The Power of Illness in Persuasion by Jane Austen 19th century. Austen's characters, through their lives, demonstrate how the landed aristocracy saw its dominant hold on the social scene loosen. Additionally, through varying degrees of personal illness, Austen's characters depict the human body as a fragile and delicate creation. Yet, as separate and distinct as these two themes may seem, Austen links them together in the theme of illness; the aristocracy has deteriorated in light of the navy's successes in the war, while individual characters suffer the death of loved ones and bodily injury. In Persuasion, Austen demonstrates how disease invaded the established English order of life, both on a societal and personal level. In the first four chapters of Persuasion, Austen explores the circumstances in which the baronet class found its social position in dire straits. state of discomfort and illness. While the Elliot family serves as an example to their class, the lower strata of the aristocracy begin to find themselves in a traumatic situation. The baronetcy, which Sir Walter covets so dearly that he “never touched upon any book but the Baronetage” (Austen 45), no longer occupies the same position of influence that it once did. In fact, as editor Linda Bree points out in her footnote on page 45, the claim to baronetcy "simply occupies a marginal position between the nobility and the aristocracy." Thus, the baronets of England constitute a buffer zone between commoners and true aristocrats. disease that destroys individuals, families and social classes, requires the reader to understand the inherent worth and value of the human spirit that no disease can extinguish. Works Cited Auerbach, Nina. "'O Brave New World: evolution and revolution in persuasion." ELH 39 (1972): 112-28. Austen, Jane. Bree, Linda, ed. Persuasion. Peterborough, Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press Ltd. 1998. Morrow, Laurie. “Well-behaved novels for a poorly-behaved age.” The World and Me 11 (1996): 261-74. Prewitt Brown, Julia. The novels of Jane Austen: social change and literary form. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1979. Rzepka, Charles J. “Succeeding in the Brave New World: Marriage, Profession, and Anti-Romantic Ecstasis in the Austen Persuasion.”

Essay / The Power of Illness in Persuasion by Jane Austen 19th century. Austen's characters, through their lives, demonstrate how the landed aristocracy saw its dominant hold on the social scene loosen. Additionally, through varying degrees of personal illness, Austen's characters depict the human body as a fragile and delicate creation. Yet, as separate and distinct as these two themes may seem, Austen links them together in the theme of illness; the aristocracy has deteriorated in light of the navy's successes in the war, while individual characters suffer the death of loved ones and bodily injury. In Persuasion, Austen demonstrates how disease invaded the established English order of life, both on a societal and personal level. In the first four chapters of Persuasion, Austen explores the circumstances in which the baronet class found its social position in dire straits. state of discomfort and illness. While the Elliot family serves as an example to their class, the lower strata of the aristocracy begin to find themselves in a traumatic situation. The baronetcy, which Sir Walter covets so dearly that he “never touched upon any book but the Baronetage” (Austen 45), no longer occupies the same position of influence that it once did. In fact, as editor Linda Bree points out in her footnote on page 45, the claim to baronetcy "simply occupies a marginal position between the nobility and the aristocracy." Thus, the baronets of England constitute a buffer zone between commoners and true aristocrats. disease that destroys individuals, families and social classes, requires the reader to understand the inherent worth and value of the human spirit that no disease can extinguish. Works Cited Auerbach, Nina. "'O Brave New World: evolution and revolution in persuasion." ELH 39 (1972): 112-28. Austen, Jane. Bree, Linda, ed. Persuasion. Peterborough, Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press Ltd. 1998. Morrow, Laurie. “Well-behaved novels for a poorly-behaved age.” The World and Me 11 (1996): 261-74. Prewitt Brown, Julia. The novels of Jane Austen: social change and literary form. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1979. Rzepka, Charles J. “Succeeding in the Brave New World: Marriage, Profession, and Anti-Romantic Ecstasis in the Austen Persuasion.” » Studies in the novel 26 (1994): 99- 115.

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