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Jane Austen's Persuasion - The Rise of the Novel (Patreon)

Published:
2021-05-23 11:11:19
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Persuasion is a fitting finale for Jane Austen's oeuvre, but what might we have in our libraries if she had not died shortly before its publication?

Reading Persuasion is reading the rise of the novel, the marriage between complex characterisation and well-oiled story mechanics. 

This slim novel also harbours a river of pain below the surface. 

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 the pain of memory 
  • 0:20 Anne Elliot as Nietzschean heroine 
  • 1:00 Ernest Becker and The Denial of Death 
  • 2:00 facing one's own mortality (and a Freudian slip) 
  • 2:40 "she's almost too good for me" 
  • 3:00 Anne Elliot's character 
  • 3:45 Austen at the end of her life 
  • 4:00 Pride and Prejudice vs Persuasion 
  • 5:00 men vs women reading Austen  
  • 5:45 why do we fear growing old? 
  • 7:00 typical marriage ages and "old maids" 
  • 10:00 "salvation is in love and through love" (Frankl) 
  • 11:00 Persuasion publication history 
  • 14:00 the rise of the novel (1770 - 1800) 
  • 15:00 "I am no novel reader" (Northanger Abbey)

In the next talk, I connect Persuasion to my own personal confrontation with mortality this year. 

We'll also look at Austen's letters around the time of writing Persuasion, her brother's obituary, the theme of being "over-persuaded", and we deep-read the first chapter.

We'll also have a platter of openings - all of Austen's novels, Richardson's Clarissa, Sterne's Tristram Shandy, Fielding's Tom Jones, and Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho.

Happy reading!

Files

Previews only

Jane Austen's Persuasion - The Rise of the Novel

0:00 the pain of memory 0:20 Anne Elliot as Nietzschean heroine 1:00 Ernest Becker and The Denial of Death 2:00 facing one's own mortality (and a Freudian slip) 2:40 "she's almost too good for me" 3:00 Anne Elliot's character 3:45 Austen at the end of her life 4:00 Pride and Prejudice vs Persuasion 5:00 men vs women reading Austen 5:45 why do we fear growing old? 7:00 typical marriage ages and "old maids" 10:00 "salvation is in love and through love" (Frankl) 11:00 Persuasion publication history 14:00 the rise of the novel (1770 - 1800) 15:00 "I am no novel reader" (Northanger Abbey)

Comments

Bill Markland

I like to read while listening to an Audible version of the novel (some of which are hit and miss). Persuasion read by Juliet Stevenson (a wonderful English actress) is a gem. She creates a nuanced "voice" for each character and a polished performance throughout the novel.

Mark Lawley

I am about 3/4 of the way through Persuasion. The most meaningful part to me so far is Ann's interaction with her sick friend, Mrs. Smith, in Lyme. I think Austen's description of Mrs. Smith's attitude toward sickness, poverty, and loneliness must come from Austen's insight into her own deep struggles. Ann remarks that her friend's "elasticity of mind" and "disposition to be comforted" and "power of turning from evil to good" was the "choicest gift of Heaven." I shutter to think what a person has to endure to be able to write this as Austen did.