The Annotated Persuasion

by Jane Austen

  26. Anne’s parting thoughts concern Wentworth. Her feelings for him are such that she treasures the brief instances of his softening toward her, even as she believes, as shown by the words “never be looked for again,” that he is soon to be permanently separated from her by marriage.

  27. The modernity and elegance of the apartments, or rooms, of the lodge, Lady Russell’s residence, stem from the furniture and possibly the architecture being in the latest style. In a letter Jane Austen describes a drawing room as “full of all the modern Elegancies”(May 24, 1813), and in Pride and Prejudice she gives a sense of what she means by describing a room as “lately fitted up with greater elegance and lightness”—the furniture of the time being lighter in character than older furniture. As mentioned earlier (note 9), Sir Walter may have built this house for Lady Russell, which would mean it was constructed and furnished in the latest style; even if not, she, a wealthy woman with no one else to support, could have easily furnished it anew.

  28. When Anne next sees her father he will perceive her to be “less thin in her person” (this page) and will also regard this as a positive development. Various passages in Jane Austen, and in other writings of the time, indicate that thinness was not equated with attractiveness; in an unfinished novel of hers, The Watsons, the heroine, who is generally lauded for her beauty, is described as “well made & plump, with an air of healthy vigour.” This does not mean that actual obesity was considered desirable. Instead a more moderate figure was regarded as ideal, both on the grounds of health and appearance. One character in Emma, Jane Fairfax, is praised for being “a most becoming medium, between fat and thin.” One possible reason for not idealizing thinness then is that, with food less abundant, fewer people were overweight, while excessive thinness could be a sign of poverty.

  29. Camden-Place: (see note 1; and map).

  30. This forced transition of her thoughts is similar to that experienced by Anne when she first came to Uppercross and found little concern there with Elliot affairs (see this page). In this case Lady Russell does show some interest in what Anne has left behind, and a willingness to speak of it, thereby indicating her superiority in courtesy to the Musgroves.

  31. Jane Austen consistently depicts the ubiquity and speed of village or country gossip in her novels. It was one area of life where different classes would interact, for gossip about the elite classes was often spread by servants or other lower-class people. It is possible that Lady Russell heard the news from a servant, for it was before she saw Anne.

  32. Her reveling in such emotions indicates her moral inferiority to Anne, who never derives pleasure from anger or contempt.

  33. Lady Russell has put off what she is about to propose for a little, but her strong politeness now compels her to undertake the duty.

  34. She had earlier threatened herself with the need for the unpleasant task, but too faintly, at that time, to force her into action.

  35. parish: the local Kellynch area (for more on this and the accompanying issue of help for the poor, shortly to be mentioned, see note 53).

  36. Setting an example of correct and responsible behavior was considered an important function of the highest-ranking members of society.

  37. As residents of the leading house in the neighborhood the Crofts would be in a position to assume the standard upper-class duty of local charity.

  38. The pain of being forced to feel shame regarding one’s family. The importance of family in this society could make such a pain acute; one sees throughout the novel that as much as Anne is aware of the failings of her father, she still identifies with him in many respects.

  39. Strong respect for tradition would make the departure of a family long resident in an abode especially unfortunate in people’s eyes.

  40. intelligence: news, information.

  41. Captain Wentworth’s taking the trouble to deliver a note to Anne indicates that the warmer feelings he recently showed for her have persisted.

  42. canvassed: discussed, examined.

  43. making love: courting, expressing one’s love for someone. It had no stronger connotation than this at the time.

  44. plaister: plaster. Adhesive plasters of various kinds were commonly applied to wounds, to help close them or to fix a soothing medication. “To break my head and give me a plaster” is a traditional expression, meaning to injure and then make amends. In this case, Admiral Croft expects that Captain Wentworth’s ultimate marriage to Louisa, the natural conclusion of his lovemaking, will be the amends.

  45. Lady Russell probably finds Admiral Croft’s comment about “breaking a head,” a humorous remark about a serious injury, to be inappropriate. He is consistently shown to be casual and bluff in his speech and behavior, something that has led his wife, who is shortly described as pleasing Lady Russell very well, to call him to order (see this page). Anne’s delight in the admiral, a result in part of her recent experience with naval manners, marks a crucial difference between her and Lady Russell, one that will soon play an important role in the plot, through their different reactions to Mr. Elliot (see this page).

  That the manners of Admiral Croft, notwithstanding his general likability, have their flaws is indicated in a brief episode in a chapter of the first version of the novel, which was replaced by Chapters X and XI of Volume II. In it, a mishap placed the Crofts’ servant in a foolish position: “The Adm. enjoyed the joke exceedingly. Anne thought his triumph over Stephen too long.”

  46. The shrubbery would normally be near the house (see note 16).

  47. Originally umbrellas had completely straight handles, and some still did at this time, but others had handles curved or bent at the end, which allowed for easy hanging (for more on umbrellas, see note 17).

