Questions for Chapters 1-8 of Persuasion
These are earlier than I will usually post them, but due to some scheduling issues, I wanted to get them up. Do not feel rushed by my posting of the questions.
1) As we begin the novel, what is your previous experience? Is this your first read or have you read it before? Have you seen any film adaptations of the story? What are your initial thoughts?
2) There are few opening lines as iconic as “Pride and Prejudice” by Austen. What did you think of the opening line of this novel, and how did it set the stage?
3) As we read the first few chapters we are introduced to the Elliot family, Lady Russell, and their financial situation. What do you think of the characters so far, and of the decisions that they make?
4) Although the novel was titled by Austen’s brother posthumously, and it is not known what she wanted the title to be, how do you think the theme of persuasion is being used? Was there an instance of persuasion that has stuck out for you so far?
5) What did you think of the scene with Mary and her son’s collar bone breaking? What do you think that Austen is saying about motherhood and the character of Mary in this scene?
6) What do you think of the reappearance of Captain Wentworth and the effect on Anne?
7) Anything I’ve missed?
A reminder that you can answer all, part, or just one or two of the questions. Do not feel like it is an essay exam. Questions for Chapters 9-16 will be posted around the 9th of March. I am looking forward to your thoughts.
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posted by Mimi @ 2/29/2012 02:18:00 PM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
Well, I've actually answered ALL of these questions in a four page document, but here I'll just offer my response to #3: As we read the first few chapters we are introduced to the Elliot family, Lady Russell, and their financial situation. What do you think of the characters so far, and of the decisions that they make?
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I don’t have a lot of patience for prideful arrogance or for putting on a show of what one has to impress others. Yet those are the very qualities that seem to characterize Mr. Elliot and his eldest daughter. I found myself condemning these characters as shallow, self indulgent fools.
When the family is forced to leave and “let out” their manor home in order to cover debts the whole attitude they take on about the situation is, in my mind, preposterous. They make a few attempts at revising their budget – primarily cutting off some charities and gifts to others, but seem utterly unwilling to make personal sacrifice.
In Chapter 1 we read: “Elizabeth had nothing to propose of deeper efficacy. She felt herself ill-used and unfortunate, as did her father; and they were neither of them able to devise any means of lessening their expenses without compromising their dignity, or relinquishing their comforts in a way not to be borne.”
I grew up in a working class home where I was taught that there is tremendous dignity in living within your means. So I found it insulting and offensive to watch these peacocks primp and praise themselves into insolvency.
However – there was something for me to learn from this passage. Like MANY others in our current economy, our family has had some belt tightening to do as our income has dropped and expenses have escalated. Reading these passages made me reflect on the degree to which I have personally been willing to make sacrifices and to what degree do I short cut my generosity to others?
One of the things I’ve cut back on quite a bit is the extent of my gift giving.
After my husband’s retirement we had to learn to adjust to living on his social security benefits rather than his past professional wages. Then, when I changed jobs this past fall my income took another hit. Although my new job was a much better fit for me personally and blessed us with a lot more flexible schedule, the wages were several thousand dollars less than I had earned previously. Big ouch. So, as we adjusted to the new budget, a big part of the changes for me was to cut back considerably on the amount that I spend on gift giving – for my grandkids – for friends – for siblings - for causes I used to be able to support.
To some extent I believe that has been prudent and wise. Yet I have to admit that as I read this it made me wonder if I might have my priorities a little skewed in not making bigger sacrifices to my own comforts and perhaps less cuts into my generosity to others.
How much is "enough"? That's something we each have to come to terms with ourselves and the answer will be different for everybody. But what sort of sacrifices are just too much to bear?
I will not do without high speed internet. My husband will not do without Direct TV. Neither of those things would be considered "essentials" by some folks.
I don't pay to get my house cleaned or to have pedicures. But I have a friend who would rather go hungry than give those up.
What is a luxury? What is essential? What sacrifices have I personally been ok with and which ones did I grumble about the most? What does that say about my values?
