Carthage College

To Read is to See
An Examination of the Feminine Gaze in Jane Austens Persuasion

Helen Korbel
Senior Seminar ENG4100W-01
Prof. Maria Carrig
December 15, 2016

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Abstract
One of the few female writers of her time, Jane Austen offers a rare look into the literary
cannon through a purely feminine perspective. Austens novels are about women and written for
women, and in her final complete novel, Persuasion, Austen has created a character embodying a
realistic feminine ideal inspired not by the male gaze, but the elusive female gaze. In the novel,
reading is exhibited in two ways: as physically reading a literary text or as the observation and
understanding of other people. While most literature was once written by men, this novel is told
form the viewpoint of Anne Elliot, an educated, well-read woman who sees past the objective
male gaze and has developed an all-seeing eye that is her own female gaze.
In this essay I will argue that Anne is Austens creation of the superior reader and woman,
as well as a model for the feminine gaze. Through an analysis of how characters read and
observe in Persuasion, I will show that Annes reading practice is superior to that of her fellow
characters. Observation, education, and empathy are the key attributes to what I call Austens
version of the feminine gaze, and what makes the other characters such poor readers is their
inability to feel empathy and their constant drive to selfishness. At the same time, there is a
tension between Romantic and realistic characters and a balance between being romantic and
realistic is shown to be a prime attribute to a female reader. Through Anne, Austen is teaching
her readers how best to read the world, how to glean an education from both forms of reading,
and ultimately how to develop and use the feminine gaze.

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In Jane Austens novels, reading is important to a majority of the characters, and a taste
for reading seems to be a prime attribute to an Austen heroine. In Persuasion this is true of Anne
Elliot, who possesses a literary superiority over her male companions, especially as a reader,
something uncommon for women of the Regency period. Although some of Austens other works
have a greater focus on books and reading than Persuasion, no character seems to have the clear
literary vision that Anne does. Caught in a world full of people who do not fully understand her
or value her, Anne has become the observer of life, the one character who can read the world
around her like she reads a book.
In Austens lifetime, the reading of religious texts was the main form of serious reading
(Doody 347). Texts such as the Bible or the Book of Common Prayer would have been
introduced to Austen as an infant, and with such a religious upbringing, it is understandable that
Christian morals are a major underlying layer in her novels, especially within Persuasion. While
religion is never explicitly discussed in Persuasion, Annes actions are driven by a moral
compass that reflects a Christian morality. Austen had a passion for reading, and religious texts
were far from all she read. In Austens household, reading was a social affair, the whole family
gathering together to listen as novels, poetry, and other texts were read aloud. Austen shared
reading with her family; it was not a private or solitary pastime, but something to bring people
together. In this way, Austen grew to love literature and it became a major part of her life. Austen
loved novels and was not ashamed to be known as a novel reader in a time when novels were
seen as inferior to poetry and more scholarly prose. What historians have salvaged of Austens
letters prove she had an extraordinary knowledge of the works she read (Doody 357), and her
ability to discuss texts in-depth proved her love of the written word. This love of literature was
imprinted on her characters.

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Like Austen, Anne has a thorough understanding of the literary world, intimately familiar
with writers such as Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron, which distinguishes her as a highly
intellectual and moral woman who stands out from her fellow female characters. Textual reading
and reading as observation both constitute a high virtue within this text, especially in the female
characters. This duality of the term reading reflects two ways people can gain information.
Reading literature can give a reader a certain education which is entirely lacking from the life of
a person who does not read. At the same time, someone who cannot read other people or
properly observe society is as poorly educated as if they never read a book. Combine the lack of
literary and social reading and a distinctly unappealing person appears. For Austen, how much a
woman read was equivalent to her education, as books were how most women received any sort
of education outside music, drawing, needlepoint, and a foreign language. A womans ability to
maintain intellectual equality with a man is something sought after by most of Austens heroines,
but Anne is the only one to fully embody such an idea. In this essay I will argue that Anne is
Austens creation of the superior reader and woman, as well as a model for the feminine gaze.
Through an analysis of how characters read and observe in Persuasion, I will show that Annes
reading practice is superior to that of her fellow characters. Observation, education, and empathy
are the key attributes to what I call Austens version of the feminine gaze, and what makes the
other characters such poor readers is their inability to feel empathy and their constant drive to
selfishness. At the same time, there is a tension between Romantic and realistic characters and a
balance between being romantic and realistic is shown to be a prime attribute to a female reader.
Through Anne, Austen is teaching her readers how best to read the world, how to glean an
education from both forms of reading, and ultimately how to develop and use the feminine gaze.

