Persuasion

Persuasion

I
n Jane Austen’s Persuasion, a country setting is prominent for the first half of the novel, which takes place in UpperCross. Although many writers may portray the countryside as a setting of ignorance and primitivism, Austen endows her countryside with a nurturing, virtuous, and peaceful quality.


The protagonist of Persuasion, Anna, goes to UpperCross to keep her youngest sister company. The narrator tells readers Anne, who was always looked down upon b y her father and elder sister for being plain, but intelligent and kind, will be happy and will fit in at UpperCross for the two months she is to stay there. Here, the countryside is portrayed as virtuous. Only in this country setting is Anne held in a superior light, for her qualities of intelligence, kindness, and modesty are held in high regard. These virtuous qualities are admired in the countryside.


The country setting is also shown as a peaceful place to be. There are woods for Anna to get lost in where she is able to think about troubling matters. It is in UpperCross that the reader better understands Anne’s qualities, for she is constantly undergoing self-reflection and self-examination to determine how to act and how she feels about her first and only love, who has returned. UpperCross is then contrasted with Bath, which is described as a city setting. In Bath, Anne is constantly surrounded by others, and has little time to reflect on how she should act or how to perceive the characters of those around her. Thus, she makes some blunders in action toward her love, Captain Wentworth, and the person he is jealous of, her cousin, Mr. Eliot. It is not peaceful enough in the city for Anne to ponder over life’s worries.


UpperCross, lastly, is portrayed as a nurturing place for Anne. She does not have to go through the tedious etiquettes that are expected in the city. In the country, she is constantly near her valued friends and her guardian, Lady Russell. Under the influence of these...