acquaintance with the cousin and - due to the lack of male descendants - later heir of Sir Walter, William Elliot, was renewed, who in the past had not placed much value on relatives and was improperly married, but very rich and now is widowed. Elizabeth hopes for a relationship with him, but Lady Russell, who is now also in Bath, realizes that William Elliot is courting Anne.
Although William Elliot appears to be the perfect gentleman, Anne distrusts his opaque nature. She is also given more information about his true calculating nature from an unexpected source. An old school friend, Mrs. Smith, lives in poor conditions in Bath. Mrs. Smith's late husband was once Mr. Elliot's closest friend. After luring Mr. Smith into financial adventures and impoverishing Mr. Smith, he quickly dropped him.
Anne's friend suspects that Mr. Elliot only resumed relations with her family to secure his later inheritance, especially the title of baronet. He fears a marriage between Sir Walter and Mrs. Clay and a possible son from such a marriage who would change the line of succession.
Her friend's information helps Anne withstand the renewed persuasion of Lady Russell, who now sees William Elliot as an ideal husband for Anne. She also gets more confidence in her own judgment.
The entire Musgrove family, the Crofts and Captain Wentworth and his friend Captain Harville have now also arrived in Bath. Anne and Wentworth meet often and, despite the adverse circumstances, try to get closer again. Wentworth is becoming increasingly socially accepted because of his elegant and decisive appearance and wealth.
The situation becomes more complicated when everyone, including Wentworth, suspects an impending marriage between Anne and William Elliot. It was only when Wentworth heard Anne talking passionately about the persistence of a woman's feelings in a conversation with Captain Harville that he wrote her a letter in which he confessed his undiminished deep affection and repeated his earlier proposal. Anne accepts and is now very sure that she made the right decision.
In the end, Sir Walter is positively impressed by Wentworth and agrees with his son-in-law. Lady Russell also admits she misjudged Captain Wentworth, and she and Anne remain friends. Mr. Elliot has meanwhile turned to Mrs. Clay, who sees her plans with Sir Walter thwarted by Anne's marriage to Captain Wentworth.
main characters
Sir Walter Elliot - A vain and complacent baronet. Sir Walter's lavish lifestyle since his wife's death 13 years earlier has put his family in financial trouble.
Elizabeth Elliot - Sir Walter's eldest daughter fully shares her father's views. Your relationship with Anne is more than cool.
Anne Elliot - Sir Walter's second daughter is 27 years old and unmarried. Eight years before the book's plot, she fell in love with Frederick Wentworth, a penniless young naval officer.
Mary Musgrove - Sir Walter's youngest daughter is insecure and constantly feels misunderstood. She takes refuge in illness or pretends to be sick.
Charles Musgrove - Mary's husband and heir to the Musgrove Manor. He wanted to marry Anne first.
Lady Russell - A friend of the Elliots, especially Anne. She feels responsible because of her previous friendship with the late Lady Elliot.
Mrs. Clay - A poor widow, daughter of Sir Walter's attorney and intimate friend of Elizabeth Elliot. She works in secret to seduce Sir Walter into marriage.
Captain Frederick Wentworth - A naval officer who was briefly engaged to Anne 8 years earlier. Because of his success in the Napoleonic Wars, his financial and social situation has improved significantly. He is one of Sophia Croft's two brothers.
Admiral Croft - A good-natured, frank tenant of Kellynch Hall and brother-in-law of Captain Wentworth.
Sophia Croft - The sister of Captain Wentworth and wife of Admiral Croft. For Anne she is an example of a strong, intelligent and at the same time happily married woman.
Louisa Musgrove - Charles Musgrove's sister, around 19, is a spirited young lady. Captain Wentworth admires her for her determination and self-confidence.
Henrietta Musgrove - Charles Musgrove's older sister, around 21, who is informally engaged to her cousin Charles Hayter.
Captain Harville - A friend of Captain Wentworth. He was wounded in the war and lives with his family near Lyme.
Captain James Benwick - A friend of Captain Harville. Benwick was engaged to Captain Harville's sister, Fanny, but she died while Benwick was at sea. The loss made him melancholy and a lover of poetry.
Mr. William Elliot - A cousin and likely heir of Sir Walter. He became estranged from the family when he married a woman of much lower social rank but of great wealth. He is now a widower.
Mrs. Harriet Smith - A school friend of Anne Elliot, lives in Bath. She is an impoverished widow in poor health and was previously known to William Elliot through her husband. She is well informed about Bath social life through her nurse Mrs. Rooke.
Lady Dalrymple - A Viscountess and cousin of Sir Walter. She has a high social position because of her wealth and rank.
expenditure
- Original editions
- Persuasion. John Murray, London 1818 (first edition).
- Northanger Abbey and Persuasion . Collection of British Authors, Vol. 1176, Tauchnitz, Leipzig 1871.
- Persuasion . London, Penguin Classics 2003. ISBN 978-0-14-143968-6
- German translations
- Anna . A family painting. Translated from English by WA Lindau. 2 vols. Kollmann, Leipzig 1822. Digitized
- Anne Elliot . Transfer from d. Engl. By Margarete Rauchberger, foreword by Angela Thirkell, Schaffrath Verlag, Cologne 1948.
- Anne Elliot . From d. Engl. Transl. by Ilse Leisi. Nachw. Von Max Wildi, Manesse Library of World Literature , Manesse, Zurich 1966.
- Anne Elliot's love . From d. Engl. Trans. by Gisela Reichel, Kiepenheuer, Weimar 1968.
- Persuasion . Translated by Ursula and Christian Grawe . Nachw. U. Notes from Christian Grawe. Reclam, Stuttgart 1983. ISBN 3-15-027972-0
- Anne Elliot, or the power of persuasion . Translated by Sabine Roth. Afterword by Dorothea Tetzeli von Rosador. dtv, Munich 2010. ISBN 978-3-423-13901-4 .
- Audio book
- Jane Austen: Anne Elliot, or the power of persuasion . Abridged reading. Director: Margrit Osterwold. Read by Eva Mattes. Translated from the English by Sabine Roth. 6 CD, approx. 450 minutes, Audiobook Verlag, Hamburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-89903-696-1 .
- Jane Austen: Anne Elliot or The Art of Persuasion . Unabridged version. Translated by Margarete Rauchberger, read by Kornelia Boje, Der Audio Verlag, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-7424-0677-4 .
Film adaptations
- 1960: Persuasion - directed by Campbell Logan, with Daphne Anderson and Derek Blomfield
- 1971: Persuasion - directed by Howard Baker , with Anne Firbank and Bryan Marshall
- 1995: Jane Austen's Seduction - directed by Roger Michell , with Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds
- 2007: Persuasion - directed by Adrian Shergold, with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones