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The oldest of Austens heroines, twenty-seven-year-old Anne Elliot has already been
deemed a spinster by her family and friends. After her baronet father falls into debt, Annes
family is forced to move and rent out their ancestral home. While Annes father and sister retire
to Bath, Anne stays nearby with a married sister, Mary Musgrove, joining the Musgrove family
party where she serves as quiet mediator and confidante for everyone. When Annes past love
from years before, Captain Wentworth, returns from sea, seeking friendships and a new
relationship with anyone other than Anne, Anne is forced to keep her emotions to herself. Anne
has never forgotten Wentworth, and as time passes she believes him to be falling for Louisa
Musgrove, whose accident later in the novel seemingly secures Wentworths attachment to her.
Moving to her family in Bath, Anne is courted by her fathers heir, Mr. Elliot, but when she hears
of Louisas engagement to a friend, Captain Benwick, her hopes of reconnecting with Wentworth
are restored. In the end Wentworth confesses his continued feelings for Anne in a letter and they
become engaged.
Though the plot of Persuasion does not involve much physical action, its development
lies in the dialogue and the emotions that underlie it. Discussing Persuasion, critics agree that it
is significantly different from Austens other writings (Babb 203). When the novel was first
released, readers found the text dark and depressing compared to Austens earlier, more lighthearted novels. Critics often link this perceived darkness to the proximity of the books
completion to Austens death in 1817 (Lambdin & Lambdin). Austens sickness may have led her
to a deeper understanding of mortality, which she then wove into Persuasions depiction of the
loss of Annes mother, Captain Benwicks fianc, and the near-death of Louisa Musgrove. While
some critics see Anne as a Cinderella figure (Stein), a suppressed creature that becomes the most
beautiful woman by simply changing her clothes, others see her as a moral and intellectual

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compass for her accompanying characters. Persuasion is told mainly from the standpoint of
Anne Elliot, with occasional interjections by the narrator, making this a story told by Anne with
all her emotions and ideas on display for the reader. By entering Annes mind, readers have come
to feel there is a real understanding of humanity and feeling within this novel, something unique
not only to this Austen novel, but to the novels of this time period (Babb 203). As a character,
Anne is the observer rather than the observed (Lambdin & Lambdin 161), but to the reader
Anne is the pure recreation of what it means to be human. Her emotions are raw and
sympathetic, her actions understandable, as opposed to other female depictions in the writings of
that time.
According to Morgan, Anne Elliotcombine[s] a delicacy of heart with the power to
think about what [she] see[s] around [her] (367). In Anne, Austen has recreated a real-life
woman who shares her female perspective. As a woman, Anne is of lower status than her male
counterparts, but she is also often ignored, making her an outsider even among women. It is
these feminine conditions that allow Anne to observe the world and develop an understanding of
others, and by reading her observations we as readers are able to look at the world through a
developed feminine lens. Laura Mulvey argues in Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema that
the world of film has been structured by patriarchal society, films stuck in the status quo of the
male gaze where the anticipated viewer is a heterosexual male who only sees women as objects
for his sexual pleasure (2084-88). This same objectification has been used within novels, by the
writers, the readers, and the characters, all looking at women as an object designed for pleasure.
Austen writes in a distinctly feminine voice, writing novels directed at women and providing
candid insights into the minds and eyes of women. In Persuasion, I believe Austen has created a
distinctly female gaze, but also a realistic assessment of its limited accessibility. While the

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feminine gaze is only evident in two female characters in the novel, the objectifying male gaze
exists not only in the male characters, but also in many of the female characters who have been
trained to see the world and themselves as men see them; as objects whose only worth stems
from a mans desire for them. In order to free themselves of the male gaze, women must be able
to understand the male gaze and work past it, looking deeper than surface details and
understanding others on an empathetic level, and this is what Anne embodies.

Blind Beauty at Kellynch-hall

Throughout the novel Anne encounters different types of readers, and each location Anne
travels to introduces a new form of social and literal reading. While Anne serves as the ideal
reader for both men and women, other characters demonstrate the problems and difficulties that
come from poor reading. Persuasion opens on the Elliots, a cold and segregated group, living
above others in Kellynch-hall. Growing up in a big, ancestral house, Anne observed her father
and sisters even before the books beginning, but within the first few pages the reader is given a
good understanding of what type of people the Elliots are. In the first pages of the novel we learn
that Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch-hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own
amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage (3) and that vanity was the beginning
and the end of Sir Walter Elliots character; vanity of person and situation (Austen 4). Raised by
such a father, Anne and her sisters were taught that merit comes from looks and status. Elizabeth,
the eldest Elliot sister, has developed the same vanity as her father, but in her education she is
even less dedicated and admittedly likes no books, not even the Baronetage, as it reminds her of
her age and her unwed status. In a society where womens worth is often equated with their
family name and their ability to secure a husband of equal class standing, Elizabeths worth is

