Paper 2: Similarity in Gender Representations in "Persuasion" and "A Sentimental Journey"

In the 18^th century, women were treated as the inferior gender. In Jane Austen’s novel, “Persuasion”, Austen describes how Captain Wentworth had to earn his status by working hard at sea in order to gain recognition among the people who had previously not looked kindly upon his social status. “Her [Anne’s] brother and sister came back delighted with their new acquaintance, and their visit in general (Persuasion, 55).” This markedly accepting nature was after Captain Wentworth gained his title and thus proved himself worthy to Anne’s family. The women represented in “Persuasion” were also conflicted because one of the few ways to achieve a higher rank in society was to marry a wealthy and respectable man. To aid in representing the conflicted feelings in the characters, Austen uses free indirect discourse to hint at the inner turmoil experienced by the characters, but leaves enough ambiguity in the reader’s mind so that the conflict feels like it is not completely resolved. In that respect, men were sometimes similar to women, in that both genders had  to work hard to achieve the status that they wanted, and the unresolved issues lend credit to the idea that status must be constantly maintained. In Laurence Sterne’s, “A Sentimental Journey”, some of the men and women are denoted with incomplete names, like Madame de R and Count de B, and are implicated in the episodic chapters in the story. This running theme, coupled with first person narration, creates the notion that women and men are similar entities striving to achieve the best in life, even when presented with unforeseen circumstances.

"Persuasion" and "Sentimental Journey": How different writing techniques shape characters

In Jane Austen’s “Persuasion”, she uses free indirect discourse to highlight the universal feelings in the amorous interaction between Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth. By not attributing a precise speaker, Austen illuminates the almost confidential feeling and coy actions that Anne displays rather foolishly. “Her eye half met Captain Wenworth’s; a bow, a curtsey passed; she heard his voice (Austen, 56).” Here, Austen writes this passage to announce the fluttering amorous heart that Anne keeps for Wentworth, yet the reader is unsure of who is sharing this information. The worth of this stylistic use is to create a sense of cloaking in that the reader, along with Wentworth, is not completely aware of all the feelings that are invested in this relationship. For instance, the reader is unaware of Wentworth’s feeling at the moment in the novel where the excerpt was taken from, and the free indirect discourse aids in the lack of clear-cut emotions.

                Laurence Sterne uses first person narration in “A Sentimental Journey” to show the current emotions that the narrator is experiencing, which dispels any lingering doubt about their true feelings. “I had not yet seen her face- ‘twas not material; for the drawing was instantly set about, and long before we had got tot eh door of the Remise, Fancy had finished the whole head, and pleased herself as much with its fitting her goddess, as if she had dived into the Tiber for it… (Sterne, 14)” In this passage, Sterne uses first person narration to state exactly what the character is feeling, as compared to the more subtle rendering of what occurred in “Persuasion” between Anne and Captain Wentworth. Though both excerpts about the relationships in the novel  show an uncertain meeting between the two characters, the reader is more sure of the emotions experienced in “Sentimental Journey” due to the first person narration. The reader should note that “Sentimental Journey” does have a picaresque quality to it, which features episodic stories, yet the first person narration strings together the feelings experienced by the characters in the novel.

A Mended Relationship

By the end of the novel, Austen has given us a front seat to the rollercoaster relationship between Anne and Captain Wentworth that ends with a couple realizing the strength and persistence of their love, but writer Weissman shares that their love may not be as persevering as one might believe. In the novel, the feelings of “division” and “estrangement” in the past indicates a sentiment of being separated, which is tempered by a notion of feelings “exchanged” in the present, indicating that the characters are coming together (225). Weissman writes that there is no genuine peace at the end of the novel because “a painful residue of doubt clings to the ending” (Weissman, 90), which casts a negative glow to the couple’s relationship. However, author Jane Austen seems to use the repetition of “many” to render a tone of regret about the “estrangement” in the past and balances it with the repetition of “more” to show that the couple is moving forward to strengthen their relationship. This is best exemplified in the excerpt, “more tender, more tried, more fixed in a knowledge of each other’s character, truth, and attachment.” Though Weissman insists that Anne and Captain Wentworth are not completely at ease, Austen writes that the couple is “heedless of every group around them… and especially in those explanations of what had directly preceded the present moment (225-6).” Austen uses this excerpt to show that both Anne and Captain Wentworth are more keen on focusing on the present time where they are both committed to each other and are less enamored with the lives of others who serve as background noise to their own music.

