Persuaded by the characters... Review on Persuasion - Jane Austen

This is my favorite plot of all Jane Austen's works. I received my first version of it when I was but 16, and have read it many many times since.

Though the story is told in a more'narrative' style than I like, the characters seem to be the most plausible. Captain Wentworth remains my favorite hero, mostly because he really could have existed; one can almost imagine him walking on a sidewalk, nodding at people, contemplating his last battle with lines of concentration upon his noble forehead. My husband and I were watching a film adaptation(the new one is atrociously bad. the one from the early 90's is far, far superior) and my man kept smirking at me throughout the movie. Pondering his behavior, I realized that the hero and my man were startlingly similar; unbeknownst to me, I'd married an American Captain Wentworth.(Perhaps that is why we are still in love?)

I am certain there were many young women of the English aristocracy treated with similar disdain by their family members as Anne was by her, and for no apparent reason other than they were not pretty nor glamorous. One of the last scenes in the'good' film adaptation portrayed this impression perfectly, where Anne's father inquires of Captain Wentworth in a baffled way: "You want to marry Anne? Whatever for?"

Anne's forbearance, modesty, patience and desire to serve are a credit to her fine character. She was a gem among rocks and deserved to be loved by a man whose character matched hers in every respect. Because she was so ignored and yet depended on by her family, her manner was tempered and she endured hardship with patience and an unusual amount of wisdom for one so young. Especially interesting is her ability to see through people of dubious character. Perhaps this is why Captain Wentworth decided that in spite of her rebuff of his proposal years earlier, she deserved another chance. Certainly, his feelings for her were enduring and real; I suppose one could even say that he did not want to live without her, if at all possible. Having found my own soul-mate in life, I can understand that unique form of desperation which befalls the single person in want of a companion.

Even though the ending of the story left much to be imagined, the reader knows that Anne was indeed the jewel in Frederick's crown and that they lived in harmony.