"In Persuasion, a tender, autumnal love story, Anne Eliot, one of Jane Austen's most appealing characters, makes a difficult but, she believes, prudent decision to spurn her sailor lover. She spends seven years regretting this, and when he returns he chooses another, only to have Anne vie for his affections anew."When I read that, I immediately thought "old people!" and "Jezebel!" - I mean seriously, who wants to read about middle aged (autumnal) people throwing themselves at each other (vie for his affections). If they hadn't put in "makes a difficult, but she believes, prudent decision", implying that only she believes the decision to have been prudent, I might not have been so biased against the story. But seriously, the short description of the novel is completely incorrect. I learned this after watching two of the BBC adaptations of the novel. For one, "autumnal" is just wrong. Anne Elliot is 27 in this novel, by no means near the end of her life, even in that era. And Anne doesn't technically "vie for his affections anew" - she does her best to be unintrusive because she knows that she rejected him first and has no right to his affections. Captain Wentworth himself discovers that having met with Anne again, she is the who remains first in his heart.
Ignoring the terrible summary on the book jacket, Persuasion is probably the most romantic of Jane Austen's novels, in the modern sense. Anne and Fredrick meet again with all these preconceptions and baggage about each other. But through the experience they both gained through time, they are able to take a step back and observe each other objectively ( to a point) - they are able to see what merits the other has gained and maintained over time, and rediscover that the affection they had for each other remains the same.
Like all Austen novels, the side characters are invariably interestingly cast. Anne's family is completely ridiculous, vain and hypocritical. Which helps make Anne look all the more sympathetic, and helps you understand why Anne rejected Frederick in the first place. His companions are a bit more normal, a little more pathetic, but at least less silly. But his companions factor in less in the story, because his character is strong enough that you know he wouldn't necessarily listened to them if he felt he was doing the right thing.
After reading Persuasion, I think this novel will hold my affection for a long time. Although it's hard to say that in any just sense, because the movie and tv adaptation of the Austen stories hold such a strong place in my mind that I don't know if I could ever read the books in the same way. Without the tv versions, I don't think I would have read this novel. And without Colin Firth, I don't think I would have known Jane Austen at all. Maybe it is time I re-read all the Austen novels again - now that I better conceive the distinction between novel and movie, and educated enough to read the story on its own merits.