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lacking and at risk of dramatically dropping if she does not find a man to validate her status.
Mary, the youngest Elliot sister, equally seems to have no books in her life. Mary spends hours
upon her couch, claiming illness and want of company, but never does she pick up a book to
provide herself with entertainment. While Mary is never at Kellynch-hall with her family, her
arrogance directly mirrors her sister and fathers, reflecting cold, upper class snobbery in all she
does. All three of Annes blood relatives have no interest in reading, and in turn have no interest
in reading others, observing just enough to know what use they will be to them. Both Mary and
Elizabeth, while poor readers, have been trained to be aware of the male gaze, able to make
themselves attractive to the men and wanting nothing more than to be appraised by the male
gaze. The only objective the Elliots have is to be adored, an act that isolates them from emotional
ties and friendships. They see themselves as already perfect, which is reflected in their lack of
reading. If reading is meant to improve ones mind, why would you need to read if you are
already the best? This could very well be the reason Sir Walter and two of his daughters are
negligent readers, but also provides reasoning as to why Anne is so dedicated to her own studies.
In the novel, Anne is introduced as only Anne (Austen 5), showing her perceived inferiority to
the other members of Kellynch-hall. Anne was never praised for her beauty as Elizabeth was, nor
was she as quick to wed as Mary; conventionally, two of the greatest virtues of upper class
women. Instead, Anne was ignored, seen as the plain child, and after her mothers death Anne
lost the only person in her household who truly listened to and admired her.
When reading Persuasion, readers become aware of Anne as a constant presence. It is
with Annes ears that the reader listens to the many monologues with which the novel defines
characters (Wiltshire 79). Therefore, Anne is the ultimate observer within the novel, and we the
readers are reading the world through her observations. This creates a connection between Anne

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and the reader, with the reader alone knowing Annes true feelings while the rest of the
characters remain oblivious. By witnessing Annes thoughts, the reader can connect to her,
perhaps relate to her feelings about certain situations, especially in regards to Annes fatal flaw of
being easily persuaded. Connecting with Anne directly takes away the male gaze, and the reader
is left with no room to objectify Anne. Rarely do we see the world of Persuasion absent of Anne,
instead held tight by the mind of a woman and unable to objectify her because we cannot see her.
In these beginning chapters of Persuasion, the Elliots are struggling with a financial
crisis, something Annes family does not initially tell her, having never considered Anne as
having any interest in the question regarding the fate of her home (Austen 10). Within her own
family, Anne is never appreciated, nor is her mind or education ever considered. Lady Russell,
on the other hand, consults Anne about the familys finances right away, and it is Annes ideas
and plans that Lady Russell later presents to Sir Walter. Anne is unable to speak in her own
house, ignored by her family, and needs another person through which to communicate with her
father.
The first time Anne directly speaks in the novel is not until the third chapter, risking an
interjection in a conversation between Sir Walter and Mr. Shephard to commend the navy. While
Sir Walter goes on to discuss his dislike of the navy due to their lack of physical beauty, the
reader is meant to think heavily on Annes short but heartfelt statement in the navys favor:
The navy, I think, who have done so much for us, have at least an equal claim
with any other set of men, for all the comforts and all the privileges which any home can
give. Sailors work hard enough for their comforts, we must all allow. (Austen 15)
While Sir Walter looks at the navy through a status lens, Anne notices the hard work and merit of
naval officers, using empathy where her father uses vanity. In this scene, Anne is directing the

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readers mindset, forcing them to compare her statement to Sir Walters. Noting the coldness of
the family thus far, the reader is meant to agree with Anne, knowing anyone Sir Walter dislikes
must, like Anne, be worth a second opinion. Sir Walter does not see Annes intellectual worth,
and because he himself is not a reader he cannot see beyond the surface advantages people have
to offer. Throughout the sections at Kellynch-hall, Sir Walter talks near constantly about
appearances, but never does he say anything that reveals a sense of reason or judgement. Anne,
on the other hand, is shown to be smart, working out a new budget for her family and later
seeking reasonable living locations once they decide to lease the house for extra revenue. Anne
sees that changes need to be made, but her father and sister refuse to recognize their need to live
more modestly. Sir Walter and Elizabeth are poor readers in that they do not note anything that
casts a dull light upon them, only ever wanting to be seen and heard and never wanting to watch
or listen to someone else.
From the beginning, the readers become aware of Annes superiority in character to her
family, but we all ponder over what has led Anne to become this superior observer compared to
her fellow characters. According to Astell, other characters in Annes life are poor mentors, so
Anne has had to educate herself in the ways of the world (248). When Annes mother died in her
youth, Anne lost the one person who truly listened to her and the family lost the woman in charge
of their estate. Lady Elliot had humoured, or softened, or concealed her husbands failings
(Austen 4), but after her death, no one was there to keep Sir Walter from financial ruin; similarly
no one was there for Anne to look up to. Although Anne had Lady Russell, it is obvious she felt
her mentorship was more accepted when Anne was younger, but the twenty-seven-year-old Anne
has moved on from seeing Lady Russell as an ideal role model, which is apparent in her refuting
Mr. Elliot as a suitor despite Lady Russells high regard for him. When Anne realized her folly

