The Annotated Persuasion

by Jane Austen

  4. He stops because he seems about to segue to a comparison of the Musgroves’ behavior with that of Anne’s family and friends during his courtship of her. His concern with the subject is shown by his repetitive, “no difficulties…, no opposition, no caprice, no delays.”

  5. emotion: agitation. Her “fixing her eyes on the ground” here parallels his “looking not exactly forward” just above; each evidently finds it difficult to look at the other. Her looking even more away corresponds both to her generally more reserved character and to the greater modesty that women were expected to show, especially when talking to men.

  6. understanding: intellect, intelligence.

  7. For the first time Captain Wentworth gives his full verdict on Louisa Musgrove. It indicates his lack of regret at losing her and his high standards for true attachment. Since Anne certainly is clever, and a reader—her conversations with Benwick about poetry could have reminded Captain Wentworth of that, assuming he overheard them or learned from someone what they involved—she would meet his standards, and he may intend this as a signal to her.

  8. This could easily describe Captain Wentworth’s heart after Anne’s rejection of him. His suddenly emotional tone, after calmly assessing Captain Benwick’s situation, suggests that the strong parallels with his own situation are beginning to overpower him, especially since he is discussing them with the very person who pierced his heart.

  9. This statement about man’s constancy in love foreshadows the lengthy debate on the matter, and the letter that follows it, at the climax of the novel (this page).

  10. The other consciousness is presumably his awareness of how much what he said applies to himself and his feelings toward Anne. In the last part of his statement he not only became more passionate, indicated by his emphatic concluding words and confirmed by the description just below of his “agitated voice,” but he also switched to discussing man in general, rather than specifically Captain Benwick.

  11. His words have so overwhelmed her that at this point she can hardly sort through them. On this page she will consider more calmly their meaning and implications.

  12. It probably was a little longer than two weeks. For the reasons and Captain Wentworth’s actions in the interval, see chronology.

  13. mischief: harm, injury. The term had a stronger, less innocuous connotation than it does today.

  14. It is characteristic that he would attribute his mistake to weakness, for, as seen in his condemnation of Anne for repudiating their engagement, weakness is something he particularly abhors (see this page). At the same time, by admitting this fault in himself, he undermines this earlier condemnation of her.

  15. The area around Lyme is very hilly and offers many views of the sea. His appreciation of natural beauty gives him another link with Anne.

  16. disgust: distaste. This term had a weaker connotation then.

  17. Anne’s ability to focus on what is pleasant in an experience that included great distress may result in part from the often forlorn circumstances of her life so far, which have forced her to savor what enjoyment she can find.

  18. Their eagerness is balanced by their anxiety to maintain their elegance, which would require staying calm and composed.

  19. Captain Wentworth’s words proved both his lack of love for Louisa and the probability of his continued love for Anne, but at this juncture she dares to think consciously only of the former point. On this page she will finally acknowledge all.

  20. The room being used for the concert is evidently the Ball Room, the largest room in the building (for they move into it from the Octagon Room, and later people are described as going to get tea, which would be served in the next largest room, the Tea Room—see diagram).

  21. These are Anne’s words to herself. She is obviously trying to make the best of her disappointment at Captain Wentworth’s disappearance.

  22. Their behavior is similar to Elizabeth’s in the previous chapter, when she wished to alert everyone in the shop to her being picked up by Lady Dalrymple’s carriage.

  23. dowager: see note 25.

  24. This is a rare editorial comment on the part of the author. Usually she allows her moral judgments to emerge from the story and dialogue or through the reflections of the characters.

  25. The Assembly Rooms in which this scene occurs were elaborately decorated, and they would have plenty of illumination during events (this is what is principally meant by “brilliancy”). This would contrast with the dim lighting of most places at night, due to the high cost of candles or oil for lamps.

  26. Anne has finally managed to compose her feelings enough to consider fully what Captain Wentworth told her and to register its ultimate implications.

  27. This indicates both Mr. Elliot’s continued interest in Anne and the willingness of Colonel Wallis to assist him in his designs. The full extent of Colonel Wallis’s assistance will be revealed in the next chapter.

  28. gallantry: courteous attention of a man to a woman.

  29. scientific: this probably means more sophisticated or complicated music, the type that would require more attention. A contemporary writer on Bath, Pierce Egan, speaks of the “scientific Linley” (referring to the composer Thomas Linley the Elder, 1733–1795). I have been unable to locate a more precise definition of the term as applied to music, but it is clearly intended to denote music that would represent a change from pieces that are predominantly tender or gay.

  The program’s variety would be normal. The ruling principle of concerts at the time was miscellany. They would contain a wide array of pieces, usually of different types, with both instrumental and vocal selections.

  30. This would probably be a song from an Italian opera. Italian opera had long been very popular, such that even the operas of leading non-Italian composers of the previous century, such as Handel and Mozart, were usually in Italian. Excerpts from these operas were generally the main feature of concert programs.

  31. The few surviving concert bills from Regency Bath include the words of the vocal music being performed (according to Piggott, The Innocent Diversion).

