Persuasion and its Satiric Author Jane Austen

      Jane Austen has always poked fun at society in her novels as well as at least one character and in the case of Persuasion, would be the elite class. The characters that best describe the traits of the elite class would be Sir Walter Elliot and Elizabeth Elliot. Despite being considered one of Austen’s more mature works, Persuasion often takes on a Horation feel making the novel even more interesting.

      Sir Walter Elliot is undoubtedly the character most made fun of. Right off the bat Austen explains to the reader how Sir Walter Elliot spends hours on end simply reading a book about how he came to be a baronet and owner of Kellynch Hall. Despite having so many books, Sir Elliot wastes his days reading the same one over and over again for self-amusement, which Austen makes very explicit “Vanity was the beginning and end of Sir Walter Elliot’s character” (Austen 2). The one “job” Sir Elliot has in life is to be at the top of the social pyramid and take care of his large estate, but even he fails at such an easy task. Due to the excessive spending of money, the Elliot family is in debt which seems to be quite large. In order to solve the problem, the family and other close friends come together to find a solution. The best solution the group comes up with is to rent out Kellynch Hall and move somewhere smaller since Sir Elliot refuses to lower his payments because of his belief the upper class like him should live in complete lavishness and nothing more. When trying to decide who to rent the estate to, the idea of a sailor comes to mind. However, Sir Elliot shows dislike towards it for two main reasons which in reality are quite stupid. The first reason a sailor could not live in Kellynch Hall is because their work takes a toll on their bodies making them seem older than they actually are. The second reason is Sir Elliot refuses to allow a man of lower birth than himself work his way over years of hard labor to the same status (meaning social mobility). Despite being persuaded, it is interesting to note during that time period, a baronet like Sir Elliot would not have actually rented out the estate that has been passed down for generations simply because of dumb decisions. Nonetheless, the Elliot family moves to a much smaller house which can be seen as social mobility, but with the Elliot falling in status, not rising.

      Another key thing to note about Sir Elliot is his hatred for the lower class. When Anne tells her father and older sister she wishes to meet an old school friend instead of meeting her cousins who are extremely wealthy, Sir Elliot bursts in outrage. To him, it is shocking Anne would rather associate herself with someone who is paralyzed and of lower status than going to meet someone extremely wealthy and high in status. Even though he shows dislike towards Anne’s decision, he keeps Ms. Clay around the house. The irony here is that Sir Elliot keeps Ms. Clay as company regardless of the huge difference in social status. What Sir Elliot does not know though is how Ms. Smith, the poor paralyzed friend of Anne, is the sole reason why he did not lose Kellynch Hall and all of his money which is important because the one person in the story who is isolated from the outside world ends up being the downfall of Mr. Elliot, the antagonist. The last major character that is made fun of is Elizabeth Elliot. Just like her father, Elizabeth shows strong dislike towards many of Anne’s decisions throughout the novel. Not only that, but she carries many of the same traits and attitudes as Sir Walter does, like vanity. Even though she is known as the most beautiful of all the Elliot daughters, she is the only one to not marry anyone.

      Persuasion, like most books, had its ups and downs. Luckily, the constant usage of different satiric methods employed by Jane Austen made this book not only serious, but funny.

Works Cited

                Austen, Jane. Persuasion. Dover Publications, Inc. Mineola, New York. 1997. Print.