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for refusing to marry Captain Wentworth, she also would have questioned the judgement of the
woman who counseled her towards the refusal. Similar to Sir Walter, Lady Russell is guilty of
seeing the world through a social-status lens, unwilling to get to know people unless they are of
the proper social class. Once Anne could see Lady Russells shortcomings, this once again left
Anne without a mentor figure, but particularly left her without a female role model to counsel
her on how to be a woman. As a youth, Anne was unable to pinpoint a single adult to serve as
role model, so she began to watch everyone, using her already structured religious morality
(which would have been cultivated since birth) as a basis for looking at what was right in others
actions. In the seven years that followed her refusal of Captain Wentworth, Anne could have used
her time to observe the other dominant figures in her life, seeing them more clearly as the years
passed. By the time the novel begins, Anne has had ample time to observe and understand the
personalities of all her family members and many of her close acquaintances. Hurt by her own
decision to trust a woman she believed to be of higher understanding, Annes eyes were opened
to the truth of the world around her and thus she began to read it.
Without a proper mentor one Anne could trust explicitly to give her good counsel
Anne was forced to look to new means. By reading, Anne brought in old, universally trusted
guides (trusted in England, at least) as her compass to point her in the right direction. According
to Astell, Anne clearly understands the psychology of reading and its worth for an individual to
grow in understanding of both themselves and others (251). This is the reason Anne reads so
much. Its not difficult, then, to assume Anne would look up from her books and search for the
same understandings in the world around her, noting what transferred from page to reality and
using those items as her basis for guidance.
Uppercross and the Ignorance of Entertainment

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From the first few chapters of the novel, readers become aware of Annes uniqueness in
comparison to other characters. Anne is the best reader in Persuasion, able to understand others
and their needs by watching them. In the first scenes at Uppercross, Anne is bombarded by
complaints from everyone, wanting Anne to do something to change another characters actions.
Known to have some influence with her sister, Anne is continually requested by the
Musgroves to convince Mary shes not ill or to not spoil her children so much or to keep them
home more often (Austen 32). Likewise, Mary asks Anne to talk to her in-laws about spoiling her
children with sweets, or about their chatty maids that are always bothering her own (Austen 33).
From the beginning of her time at Uppercross, Anne is sought after for her help, the only person
who can be entrusted with the act of talking to others about sensitive subjects or persuading them
to alter their actions. Even Marys husband, Charles, looks to Anne to help mollify his
hypochondriac wife, creating the sense that among women Anne is superior in her actions, but
even in the eyes of men she is capable of much more than most others. Anne sits before each of
her acquaintances and is able to listen patiently, soften every grievance, and excuse each to the
other (Austen 34). Pinion states that Anne wins the readers sympathetic approval throughout
[the book] (124), and I believe that begins with this scene of appeasing the Musgroves.
This introduction immediately creates a distinction between Anne and the Musgroves,
whose petty complaints cannot possibly be told to one another, but Anne is so matchless in their
party that they set aside the usual social prudence and divulge their secrets to her without
reserve. What makes Anne unique, then, is her ability to read situations with an empathetic gaze
that the Musgroves cannot comprehend. While Anne is always listening to the complaints of the
Musgroves, there is never a reciprocated interest in Annes affairs. The Musgroves are using a
strongly fixated gaze, focusing solely on what Anne can do for them and ignoring Annes other

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attributes. Pinion argues that Anne is the superior character (127), and this is due to her empathy
and caring nature that place her apart from other characters, such as the Musgroves, who only see
and care about themselves.
There is something to be said about the self-absorbed nature of the Musgroves. When
Anne attends their evening parties, she is never asked to dance, but always relied upon to play
the piano, the primary source of their entertainment. While she plays, Anne realizes that the
Musgroves do not appreciate her, caring more for their own daughters poorer performances,
fond parents who sit by and fancy themselves delighted by their children (Austen 34). Anne,
in want of parental love and adoration, derives pleasure from this experience by noting how
much pleasure the Musgrove parents get from watching their children dance. As at Kellynchhall, no great love is lost on Anne and she falls into the background, left to watch others in their
happiness and help provide the means to that happiness.
Throughout the novel, characters see one another in the way that best suits them. In the
scenes at Uppercross, the Musgroves see others as objects for their own entertainment, similar to
the Elliots in that neither loses any energy in observing others. For the Musgroves, this social
blindness stems from a desire for entertainment rather than from vanity. The Musgroves prefer to
spend their time being entertained, whether by dance, music, or walks, and hardly ever ask their
guests what they would like to do. Ultimately, the Musgroves are action people, not readers.
Wiltshire mentions a section within the novel where the Musgroves discuss Charles Hayter and
his pile of books stating he will study himself to death (78). This reveals a lot about the
Musgroves opinions regarding education. They feel that it is more fun to do non-scholarly
things, to dance and watch their family members dance, than to dedicate time to reading or study.
For Louisa and Henrietta Musgrove, these pastimes are worthwhile in that the young women