  32. Many of the songs from Italian operas were love songs. The lyrics tended to consist of banal or extravagant expressions of tender affection, enhanced by several repetitions and considerable musical elaboration.

  33. Languages were one of the principal subjects taught to girls at boarding schools, and Italian was, after French, the most popular language (girls would not learn Latin or Greek, which were central to boys’ education at this time).

  34. Mr. Elliot’s smooth charm and flattery contrast with Captain Wentworth’s words earlier, which were more open and heartfelt and often less polished.

  35. character: reputation.

  36. person: personal appearance.

  37. disposition: inner character or tendencies.

  38. accomplishments: a term frequently used for a woman’s talents and knowledge. For more on what these accomplishments usually were, see note 66.

  39. Mr. Elliot’s reasons for remaining silent, in addition to a wish to stimulate continued curiosity, are revealed in the next chapter.

  40. In other words, he wishes she would become his wife, and thus always have the name of Elliot. He does not dare to say that explicitly, at least in part, because the etiquette of mourning dictates that he wait longer out of respect for his first wife. His increasingly fulsome compliments to Anne have already been leading in this direction, for such compliments were usually, in this society, an indication of serious feelings and intentions.

  This moment is significant not just for the first open avowal of Mr. Elliot’s hopes, but also for Anne’s reaction. Rather than absorb the full import of his words, she is easily distracted by other sounds, and it turns out they relate to Captain Wentworth, thus ensuring that they seize all her attention.

  41. air: stylish or impressive appearance.

  42. Lady Dalrymple, living in Ireland herself, may be naturally inclined to think that an impressive-looking man
is Irish.

  43. Sir Walter and Elizabeth were earlier shown as being willing to grant at least a cold bow and curtsey to Captain Wentworth. Praise from Lady Dalrymple would make them even more favorably disposed toward him.

  44. Thus the previous intervals, one that allowed for a lengthy conversation and for looking around and observing people, did not represent an actual intermission between acts. One characteristic of concerts then, as well as plays and operas, was a greater tolerance for speaking and moving around during the performance on the part of the spectators.

  45. They went to the Tea Room (see note 20; and the diagram).

  46. One reason for having benches at concerts was that most concerts at the time were held in venues also used for other purposes, as is the case here; thus seats that could be easily removed would be more practical.

  47. the gapes: bouts of yawning.

  48. The description suggests many spectators were not there for the sake of the music. Sir Walter and Elizabeth have already been described as coming for the sake of Lady Dalrymple; others have undoubtedly come because Bath concerts were a prominent part of the public social schedule, and, following the rules of that schedule, dances usually did not occur on concert nights. Moreover, taste for music could be a mark of social distinction, especially for women—hence the reference to “affected taste.” Emma, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility all have snobbish female characters who profess great appreciation for music, even as their actions demonstrate the opposite.

  49. Elizabeth, who has long been interested in Mr. Elliot, may be disturbed that he has been paying so much attention to Anne instead of herself.

  50. Miss Larolles is a character in Frances (or Fanny) Burney’s novel Cecilia; Burney was one of Jane Austen’s favorite novelists, and she cites Cecilia, along with Burney’s Camilla and Maria Edgeworth’s Belinda, as leading examples of novels in her impassioned defense of the form in Northanger Abbey. Miss Larolles is a member of the fashionable London society that is satirized in Cecilia. She talks constantly and with great rapidity and lack of restraint, uses highly exaggerated expressions to describe everything, and contradicts herself frequently, especially in declaring how horrible she finds people or places or events that she simultaneously makes clear are precious to her.

  The incident that forces the comparison upon Anne also occurs at a concert. Miss Larolles explains that she has moved to the outside of her bench to talk to passersby, with a particular hope of speaking to Mr. Meadows, the ultrafashionable young man whose attentions she continually seeks even as she just as continually complains of his extreme rudeness. She fails, however, in this object, furthering the parallel between her action and Anne’s.

  Anne’s ready remembrance of the incident indicates how much of a reader she is, for it is only a brief, minor episode in a long novel.

  51. owned: acknowledged.

  52. Anne, as she did when Captain Wentworth first entered before the concert, is attempting to encourage him. This greater initiative, however limited, marks a significant change from the first half of the book, when she could do nothing but watch and wait and wonder what might be going through his mind. She will continue to play a more active role until the end.

  53. His abrupt behavior here deepens the contrast already seen between him and the consummately polite Mr. Elliot. It is appropriate that, in the only scene in which the two men are both present for a sustained period, they should display such opposite characteristics.

  54. impressively: in a manner that would make an impression.

  55. directly: immediately.

  56. This has completed the reversal of their situations: Captain Wentworth is now forced to suffer many of the same feelings Anne did when she saw him earlier with Louisa and Henrietta.

  57. Her encounter with Captain Wentworth in Molland’s shop was exactly six days ago (see chronology).

  58. peculiar: particular.