  48. The butler, the principal male servant in a house, would have at least one room—in some houses butlers had a whole suite of rooms—for performing such tasks as preparing wine, cleaning cutlery, silver, and glassware, and caring for lamps. The butler was frequently the servant who would attend to the inhabitants of the house when they called, so his room would be a logical place to store umbrellas, if one wished to have a servant fetch one rather than getting it oneself. That Sir Walter preferred the former course, and Admiral Croft seems to favor the latter, suggests the difference in their characters.

  49. This probably means the door to the room in which laundry was done, which was one meaning of the term “laundry.” Washing clothes was an elaborate task under the technology of the time, and country houses would often have more than one room devoted to the various parts of the operation.

  50. The admiral’s action and comment suggest his less exalted attitudes: Sir Walter would probably never deign to bother with something so common as laundry, which may be why the inconvenience noted by the admiral was tolerated so long. The latter’s inclination to fix things may also reflect his naval background, for the difficult conditions and confined quarters of a ship put a premium on practical efficiency.

  51. Mr. Shepherd shows with the Crofts the same tendency toward courteous flattery that he showed earlier with Sir Walter.

  52. It is possible Sir Walter left all of his dressing room mirrors behind, though given his character he could have taken some to Bath and still left enough behind to astonish Admiral Croft. All the Elliots’ furnishings may have remained at Kellynch as part of the rental arrangement: later they boast of the elegant style with which they have furnished their Bath house (this page), and they have Charles and Mary admire their china and mirrors during their visit (this page), both of which suggest the purchase of new items in Bath.

  53. A shaving glass or mirror could be tall and freestanding, with the mirror atop a large frame, or could be designed to rest on top of a cabinet or dresser; it often had hinges on the side allowing it to be adjusted to the height of the user. Admiral Croft’s description of his as little suggests it is one that rested on something else (for a picture of this type, see next page). Shaving was a universal practice among men then; almost no
body sported facial hair.

  54. A breakfast room was a standard part of a country house; it would be a place for informal casual dining, and sometimes other activities during the day. The Crofts’ casual style may cause them to use it frequently instead of the more formal dining room. Smoking chimneys were a common problem, since fireplaces were the universal source of heat, though recent innovations had improved the efficiency of chimneys and reduced their tendency to smoke.

  55. Returning a visit soon, especially one of introduction, was standard etiquette.

  56. connexions: connections, i.e., relations. These relations are not identified, but earlier Admiral Croft was said to be a native of Somersetshire, so he could easily have family members residing elsewhere in the county.

  57. The description of Kellynch as fifty miles from Bath (this page), and of the nearby Uppercross as seventeen miles from Lyme (this page), indicates that both are in southern Somersetshire (see map).

  58. Thus even Anne is subject to the usual human frailties, though her ability to smile at them signals her continued superiority to most people.

  Contemporary shaving glasses or mirrors.

  [From Thomas Arthur Strange, English Furniture in the 18th Century: A Guide to Collectors, p. 273]

  VOLUME II, CHAPTER II

  1. wanted: needed.

  2. The children would be home from school during the holidays. The calendar of social life in upper-class families often revolved around school holidays.

  3. evils: troubles, pains.

  4. See note 16, on Mary and Charles leaving children behind.

  5. Waiting at table, unlike most household tasks, could be performed by either male or female servants. Male servants were more expensive, for they commanded much higher wages, usually needed to be furnished with a livery (see note 39), and were subject to a special tax. Partly because of their cost, male servants were more prestigious and highly sought by families that could afford them (this was why the government opted to tax them specially). Thus status-conscious Mary is grieved at their absence from meals, an absence due to the Harvilles’ limited means and possibly their lesser concern for display.

  6. Mrs. Musgrove, as the mother of Mary’s husband, would take precedence were Mary not the daughter of a baronet (see note 31). Thus Mrs. Harville, until she learned of Mary’s birth, had assumed she came after her mother-in-law.

  7. Circulating libraries had become a basic feature of English life during the second half of the eighteenth century; in 1801 a magazine estimated them to number around one thousand. The libraries were all private enterprises, in which users paid a subscription fee for periods ranging between a week and a year. Resort towns like Lyme, with their large number of affluent people with time on their hands, particularly abounded in libraries; Lyme itself, though small, was described in 1823, a few years after this novel, as having three circulating libraries.

  Mary’s having changed her books at the library several times does not necessarily indicate a great appetite for reading on her part, for libraries often allowed patrons to borrow only one book at a time. Mary also may have been attracted by the sheer novelty of frequent borrowing: while some rural villages had libraries by this point, many did not, and rural libraries that did exist offered a smaller selection than those in towns.

  8. Charmouth: a coastal town approximately two and a half miles east of Lyme (see map). It, along with the impressive cliffs on either side, can be seen easily from Lyme. It also was a seaside resort; John Feltham’s A Guide to all the Watering and Sea-Bathing Places (1804) says that, while Charmouth contains no fashionable amusements, it “commands many vast and beautiful prospects both of the sea and the land.”