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derive joy from dancing and going on walks, but also because their participation in these
activities makes them noticeable to suitors. Like Elizabeth and Mary, they acquire greater value
by being visual objects for other characters to admire. It is this narrow minded self-interest that
makes the Musgroves such poor readers.
Charles Musgrove, Marys husband, exemplifies the ideals of his family, doing nothing
with much zeal, but sport and allowing his time to be otherwise trifled away, without benefit
from books, or any thing else (Austen 32). In the instance of Mary, she only sees what use
people will be to her. Having wed a man of lower status, Mary asserts her social superiority over
her husband and his family from the moment her character is introduced. Despite all her time
with the Musgroves, Mary still sees herself as superior to them, and her desire to be recognized
as socially better is manifested in her being a hypochondriac. Mary wants to be the constant
center of attention, and every time something occurs she does not miss an opportunity to turn
attention toward herself. In the scene where young Charles falls out of a tree and is injured, Mary
puts on near hysterics, taking away needed attention from her son to instead have people console
her. When it is clear that her sons condition is not fatal, Mary insists that she can still go to
dinner at Uppercross, not needing to stay home with her injured child. Anne, in order to appease
her sister, stays home with the child, again selflessly stepping in to act as others need her to.
While watching the Musgroves, Anne notes that she would not have given up her own
more elegant and cultivated mind for all their enjoyments (Austen 30). Here, Anne directly
recognizes her mental superiority, seeing herself as well as she sees others, and is not blind to her
own good traits. Annes educated gaze allows her to see the world around her with accuracy
rather than pragmatism, another attribute to the feminine gaze. Part of the feminine gaze then
becomes the ability to recognize both the commendable and the faulty traits not only within

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others, but also within oneself. Anne not only reads other characters well, but she understands
herself, knowing she is lacking in youthful energy but recognizing that she is firm in morality
and mentality. Annes gaze is not simply an external affair, but can be turned inward to examine
herself, something most of her fellow characters never do. They are too preoccupied with what
exists in the world around them, or in the mirror opposite them, and never take the time to
examine their own mind. With this section, Austen is showing her readers the importance of
knowing oneself and the problems with being ignorant of ones own worth. While the Musgrove
sisters know their external value, they neither examine nor cultivate their internal worth, and
Persuasion is showing this to be a great flaw. These female characters have succumbed to the
male gaze, seeing their worth as only what a man sees in them. With such a narrow idea of selfworth, these women are not able to reach their full potential and are never able to develop their
own feminine gaze because they have lost themselves to the narrow role men have laid out for
them.
Although the Musgroves are readers who only seek enjoyment, they are not ignorant of
others characteristics the way Captain Wentworth is. Still upset with Annes past rejection,
Captain Wentworth has come to a set idea of Annes true nature and is unable to see her clearly.
Captain Wentworths view of Anne throughout the novel seems to mirror Beauvoirs myth of the
feminine mystery. While both the reader and Anne remain uncertain about Captain Wentworths
true personality and feelings throughout most of the novel, we are periodically given brief
insights into him. At Uppercross, Anne overhears Captain Wentworth talking to Louisa while out
on a walk:
It is the worst evil of too yielding and indecisive a character, that no influence over it
can be depended on. You are never sure of a good impression being durable. Every

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body may sway it; let those who would be happy be firm.My first wish for all, whom I
am interested in, is that they should be firm. (Austen 63)
Here, Captain Wentworth is indirectly revealing his true feelings about Anne. According to
Beauvoir, the mystery of woman only allows men to see women as either evil or good, the
Demon or the Angel in the House (Beauvoir 1266). In this scene, Captain Wentworth is
reading Anne as the darker character, a woman who was fickle in her emotions and can now no
longer be trusted. Despite having been away from Anne for eight years, Captain Wentworth
believes he knows Anne, knows her personality, so he does not try to read her. He is a
purposefully ignorant reader, either unable to see or not wanting to see the true motives behind
Annes past decision. The reason Anne listened to Lady Russells advice in the past was out of
duty to her family and Lady Russell. As a young woman, Annes position in life placed her in a
role that needed the support and advice of an older council. Lady Russell was the stand-in for
Annes mother, her mentor, and to have ignored Lady Russells advice would have been both
socially and morally wrong for Anne. As a man and an outsider, Captain Wentworth could not
see this, his own gender and social status allowing him the freedom to make his own decisions.
He did not have family honor to uphold, and he was able to make his own living through a
career. All he saw was Annes rejection, not her obligations as a woman, and to him this was
Annes feminine mystery (Beauvoir 1268).
During Annes time at Uppercross, the reader is introduced to a second form of society.
Whereas Kellynch-hall showed the cold-heartedness of high society, the scenes at Uppercross
show the good-humored yet still self-absorbed upper-middle class. This transition draws
attention to the similar self-absorbed reading habits of both classes. The Musgroves read
subjectively, their judgement trumped by their desire for entertainment, and although they pay

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attention to Anne she is still just a prop for their enjoyment. Austen has created these various
types of readers to show that there are many types of poor readers and to caution her readers to
look at themselves in comparison to not just the Elliots, but to all the characters within this
novel. Like Anne, Austen is encouraging her readers to examine themselves as well as others and
to use a gaze that goes deeper, looking past the front cover of people and opening them up to
delve into their minds and personalities.