  59. One reason her fears are so great is that prevailing social rules would prevent her from establishing contact with him and thereby communicating her true feelings. An unmarried woman could not write to an unmarried man to whom she was not related, nor visit him, nor invite him to her home. Her father and sister, as the head and mistress of the household, could invite him, but, even with their lesser aversion toward him, there is no reason to assume they would do so, for the Elliots’ social circles are clearly different from his. This also means Anne is unlikely to encounter him at any of the private parties she attends. Moreover, the Elliots’ preference for such parties—the concert being a rare exception—means that Anne will seldom be at the public dances and entertainments where he is likely to spend his evenings.

  In contrast, Mr. Elliot will have continual access to Anne, which means that reports of his attentions to her will continue reaching Captain Wentworth’s ears. All this suggests a strong possibility that he might leave Bath, which is not his home after all, before he learns the truth about her affections.

  VOLUME II, CHAPTER IX

  1. mischief: harm.

  2. prepossession: preconception in her favor. She is thinking of his having heard her praises before he met her.

  3. This passage shows that Anne has completely rejected Mr. Elliot, even before the important revelations of the rest of this chapter. It also raises again the issue of constancy in love that will be so memorably discussed in the next-to-last chapter (this page).

  4. She would have a long time to do this, for the two streets are at opposite ends of Bath (see map).

  5. The wording of this paragraph suggests some irony toward Anne on the part of the author. It is notable that this, and a couple of exchanges with Mrs. Smith during which Anne seems to adopt a naively idealistic perspective (this page and this page), all occur in the later part of the novel, when Anne’s fortunes have improved, and she does not need to be as much an object of sympathy.

  6. At their last meeting, Mrs. Smith expressed doubt, just as Anne was leaving, about seeing her much in the future (this page).

  7. laundress: this could refer to someone who worked for a particular house as a laundry maid or someone who took laundry from various families and washed it elsewhere. The latter was especially likely in towns, where people often lacked space for the elaborate laundry facilities required then to clean clothes.

  8. The most likely explanation is that the waiter was at the concert and then told the laundress, who had dealings with Mrs. Smith or her landlady. Waiters and laundresses could easily know one another. Jane Austen often shows information being spread by such means, for while different social classes lived mostly separate lives, they would still have necessary business dealings with one another, and those in the poorer classes would be interested in those who employed them.

  9. Irish officers were plentiful in both the navy and the army, especially the latter, where they were disproportionately represented. The principal reason was the greater poverty and more limited economic opportunities in Ireland, which made a military career more attractive.

  10. Mrs. Smith pauses because she thinks her guess, one she fears to be true, has just been confirmed. She will soon learn its falsity.

  11. interest: personal influence.

  12. Mrs. Smith will continue to address her as “my dear Miss Elliot” throughout the conversation. Social rules dictated that, despite their friendliness, they would not use first names, for they had no family connections (Lady Russell uses Anne’s first name, but she is a longtime friend of Anne’s mother who has preserved a strong intimacy with the Elliot family). Mrs. Smith, however, could indicate her affection by adding “dear,” often used at the time when addressing people.

  13. Mrs. Smith means an official announcement of their engagement.

  14. She means cruel to Mr. Elliot, by rebuffing him even though she welcomes his advances. Deliberate cruelty toward lovers, especially rejecting someone simply to force him to woo and plead more fervently, was a stratagem often attributed to women. One character in Pride and Pre
judice, Mr. Collins, absurdly persists in believing that a clear rejection of his proposal by the heroine must be a deceptive ploy on her part.

  15. This plea for Mr. Elliot will cause much questioning by Anne later.

  16. My dear Mrs. Smith: Anne, here and elsewhere, uses the same formal but affectionate style of address as Mrs. Smith.

  17. The appropriate mourning period for a spouse was generally a year (see note 53).

  18. paying his addresses to: courting (for the purpose of marriage).

  19. Mrs. Smith’s words indicate her cynical attitude. Her casual dismissal of Anne’s statement about mourning may reflect the same; in contrast, Lady Russell, while wishing Anne to marry Mr. Elliot, still displays respect for the need to wait the appropriate period of time.

  20. worldly matters: this refers particularly to finances, social standing, and other practical or material matters.

  21. This is an odd statement, considering the degree of attention Mr. Elliot has shown her, and his declaration that he wished her name always to remain the same (this page). The text did state that she only believed those to be his words, her attention being distracted at that moment. It is possible that her wish that they had not been said, along with her focus on Captain Wentworth, made her blot them from her mind. It is also possible Anne’s modesty makes her loath to avow openly that a man who has not proposed is interested in her. Moreover, already fearing the effects of Captain Wentworth’s belief in her attachment to Mr. Elliot, she may be trying to avoid any statement that, through the inevitable circulation of gossip, could give support to that belief.

  22. Friendly, intimate conversation between an unmarried man and woman could lead quickly to expectations of marriage in this society (for more, see note 86). These expectations would be strengthened here by general knowledge of Anne’s good character and Mr. Elliot’s charm and by the extreme suitability of the match for her, for she has arrived at an age when a woman’s chances of marriage were fading rapidly, and Mr. Elliot, a man already rich and in line to inherit the Kellynch property and a baronetcy, would be far superior, from a social and financial perspective, to anything Anne could normally expect in her situation.