What lessons about women, class mobility, and marriage could Anne Elliot from Persuasion share with Harriet and Elizabeth?
What a fun question! Harriet and Elizabeth have both been protected in their lives. Although Elizabeth is certainly not naive about the world, she has never experienced first-hand the suffering of women who are trapped by their situation. She momentarily considers what it would be like to suffer spinsterhood as the result of Lydia's behaviors, but she is always in the company of the elite, the wealthy. Harriet, although ultimately class-less, has been protected by the families around her. She is encouraged by Emma to feel that she has the opportunity to move up through marriage. At the very least, she is "safe" in her situation and not aware of the possibility that poverty could easily be hers.
Mrs. Smith has taught Anne that women can not move through the classes unless they marry. And if they have no dowry, their chances of doing this are slim. They are left to marry...
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in their own class, and when their husbands pass, they are left to sink lower. Women could not make their fortune - they could barely make anything in the realm of profit.
Anne would be able to enlighten Harriet and Elizabeth about the harsh realities that just a step away from their position.
What would Anne Elliot share with Elizabeth Bennet about class mobility and marriage?
Anne Elliot of Persuasion is a member of the
noble class. Elizabeth Bennet of Pride
and Prejudice is also a member of the upper class, but a rank lower than
Anne as Elizabeth is a landowning gentleman's daughter, making
her a member of the landed gentry. Both women experience their own griefs in
relation to marrying and class but for different reasons. Anne eventually
marries Captain Wentworth whose captain status and wealth puts him in the same
status as her own class, but she was first dissuaded from marrying him just as
he was entering the Navy due to his lack of fortune and rank. In contrast,
Elizabeth is proposed to by Mr. Darcy who also is a member of the landed
gentry, making him equal in status to Elizabeth; however, he is also slightly
higher in status due to the fact that he has relations in the noble class while
Elizabeth's relations are from the merchant class. As a result of this slight
class distinction, Elizabeth is given much grief by Darcy's relations, such as
Lady Catherine de Bourgh who also tries to dissuade Elizabeth from marrying
Darcy.
One thing that distinguishes Anne from Elizabeth is that throughout the book,
Anne acquires many revelations about class
rank. She learns that rank is not half important as the quality of the
person, which makes her an excellent teacher about the
ridiculousness of class distinctions. When Anne's family
makes a fuss about their cousin the Dowager Viscountess Dalrymple being in
Bath, at one point, much to her family's shock, Anne refuses to join her family
in calling on Lady Dalrymple due to the fact that she has promised to visit her
now poor and widowed friend from school, Mrs. Smith. She also tells Mr. Elliot
that "[her] idea of good company ... is the company of clever, well-informed
people, who have a great deal of conversation," rather than high ranking
members of society (Ch. 16). More importantly, before the storyline of the book
began, Anne's heart was severely broken when she allowed herself to be
dissuaded from marrying Wentworth due to his poverty and class. Therefore, what
Anne Elliot would teach Elizabeth Bennet about class is that
class really is very unimportant. What truly matters is the
character of the person. She would also encourage
Elizabeth to have pride in her own family, just as
she wishes that the Elliot's had more pride. Therefore, she would encourage
Elizabeth to disregard Lady Catherine's rudeness and also encourage her to
accept Darcy's proposal.
What would Anne Elliot from Persuasion share with Harriet from Emma and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice about class mobility and marriage?
Anne Elliot in Jane Austen's Persuasion might very well tell Harriet in Emma and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice to be well aware that appearances are not always reality and that many men and women have ulterior motives when it comes to social class and marriage.
We will begin with the lessons each of these three young ladies learn over the course of the novels. Anne Elliot learns from Mrs. Smith that Mr. Elliot's motives for courting her are not at all what they appear. Mr. Elliot does not especially care about Anne. He merely wants to inherit her father's wealth and social standing by marrying her. Anne refuses Mr. Elliot.
Harriet has her own share of struggles with men. Her friend Emma thinks that she should marry a man of a higher social class who has wealth. Harriet, however, has feelings for Robert Martin. Emma draws her away from him and gets Harriet involved in a series of courtships that are not at all about love. Mr. Elton is more interested in Emma. Frank Churchill is secretly engaged to Jane Fairfax. All Harriet gets is pain, and eventually she must learn to follow her heart.
Elizabeth Bennet quickly develops a strong prejudice against Mr. Darcy while her sister Jane falls in love with Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bingley returns Jane's affection at first but then apparently decides, at the urging of his sister, that he must marry someone who is of a higher social class and has more money. Mr. Darcy's aunt is similarly prejudiced against Elizabeth. However both sisters marry in the end, learning that things are not always as they seem and that money is secondary to love.
We can see from these summaries that the lessons the three young women learn are certainly applicable today, for women are still faced with the choices of love, social standing, and money, and they must decide what is right in the end.