It’s an interesting choice of theme since Captain Wentworth
appears anything but constant in his affection for Anne Elliot throughout most
of the book. Indeed, he thinks himself ready for any foolish match.
"Yes, here I am, Sophia, quite ready to make a foolish match. Anybody
between fifteen and thirty may have me for asking. A little beauty, and a few
smiles, and a few compliments to the navy, and I am a lost man. Should not this
be enough for a sailor, who has had no society among women to make him nice?"
Persuasion chapter 7
He finally begins to notice Anne only when Mr. Elliot does.
“Captain
Wentworth looked round at her instantly in a way which shewed his noticing of
it. He gave her a momentary glance, a glance of brightness, which seemed to
say, "That man is struck with you, and even I, at this moment, see
something like Anne Elliot again." Persuasion
chapter 12
Meanwhile Anne Elliot has all but given up any hope.
“They
had no conversation together, no intercourse but what the commonest civility
required. Once so much to each other! Now nothing! … there could have been no
two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no
countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers,
for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.”
Persuasion chapter 8
These two are in anything but smooth waters for much of the
novel. As Jane Austen makes clear in all
of her novels, life is rarely about smooth sailing, but more about navigating
the shifting shoals of the seas we sail. We must always be trimming the sails
and adjusting the tiller. This can only be done by understanding the
circumstances and people around us.
In the end, of course, Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth
come to understand each other. Wentworth asserts his constancy and Anne’s hope
is restored.
"I can listen no longer in silence. I must
speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am
half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious
feelings are gone for ever… Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice,
indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men.
Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in F. W.” Persuasion chapter 23 (ok, you knew I would work in a quote from the letter)
Of Anne’s response “who can be in doubt”.
And we, as readers, have a novel of hope and constancy that can be
discussed for 200 years. Come and join us for a review of the AGM. You will
also learn about the heroic exploits of JASNA CWNY's Team Benwick at the Pub Quiz.
