Independence in Persuasion

An interesting element of persuasion is that of the characters' individual agency: there seem to be many conflicting factors influencing their desires, actions, and opinions. Anne describes how she feels entirely different, and must even speak and think differently, at Kellynch Hall and at Uppercross, depending upon her current companions. Anne's opinions of others are not entirely self-founded; she relies heavily on the advice of Lady Russell, narrative from Mrs. Smith (obfuscated with gossip from her servants), and awareness of how she should act based on her social status, surroundings, and what is "p.c." at the moment. Though Austen portrays Anne as practical, intelligent, and sympathetic, I found her vacillations and temerity frustrating, such as her reluctancy to acknowledge her residual feelings for Captain Wentworth, her avoidance of being in the same place as him, and her initial rejection of him based on the outside opinion of Lady Russell (instead of following her own heart and marrying Wentworth for love, disregarding social status or financial security). Her physical and geographical placement, such as her transitions from Kellynch to Uppercross to Bath, is not of her own choosing; it occurs through the necessity of staunching familial debt, submission to the wishes of her father and elder sister, the needs of her younger sister and nephew, and social graces; Anne's own wishes and agency to act on those wishes come last.