Those were the issues I pondered as I read through this part of the book.
I've just started my re-read, so I have some thoughts about the first few questions:
1) This will be my fourth or fifth re-read of the book, I think. The film adaptation with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root form the mid-1990s is one of my very favorite movies. I think it's one of the better book-to-film adaptations ever.
2) The beginning is a little strange--Anne is the heroine, and yet Austen spends quite a bit of time talking about Elizabeth and her dashed matrimonial hopes. It throws you off a little bit. But the opening with Sir Walter turning to the "Baronetage" for comfort or reassurance--I think that's pretty darned funny. I guess Austen spends some time on Sir Walter and Elizabeth at the beginning so that Anne comes off looking much better in comparison by the time we start to get to know her.
3) I love the way Austen points out the hypocrisy of her characters. Sir Walter's efforts to retrench remind me a bit of the scene in "Sense and Sensibility" where Elinor and Marianne's horrible sister-in-law convinces her husband it would be best not to squander too much money on his sisters and he is completely taken in. And of course 200 years later we can still think of lots of people who manage to convince themselves that they're "sacrificing" financially when they're really doing nothing of the kind.
Janelle;
I think you make an excellent point that Austen is using the technique of comparison to reveal Ann's character in more positive light.
There is really nothing all that remarkable about Ann as a protagonist by herself - she seems to be a bright young woman with good sense and compassion. But when we see her the context of her family her virtues shine by comparison.
I have been enjoying reading everyone’s answers. I’m sorry for my delay in getting my responses up and my comments to your fabulous answers up.
1) I’ve not read “Persuasion” before – this will be my 4th Austen novel, but I’ve not re-read any of them. I started to read it this past summer, but put it aside and didn’t come back to it - not due to a flaw in the book, in fact I was enjoying it very much, but just due to general life busyness. I’ve not seen any film adaptation either, so I’m not sure what to expect plot wise.
2) It’s hard to beat Pride’s opening line but I do think that this one set the stage fabulously well. In one fell swoop it conveyed marital and familial status, financial status, and peerage. I thought it was brilliant.
3) At first, I was inclined to like Lady Russell, but as these chapters unfold I found her adherence to position to be a negative influence upon the Elliot family. I was surprised a bit by Mary – she has this feeling of “the third one” that is similar to the third sister in “Sense and Sensibility” (the one that no one remembers.) I also thought that the storyline had some interesting parallels to “Downton Abbey” – I’d be curious if there was some conscious borrowing by the writers of the script.
4) I’d kind of like to think that Austen would not have chosen the title of “Persuasion” as it has an unseemliness to it. However, I thought that the two most stand out instances in this section were when persuasion was used for ill – convincing Anne to decline Wentworth’s proposal; and one when it was used for good – convincing Mr. Elliot to lease out his house. I think that having your eye drawn to the idea by the title adds something to the story unfolding.
5) It was interesting, when doing some research after reading this section; many drew conclusions about Austen’s portrayal of motherhood in this scene. Rather, I saw it more as intending to have you draw conclusions about Mary in this scene. She comes across as spoiled and petty – and uninterested in having the spotlight turn from her to her child.
6) As a hopeless romantic, I definitely have hopes that this turns out well – I am fairly certain that my hopes will be filled.
Oh, wow! Belladonna, I think you've hit the nail on the head in the modern parallel in finances and what we do as a society, as a person, and as a couple to economize. And, you are right, the things that I will sacrifice on and the things that are non-negotiable, are specific to me always.
I also agree with Janelle that the contrast between Anne and Elizabeth is very intentional and very well done. It's interesting as the story line does not begin its focus on Anne, we go through others to get to her, and I think that's very effective.
I'm a bit late with these, but very happy to be reading along. My answer to no.1 is: Persuasion is new to me! the rest of my rather too-long-for-comments-box responses are at http://pikku-myy.blogspot.com/2012/03/persuasion-1.html. Good questions as always - thanks Mimi!
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