The Romantic Lens at Lyme

The third stage of Annes journey is to Lyme, where people read similarly to the
Musgroves in that they read for pleasure. In the Harvilles, we find people who do not read
novels, but unlike the Musgroves they have a respect for literature. Captain Harville was no
reader; but he hadfashioned very pretty shelves, for a tolerable collection of well-bound
volumes, the property of Captain Benwick (Austen 71). Captain Benwick is the unique reader at
Lyme, quiet, like Anne, but completely lost in the world of Romantic literature.
Austens time was that of the Romantics. An era of emotional and fantastical literature,
readers were drawn in by a writers imaginative plotlines. The section at Lyme ends in a
Romantic scene where Louisa Musgrove jumps from a high walkway and is believed to be dead.
Women swoon and men race for doctors, and everyone is beside themselves with fear. The irony
of the scene is that it directly follows a conversation where Anne cautions against those who
immerse themselves too heavily into Romantic literature.
This conversation is between Anne and Captain Benwick, a fervent reader who is able to
recite Romantic poetry and lines from works by writers such as Byron, the deep passion and
emotions resonating with him in the wake of the loss of his fianc. Like the Musgroves, Captain

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Benwick is concerned with his own pleasure, taking comfort in Romantic literature to qualify his
feelings and as a result he is neglecting the world around him, losing himself in the passions of
poetry rather than moving on from the pain of his loss. Austen makes it clear she does not
approve of readers that act like Captain Benwick, stating, [Anne] thought it was the misfortune
of poetry, to be seldom safely enjoyed by those who enjoyed it completely (73). Captain
Benwick is too close to the emotions within Byrons texts, and as a result is in danger of
becoming quixotic. Anne, familiar with these texts, can see Captain Benwick is relying too
heavily on Romantic writings, losing touch with the rational and sound world.
Discovering in Anne a fellow book lover, Captain Benwick is encouraged to be more
vocal, happy to finally connect with someone who understands what he is reading. But as Anne
listens to Captain Benwick, she is able to understand his love of the Romantics is not simply
recreational but has in fact become his only form of reading. Captain Benwick is only reading
poetry and novels, never reading educative literature or observing the world around him, and
Anne sees this as a dangerous habit.
and feeling in herself the right of seniority of mind, she ventured to recommend
a larger allowance of prose in his daily study; and on being requested to particularize,
mentioned such works of our best moralists, such collections of the finest letters, such
memoirs of characters of worth and suffering, as occurred to her at the moment as
calculated to rouse and fortify the mind by the highest precepts, and the strongest
examples of moral and religious endurances. (Austen 73)
For the first time in the novel, Anne is openly discussing the written word, and is using her
knowledge to attempt to correct Captain Benwicks reading habits and his mindset. While other
characters can see that Captain Benwick is still hurting emotionally, they are misreading him and

Korbel 18
therefore are unable to see that his choices in reading could lead him towards quixotism. Anne is
able to see that Captain Benwick is holding on too tightly to the memory of his fianc and once
again offers words of advice to appease a fellow character. Books are what Captain Benwick
turned to for advice on how to deal with his grief and books are what Anne encourages him to
study in order to move past it.
With Austens insertion of the Romantic scene involving Louisas accident, it is
understood that Austen is not against the Romantic plotlines, but simply aware of the dangers
that lie within them. In Anne, Austen has created a rational, realistic character, and Persuasion
itself is considered a form of realism rather than a romantic work. With Captain Benwick and
Anne, Austen is dramatizing the tensions that exist between Romantics and realists. The
Romantics valued passion, expression, and emotion, something exceedingly important even
within realistic novels. Annes life is not complete because she does not receive love from
anyone; she is missing the romantic aspect, and in contrast to Captain Benwick the reader
understands that neither character is able to be completely happy in their situations. Captain
Benwick has gone too far into the Romantics and has begun to lose his grasp on reality and Anne
is at risk of losing passion and deep emotions in her life. These two characters are on opposite
spectrums but are both in need of someone to help them. In this way Anne is Captain Benwicks
advisor, guiding him away from complete absorption into the Romantics, and Captain Benwick
is a reminder to Anne that a little passion and romance is something to be admired and sought
after.
This tension with Captain Benwick also highlights the gender inequalities in relation to
romance. While Captain Benwick was able to grieve for his lover and lose sight of the world
around him by burying himself in the Romantics, women would not have had that luxury. For

Korbel 19
women in the Regency period, marriage was about finding financial support, and if a lover
moved on, in death or in affection, women could not afford to linger on their memories. Mrs.
Clay is an example of this, a widow who is focusing all her energy on gaining Sir Walter as a
husband, despite his vanity and disinterest. Similarly, Anne has not been allowed to be romantic
and emotional about losing Captain Wentworth in the past. Austen is showing the woman, who is
forced to move on, as the wiser and more realistic character. Anne is experiencing the world
differently than Captain Benwick, but she is still able to help him through his pain, using her
wealth of textual knowledge and empathy to help him through a troubling time. While most
people would have seen Captain Benwick as simply a lover of poetry, Anne was able to see his
underlying problems by looking past his words and seeing into his heart. Part of the feminine
gaze then becomes reading between the lines of what is obvious and seeing what lies in peoples
hearts.
The turning point of the novel is the Romantic scene that is Louisas accident at Lyme.
Reflecting Captain Wentworths statement on being firm, Louisa was determined to jump down
the Cobb, despite Captain Wentworths caution. When Louisa falls and becomes unconscious,
her determined attitude is finally understood to be the emotional, childish need to have things her
own way. If Louisa had been persuaded not to jump, her accident could have been avoided, and
in this scene Captain Wentworth and the reader understand the good that can come from listening
to others. To Captain Wentworth, Louisa was good because he saw her as strong-willed, unpersuadable, the exact opposite of Anne, but in the end that Romantic idealism is what nearly
kills her.
As the scene involving Louisa unfolds, the characters are frantic, but the narrator and
Anne are not.

