Persuasion: Good Storytelling in a Seemingly Generic Plot

Persuasion by Jane Austen tells the story of Anne Elliot, the daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, a man of high societal status. Anne is the middle daughter and least favorite of Sir Elliot's children. Her sister Elizabeth is the favorite while her other sister Mary has married into a fairly well to do family so her father acknowledges her importance more than Anne's. The novel tells of the Elliot's, choosing to focus specifically on Anne. Throughout the story, Austen threads in many other characters who add to the depth of the story. Although the subject matter of the novel is not overly complicated nor is it full of much excitement; however, Austen once again displayed her excellent storytelling capabilities. 

I chose this novel from the list because I had read Pride and Prejudice before and was rather underwhelmed by the story. I read that novel many years ago and did not appreciate Austen's writing, so I chose to give her another chance. In my opinion, Persuasion was a much better novel. Even with the occasional slow points, the climatic ending made this a novel a very good example of storytelling. I felt that some of the background information was a bit superfluous. It provided a good background for Anne’s life, but at times, I felt that it diverged from the main character for a little too long. For example, When Sir Walter Elliot could no longer afford to live in Kellynch Hall, he and Elizabeth had to move to Bath, where it was cheaper to reside. This is a vital part of the story because it allowed to Anne to have more independence than before; however, Austen chose to provide a lot of detail regarding the move and I think this took away from the flow of the story. Also, the times when Sir Walter Elliot spent a lot of his energy passing judgments on his peers seemed to expose his true character but, at the same time, was too detailed and impacted the quality of storytelling. There were not an abundance of unnecessary details in the book, yet the ones that were present greatly impacted the reading of the story.

One part of the novel that I found to be the best example of story telling was the last few chapters. Earlier in the book Austen had explained the complicated relationship between Anne and Captain Frederick Wentworth and their called-off engagement. The built up relationship between Anne and Captain Wentworth finally is showcased when Captain Wentworth expresses his true feelings for his former lover rather than suppressing them forever to avoid being hurt again. The climactic letter given to Anne from Captain Wentworth allows her to also uncover her hidden feelings and makes the bond between the two characters possible again. The exciting element of suspense is what makes this part of the novel an excellent example of storytelling, because a good story always makes the reader want to continue reading and this section did just that.

Even with a few slow and drawn-out details, such as the long walks in Lyme and the times when Sir Walter Elliot shows his judgmental character, the overall story of Persuasion was, in my opinion, a very good example of storytelling. The plot really drew the reader in, and although some parts were a little long, every detail was purposeful and only contributed positively to the story as a whole.