Materialism and Silly Parents in Persuasion

      It is no surprise that Jane Austen is known for her use of satire and ridicule to poke fun at the system of economics and social hierarchies throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Austen’s novel, Persuasion, is a prime example of this use of satire, as she utilizes characters such as Sir Walter Elliot and his three daughters to represent everything she sees wrong with the elite class.

       A common theme in many of Austen’s books, like Persuasion, is her portrayal of many upper class families during this time as materialistic and self-absorbed in nature. I feel the Elliot family best represents this materialism, especially the father of the Elliots, as “Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot’s character; vanity of person and of situation” (Austen 4). Sir Walter is known for his extravagant spending, to the point that Lady Russell and Sir Walter’s lawyer felt it would be in his best interest to rent out his estate and move to Bath in order to regain the money he wasted during his frivolous spending. Elizabeth, the eldest of the Elliot girls, takes after her father in this materialism, as she tends to spend more time focusing on her good looks rather than an appealing personality. This materialism is most likely why “She had the consciousness of being nine-and-twenty to give her some regrets and some apprehensions; she was fully satisfied of being still quite as handsome as ever, but she felt her approach to the years of danger,” (Austen 8) and also why, although she is the eldest daughter, Elizabeth is still not married. Austen is using these characters to almost make a parody of the families she most likely saw and heard about in her own life, exaggerating their most negative attributes, and using those traits as satirical devices in her books.

      Another satirical element in Austen’s Persuasion is the portrayal of “silly parents” such as Sir Walter and Mary Elliot Musgrove. Sir Walter raised Mary and her sisters practically alone, and because of this fact, and his tendency to think only of himself, Sir Walter tended to spoil his children and have very little involvement in their lives. As this type of parenting was all Mary knew, she went on to be a poor parent herself, and the readers watch as Anne almost takes Mary’s place as a mother figure for her children. Trying to set an example for Mary and show her what it truly means to be a parent, Anne says, “‘. . . indeed, Mary, I cannot wonder at your husband. Nursing does not belong to a man; it is not his province. A sick child is always the mother’s property: her own feelings generally make it so” (Austen 67). However, despite Anne’s attempts, Mary has little desire to be involved in her children’s lives, as she herself is merely a child, being the youngest Elliot. Austen addresses this satirical element in a similar manner as stated before, portraying Mary in a way that makes it almost seem that she hates her children. Although this trait is of course exaggerated for an effect, Austen is attempting to make it clear that members of the elite class during this time period often tended to neglect their children for the sake of their own needs, thus raising children who will be as neglectful towards their own children, and the pattern will continue indefinitely.

      I believe that Austen’s intentions behind approaching the elite class members of society in a satirical way was to prevent not only this pattern, but many other endless cycles of poor behavior and faulted priorities being passed down from generation to generation.

Works Cited

Austen, Jane. Persuasion. New York City: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2005. Print.