Korbel 20
Anne, attending with all the strength and zeal, and thought, which instinct
supplied, to Henrietta, still tried, at intervals, to suggest comfort to the others, tried to
quiet Mary, to animate Charles, to assuage the feelings of Captain Wentworth. Both
seemed to look to her for directions. (Austen 80)
Even in times of emotional unrest and trial, Anne is still thinking about others. While Mary is
beside herself and Henrietta has fainted, Anne stays alert, knowing exactly what to say to each
person to try and get their spirits up. Annes past observations and deep knowledge of the people
around her are what allow her to help ease others pain. As a realist, Anne sees and reacts to this
dramatic situation differently than the others, but because she also understands the Romantics,
she is able to reach out to others the way she reached out to Captain Benwick. It is the lack of
this dual vision that makes the other characters unable to handle such highly emotional situations
and keeps them from maintaining a level head when they need it most.

Bath and the Culmination of Annes Reading

During this novel, Anne is experiencing and observing three different worlds. When Anne
moves to Bath in the last few chapters, she has witnessed three different lifestyles, each creating
various types of readers. In Bath, all the characters from these locations are gathered together
and both Anne and the reader witness what occurs when various types of poor readers interact.
While the Elliots wish to show off their ornate rooms, the Musgroves are simply looking for a
good time, and neither group gets along well with the other. The addition of a new character and
type of reader also emerges in Mr. Elliot, and he becomes the major test for all of the readers. Mr.
Elliot is a deceiver, able to read people well enough to know how to alter his behavior to hide his
true motives. Despite his poor morals, Mr. Elliot is quite a good observer, able to charm all his

Korbel 21
fellow characters and even managing to confuse Anne for a while. When Mr. Elliot first showed
signs of interest for Anne, Anne was unable to see past his faade, the same way she could not
understand Captain Wentworths true feelings. The only time Anne was ever unable to read and
comprehend someone came when that person had explicit interest in her. In this way, it becomes
evident that Austen believed romantic attraction could narrow someones vison. Up until this
point, Anne has been the superior reader, always seeing her fellow characters for who and what
they truly are. But romantic emotions cloud her vision, and although Anne never explicitly trusts
Mr. Elliot, she is not aware of his true behavior until it is revealed to her by Mrs. Smith.
Similarly, it takes a candid letter from Captain Wentworth expressing his feelings to allow Anne
to understand him.
Both Mr. Elliot and Captain Wentworth are exposing Anne to passion and emotion,
connecting Anne to the Romantic genre. Captain Wentworths letter is passionate, bursting with
emotion and reads similarly to the confessions in a Romantic work. Annes reading of this letter
is yet another Romantic scene, in which Anne becomes speechless for a time and found the
emotions the letter brought up were not to be soon recovered from (Austen 168). Again, the
tension between the Romantic and realistic is occurring, but here Annes reaction has altered,
expressing passionate feelings whereas at Lyme she remained unflustered and rational. Captain
Wentworth has allowed Anne to accept these deep feelings of romantic passion, showing how
much she has changed throughout the novel. Anne is no longer only realistic and rational, but has
allowed romance into her life, and this allows her to seek out a future with Captain Wentworth.
During her time at Bath, Anne also visits her old friend Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Smiths
nurse Rooke, two women of the middle class who are better readers than any other character

Korbel 22
Anne meets in the novel. Although Mrs. Smith is confined to her sickbed, nurse Rooke moves in
and out of social settings that allow her to see various aspects of the world.
nurse Rooke thoroughly understands when to speak. She is a shrewd, intelligent,
sensible woman. Here is a line for seeing human nature; and she has a fund of good sense
and observation which, as a companion, make her infinitely superior to thousands of
those who having only received the best education in the world, know nothing worth
attending. Call it gossip if you will; but when nurse Rooke has half an hours leisure
she is sure to have something to relate that is entertaining and profitable, something that
makes one know ones species better. To me [Mrs. Smith], who live so much alone, her
conversation I assure you is a treat. (Austen 109-110)
According to Mrs. Smith, Nurse Rooke is an astute observer, but is also a person who allows her
to see the world. As the reader of Persuasion sees the story mainly through Annes eyes, so too
does Mrs. Smith see the world through nurse Rooke. Austen writes this section directly, firmly
creating nurse Rooke as an admirable and respectable character. This section also highlights the
necessity of quality conversation. Often in Persuasion, characters talk of idle things: Sir Walter
talks to fuel his vanity, Mary to gain attention, the Musgroves for entertainment, etc. But it is
understood that nurse Rooke converses with Mrs. Smith not for herself, but for the benefit of
Mrs. Smith who is unable to experience the world outside her room.
Historically, women have been labeled as gossips, chatting about seemingly nothing of
import according to the world of scholarly men. But here Austen is explaining the female act of
conversation by showing it as the means of seeing the world. While not all women were confined
to their beds like Mrs. Smith, many were often confined to their houses, their only interaction
with the outside world coming from formal dinners or conversations with their staff or servants.