  9. Meaning she went into the sea. For sea-bathing, see note 10.

  10. This suggests where Mary’s thoughts were during church.

  11. Their being in Lyme for two weeks, and the previous suggestion that Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove will probably return soon for their children’s Christmas holidays (which suggests it is already December), indicates that the initial visit to Lyme was in late November (see chronology).

  12. directly: immediately.

  13. Charles earlier took Captain Wentworth to shoot with him and would regard it as a natural attraction for a man. He also may be eager to shoot more himself, for the legal shooting season will be over at the end of the following month (see note 39).

  14. situation: social position.

  15. This praise of Anne from an eligible young man, even one she has no interest in, suggests the gradual change in her fortunes that is occurring.

  16. He probably means the quality and condition of the road. This was a common topic of conversation then and would be a natural point to discuss with a traveler, for road conditions varied greatly at the time. Rural roads were maintained by the local authorities, and though there were some national regulations about how this should be done, many localities did a poor job. Main roads were generally better, but because each was built and administered by separate turnpike trusts, they also varied in quality.

  17. Captain Benwick’s interest in church architecture corresponds to a popular trend of the time. Starting around 1800 a number of books about architecture, especially church architecture, appeared and enjoyed wide circulation. One publisher experienced particular success with two series, Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain and Cathedral Antiquities, featuring superb engravings of buildings. A central force behind these books, which focused particularly on Britain’s many Gothic churches and cathedrals, was the movement known as the Gothic Revival. This movement, which began in the late eighteenth century and continued through much of the nineteenth century, spurred a renewed interest in the Gothic styles of the Middle Ages and led to extensive building in that style, especially for religious buildings.

  It is appropriate that Captain Benwick should be the one to manifest this interest. The Gothic Revival was closely linked to the Romanticism of the time, which fostered a tremendous vogue for the Middle Ages, and Captain Benwick had earlier expressed his love for two of the leading Romantic poets, Byron and Scott. The latter was perhaps the single leading force in promoting greater interest in the Middle Ages. Northanger Abbey also presents a similar link, through a heroine whose passionate love of Romantic literature leads to a fascination for Gothic architecture, albeit not church architecture particularly.

  18. Here, and elsewhere in the conversation, Lady Russell demonstrates, by carefully deflecting Mary’s intrusive comments without causing offense, the cultivated manners she is consistently described as having. This conversation represents the most sustained presentation of Lady Russell in speech or action. Many commentators have complained that, given her importance to the story, she is presented sketchily, and mostly through authorial description. A related problem is that, while she is generally praised for her good sense and virtue and shown as possessing Anne’s regard and affection, her two actions of significance—her earlier persuasion of Anne regarding Captain Wentworth and her later advice regarding Mr. Elliot—are both revealed to be actually or potentially harmful. Thus any scene that displays her in a more positive light serves a valuable function.

  19. The beach at Lyme is less than half a mile long, so Captain Benwick’s silence would not have lasted over an enormous distance.

  20. well-bred: polite.

  21. Mary’s scissors—one can assume with Mary that she is speaking of herself—were probably being used as part of her needlework, the standard daily activity of genteel ladies.

  22. Sir Walter had earlier identified himself as the head of the house or family (this page), because he is the member with the baronet title. Respect for rank would make most in this society agree, and Lady Russell’s particularly strong respect for rank may make her agreement especially emphatic.

  23. decision: firmness, decidedness.

  Happy domestic scene, such as could occur at the Musgroves’. Note the portraits on the wall, a common feature of houses then.

  [From W
illiam Combe, The Dance of Life (London, 1817; 1903 reprint), p. 244]

  24. Plymouth, as one of the principal bases of the navy, would be a natural destination for Captain Wentworth, who probably has acquaintances stationed there. It is also not far from Lyme (see map).

  25. The real reasons for these plans of Captain Wentworth, and for his behavior toward Louisa, are revealed at the end (this page).

  26. Doorbells were a recent phenomenon; doors at this time typically had large metal knockers. This passage is the first example of the term’s use cited by The Oxford English Dictionary. Thus Lady Russell’s having one indicates the modernity of her residence, something already mentioned on this page.

  27. herald: something announcing someone’s arrival. Traditionally the herald was an actual person employed to announce an arrival, but by this time the term was used mostly in the metaphorical sense it has here.

  28. Anne was earlier described as regretting her loss of the familiar lawns and groves of Kellynch (this page). Such a stroll would satisfy both her nostalgia for her old home and her love of nature, for there is every indication that the Kellynch grounds, like those of most country houses at the time, were elaborately landscaped to create pleasing views and walks.

  29. Thus, even while indulging her own pleasure, Anne still finds time to serve others; before she left Kellynch in the fall she had also visited poor families. Such visits were a frequent activity of genteel women, who were usually the ones playing the most active role in fulfilling the upper-class duty of charity. A scene in Emma shows the heroine on an actual visit to a local family.

  30. The real reason why Captain Benwick remained in Lyme will be revealed in later chapters.