Strength of Mind, Self-Command, and Elasticity of Mind in Jane Austen’s Persuasion

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Notes

¹ For a detailed discussion of the ideology of the Proper Lady, see Mary Poovey’s The Proper Lady and the Woman Writer.

² In an article entitled “The Shrewdness of Sophia Croft in Persuasion,” Natasha Duquette has astutely noted the etymology of Mrs. Croft’s given name, arguing that “Sophia” is a Greek word derived from “Philo-sophia” that carries the meaning of “love of wisdom” (125).

³ It can be deduced from Austen’s portrayal of naval officers like Wentworth and Admiral Croft that she might have considerable knowledge of the political situation of her time. Tony Tanner points out that the novel “gives a specific date for the opening action—‘summer 1814,’” only one year before “the end of the Napoleonic wars” (211).

⁴ Of course, I have observed a biographical connection between Austen and the two renowned philosophers, Hume and Smith, both of whom advocated for sentimentalism in the Scottish Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. Although Austen once asserted in a letter that she had little knowledge about science and philosophy (Letters 306), historical materials and Austen’s novels suggest that she might have been familiar with Hume and Smith, whose works were circulating when Austen was alive. Austen’s eldest brother James was acquainted with Hume’s works, and her other brother Edward gave her A Father’s Instructions: Moral Tales, Fables, and Reflections, which was written by Thomas Percival. This book introduces philosophers like Smith and is aimed at popularizing scientific experiments (Knox-Shaw 17–18). In addition, when Austen was fifteen years old, she wrote The History of England, a short book that might have been influenced by Hume’s The History of England.

⁵ Analyzing what conservative female novelists construed as true fortitude and strength of mind, Kenneth L. Moler invokes Maria Edgeworth’s Tales of Fashionable Life. In one of the tales, there is a scene that depicts Madame de Fleury “saving a shrieking child from being crippled for life by holding the bones of his broken arm together until a doctor can be brought” (Moler 204). This scene bears a resemblance to that of Persuasion in which Anne comes to Louisa’s aid and saves her life, thereby exemplifying the strength of mind which is characterized by self-command.

⁶ Mrs. Smith looks as if she were Austen’s self-projection in the novel. It was during the period of writing Persuasion that Austen developed an illness, probably the Addison’s disease.

⁷ In this sense, while I agree that Anne has gradually extricated herself from the situation in which she initially resigned herself to other people, I argue that the novel’s ending which witnesses her marriage to Wentworth suggests her resignation to Providence. To a certain degree, the fact that Anne seizes her second chance to marry Wentworth seems to be an attempt to redeem her disobedience to Providence. Her decision bears a stoical image, for Stoicism emphasizes obedience to nature. A. A. Long argues that Stoicism “views the world as a system that is both deterministic and providential” (22). That is to say, even if there might be a bad outcome, one should accept it as the right decision. Given Anne’s remorse for distrusting Providence, it is likely that she has a strong conviction that her reunion with Wentworth is predetermined and that she needs to resign herself to Providence.

⁸ Observing that the ancient Stoics treated men and women equally by insisting on “the common rationality of all human beings,” Jacob Risinger argues that Austen’s portrayal of Anne Elliot suggests “Stoicism’s ability to foster autonomy” (161–2).