At the end of the passage, Austen draws the reader back to the present time and writes that Anne and Captain Wentworth are fully enamored with one another and are ready to improve their relationship by learning from past mistakes. Weissman, on the other hand, views the  By intertwining the sentiments expressed in the past and in the present, Austen expertly tells the reader that Anne and Wentworth’s relationship has prevailed over time through “exchange”, whereby each character is contributing something to bring them closer together.

How Free Indirect Discourse Unveils A Character's Personality

                Free indirect discourse allows the identity of the narrator to be particularly chosen by the author to show a facet of a character’s personality. In Persuasion by Jane Austen, she writes, “For one daughter, his eldest, he would really have given up any thing, which he had not been very much tempted to do (p.7).” The reader does not know who is thinking about this, but can surmise that it is either Sir Walter Elliot or the narrator. The paragraph which contains this excerpt begins by describing the good qualities of Lady Russell, a woman “of steady age and character (p.7).” She is described as having a steady character because she is the one who supports Anne and acts as her motherly figure, which is more dedication than Anne’s father, Sir Elliot, could care to give to his daughter. Later in the novel, Austen writes that Lady Russell “had a cultivated mind… was… rational and consistent- but she had prejudices on the side of ancestry; she had a value for rank and consequence (p.12)”

With this excerpt, Austen chooses to compare how gender and social class influence how decisions are made by intricately piecing together the nuances of how Sir Elliot and Lady Russell interact. Sir Elliot is a man who cannot maintain his finances and favors his offspring who is of similar temperament and appearance. Lady Russell, meanwhile, is a woman who has a good sense of judgement and is rather sympathetic to Sir Elliot’s offspring of whom he does not favor. It is she who draws up a plan for Sir Elliot to balance his finances and live within his means by eliminating excess luxurious expenses. If Sir Elliot is the one who is thinking about the first excerpt mentioned, then Austen wishes to convey a sense that Sir Elliot is rather arrogant and blindsided by the realities that life has to offer. However, it is more likely that that excerpt is voiced by the narrator because it shows a stark comparison between Sir Elliot and Lady Russell. Though Lady Russell is a woman of distinguished character because she is a widow who can financially support herself, she must help Sir Elliot run his household efficiently, both by rearranging his finances and caring for his daughter. One would expect that Sir Elliot would be able to have a grasp on his financial stability and family, but Austen chooses to have the narrator point out his faults and have a female exhibit leadership.

In another example of indirect discourse, Austen writes, “No second attachment, the only thoroughly natural, happy, and sufficient cure, at her time of life, had been possible to the nice tone of her mind, the fastidiousness of her taste, in the small limits of the society around them (p. 28)”. Here, the reader has either Anne or the narrator in mind as to who is verbalizing this excerpt. This passage is weaved into a rather long paragraph about how Anne was forced to end her courtship with Wentworth due to her father’s disapproval. Subsequently, she had found no replacement beau, the closest one eventually partnering with her sister. Anne’s regret and angst regarding her missed opportunity at settling down with Wentworth is at the core of this excerpt’s message: a woman living in that historical period has a small window of opportunity to settle down and the pressure to settle down is immense. The reader can imagine Anne living in a small community, with only few prospects suitable for marriage, and harboring a feeling of mental distress and anguish. Austen expertly illuminates through one of her main female characters the plight that many women experienced during that historical time period.