Persuasion: Perpetual Estrangement

The Year with Jane Book Club

If you’re new to this Substack, one of the things I’m offering subscribers in 2023 is A Year with Jane. We’re reading through Austen’s six novels this year and ending the year with a bang: Persuasion is our read for November/December.

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I hope all of my fellow Americans had a wonderful holiday weekend and ate plenty of pie. Our household was taking it easy (no holiday travel!) and I was getting over a cold so it was five lovely days of reading in bed, watching movies, and relaxing. And of course, I spent some time with our current read, Persuasion.

As the action moves from Kellynch Hall to Uppercross, the home of Anne’s younger sister Mary and her husband’s family, the weather gets colder. The family takes long walks in the autumnal air and Anne’s “pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn--that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness--that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.” (Yes, it is the perfect time of year to read this novel.)

In these chapters we get to know the kindly Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove and their lovely young daughters, Henrietta and Louisa. We get hints of the tension in Mary and Charles’ marriage. And we hear a little bit of the backstory: Charles wanted to marry Anne but she turned him down. He later proposed to Mary who is a self-absorbed and difficult woman and whose hypochondria seems to suggest some kind of mental illness.

Anne is in the painful position of having to be in the same circles with her former fiance, Captain Wentworth who has come to the neighborhood to visit his sister, Mrs. Croft. And he has made it quite clear that he resents Anne while he entertains the flirtation of the Musgrove sisters. What an excruciating situation. Wentworth has gained status and appeal during their years apart while Anne has lost her youth. Wentworth even says that she is almost unrecognizable. She must watch other, younger women attract him and the Musgroves don’t even know they should try to protect her feelings because they’re unaware of the former engagement. There is no escaping it. You can feel Anne’s exhaustion.

These lines are some of my favorite in all of Austen: “There could have never been 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.”

Worse than strangers. To know someone so intimately and yet to have been completely cut off. Anyone who has suffered a broken heart can feel what Anne is feeling. And anyone who falls in love with this story will shudder at Netflix’s mind-numbing adaptation of Persuasion which translated this beautiful passage to “Now we’re worse than exes, we’re friends.” Sorry to ruin your Monday with that atrocity!

Discussion Question: Because Austen shares Anne’s thoughts with us, at this point in the novel, we know her quite well. But Wentworth is a little bit of a mystery. We know his actions only, not his thoughts. What do you make of him? How do you interpret his behavior towards Anne? Is it understandeable considering she broke his heart? Is it cruel? Chime in by replying to this post!

Reading schedule:

Week of November 12th:

Gather your books and read Chapters 1-5 of Persuasion. There are many editions out there, so just grab what’s on your shelf or at the local library. And if you enjoy audiobooks, this is an excellent novel to enjoy with a great narrator. My favorite for this novel is Juliet Stevenson’s audiobook version. Grab Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life from Ave Maria Press (use STEWART20 for 20% off) or from Amazon.

If you didn’t start reading with us in January, you may want to catch up by reading the Introduction and Chapters 1-6 of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life to set the stage.

November 19th-25th:

We’ll discuss Chapters 1-5.

Read Chapters 6-10 of Persuasion

November 26th-December 2nd:

We’ll discuss Chapters 6-10.

Read Chapters 11-15 of Persuasion

December 3rd-9th:

We’ll discuss Chapters 11-15.

Read Chapters 16-20 of Persuasion

December 10th-16th:

We’ll discuss Chapters 16-20.

Read Chapters 21-24 of Persuasion

December 17th-23rd:

We’ll discuss Chapters 21-24.

Read Chapter 7 of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life

Caveat:

On the reading schedule I have suggested reading the chapter about Persuasion after finishing the novel. This is because as a reader I hate spoilers. But if you’ve already read the novel or are familiar with the story and want a resource to help you dive deeper as you re-read it, feel free to read Chapter 7 of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life first.

I’ll be sending out weekly reflections and discussion questions to consider as you read. If you want to read faster or slower, go for it. This is fun, not homework.

If you know someone who would enjoy reading Austen with us for our Year of Jane, please share this post with him/her!

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And if you know someone who would love this virtual book club, please share with them:

Looking forward to discussing Persuasion with you!

Haley

(Editor of Word on Fire Spark, Author, Former Podcaster)

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