The concept of persuasion in and of itself is a mode of linguistic coercion frequently used in argumentation. I found it quite interesting that Austen included some rhetorical fallacies in the text to intrinsically connote persuasiveness. One such example appears on pg. 226 and may be termed "poisoning the well." This particular fallacy encourages someone to dismiss a claim someone may make in the future by discrediting that person in advance. After Mrs. Smith revealed more intricate details about Mr. Elliot, Anne was disposed to perceive of him in a more crude, negative light in the future. Austen writes of Anne, "She had been used before to feel that he could not be always quite sincere, but now she saw insincerity in every thing."
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