No Persuasion necessary - Jane Austen's under-appreciated masterpiece

“She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older: the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning.”

- Jane Austen, Persuasion

A heroine who requires the passage of time to truly come into her own is precisely why Persuasion has become my favourite Austen novel. This wasn’t always the case - during my youth, I found Anne’s actions to be both frustrating and lacklustre. But, with my own passage of time, I’ve come to deeply appreciate the journey Anne Elliot undertakes. The ways in which Anne’s formative years set her up to become an ideal candidate for succumbing to the persuasions of others feel relatable to me as I’ve aged. Far from having a firmly established confidence in herself, Anne’s opinions and choices early on prove to be malleable - and this is something I absolutely relate to.

There’s a subtle satisfaction I now feel every time I reread Persuasion. An older Anne Elliot begins to reflect on past influences while simultaneously finally allowing herself to get to know her true feelings on various people and topics. I am captivated by Anne’s inner dialogue every single time I pick up the novel because she has become like a kindred spirit to me.

Each and every character in the story comes across as a delightful caricature of real people we all encounter in our everyday lives. And with every turning of a page, Anne’s reflections, regrets, and developing resilience are riveting. Her willingness to be vulnerable with herself pulls at my emotions because it is only now, as someone in my mid-thirties, that I am completely capable of understanding the depths of her character. 

Persuasion is peppered with mature characters and, additionally, is conveyed in a more< elegant style in comparison to some of Austen’s other works. There’s a raw complexity to Anne’s character development throughout the tale, and there’s something perhaps a bit more believable baked into her composition. A heroine who possesses a personality and voice that is far from fully developed at the start of the novel seems to resonate a bit more with an older reader - the follies of Anne’s youth speak to me loudly, as does Anne’s understanding of romance and love.

I am eager to track her journey of self-realisation because I am now well aware of the true value of perspective. While all of Austen’s characters have always struck me as incredibly human, there’s just something about Anne’s trajectory that leaps out at me more now. And there’s something endearingly hopeful to be found in the process of watching Anne come to know herself - the redemption and the second chance at love are positively beautiful. 

Anne is just as gutsy as Elizabeth Bennet because she’s daring enough to both face her truths and alter her initial perspectives. Simultaneously, Anne serves as a reminder to be cautious when it comes to the influence of other people, even, and sometimes especially, the ones who are the closest to us. The amount of growth Anne demonstrates over the course of the novel is both appealing and worth celebrating.

I see far more of myself in Anne now than I did when I was in my twenties, and that compels me to pick up Persuasion first every year when I partake in my annual reread of Austen’s novels.