Korbel 23
Due to this need to become proper informants, women would have needed to learn how to turn a
phrase and accurately recreate the world to the best of their abilities. This is a major distinction
Austen is making between not just her well-read characters, but also between men and women.
In Persuasion, there is not a single male character who accurately and acutely reads the world
around him, not even Mr. Elliot, despite all his trickery; but there are two women, from different
classes, who see everything. Both Anne and nurse Rooke are aware of their superiority, and
unlike the competitive relationships between the other, poorer-read female characters, Anne does
not compete with nurse Rooke. Instead, Anne commends her and recognizes nurse Rookes
ability to observe the world:
Women of that class have great opportunities, and if they are intelligent may be well
worth listening to. Such varieties of human nature as they are in the habit of witnessing!
And it is not merely in its follies, that they are well read; for they see it occasionally
under every circumstance that can be most interesting or affecting. A sick chamber
may often furnish the worth of volumes. (Austen 110)
Although it is not clear if nurse Rooke reads literature, this commending statement firmly lays
out the parallel between reading novels and observing the world. People such as nurse Rooke
have the chance to see inside multiple classes and homes and are exposed to a surplus of visual
stories. As both a worker and a woman, nurse Rooke would have been ignored by most of her
employers, an extra fixture to the room, and that detachment to conversations and scenes is what
allows her to observe. Anne has had the same advantage. Ignored by her family, Anne learned to
be seen and not heard and used that time to learn and watch the world around her. Mary and
Elizabeth used their side-line status as women to make themselves into ornaments, wanting to be

Korbel 24
seen and noticed by everyone, and while this effort stemmed from observation, the only thing
they looked for was the attention of a man.
Aside from Anne, Captain Benwick and Charles Hayter are the only other characters who
frequently read books. Similar to Anne, both men stand out in their circles, but unlike Anne they
are still lacking in their observation of others. The only character to match Annes superior
observation skills is nurse Rooke. Austen has made observation the skill of smart women,
women that use what they learn to be empathetic and to help others rather than trying to gain
something for themselves. Although often unnoticed, Anne and nurse Rooke do not give in to the
male gaze as Mary, Elizabeth, and the Musgrove women do. Where the value for these women
lies in their physical appearances, Anne and nurse Rookes value comes from their minds and
their calculated actions. By having two women of different backgrounds as the best readers
within the text, Austen is showing that the ideal feminine gaze exists within the realistic novel.
Although Austen is known to have been a lover of novels and the texts of her time, there
is a distinct section within Persuasion where the shortcoming of books is stated. When Anne and
Captain Harville discuss the hearts of men and women and the devotion felt by the two sexes,
Captain Harville attempts to use his knowledge of literature to claim, I do not think I ever
opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon womans inconstancy. Songs and
proverbs, all talk of womans fickleness (Austen 165). Annes, and we can assume Austens,
poignant response reminds readers of Cixous discussion in The Laugh of the Medusa. Despite
her love of books, Anne does not allow for them to be used as a basis for discussing her own sex.
If you please, no reference to examples in books. Men have had every advantage of us in telling
their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their
hands. I will not allow books to prove any thing (Austen 165). Cixous states that the history of

Korbel 25
literature and the written word has belonged to men, following a phallocentric tradition (1946),
and with Persuasion Austen has contributed one of the few feminine voices to this long history.
Anne, too, is aware of being an outsider when she reads, for she cannot come up with a single
book with which to defend her sex. This, then, is the difference between Anne, other female
readers, and their male counterparts.
Anne has read enough to become aware of the lack of female voices within written texts.
Through Anne, Austen is addressing this misrepresentation of women by men with the creation
of a female character who is realistic and well aware of the world around her. Her background in
literature has helped Anne to see the world more clearly because she is able to understand what
men see and what they think of the world around them, by becoming intimate with their written
history. Anne is not blind to the feelings and opinions of the male sex and is in fact better
acquainted with it than she is with many of her fellow sexs ideas. Because Anne is so well read,
she is able to understand men, which allows her to hold such scholarly conversations with her
male counterparts and puts her into such high esteem in their eyes. As a woman, Anne knows her
own heart and is able to express herself when she needs to, but this also allows her to read other
womens emotions, which allows her to appease the arguments at Uppercross.
Cixous argues that women need to learn to write as women, to learn to speak up in a
world governed by the phallus (1947). In Austens Persuasion, Anne seems to be struggling with
her own voice, similar to Cixous battle with finding the feminine voice. While Anne knows her
own worth and is able to speak out in small groups or one-on-one with others, she is rarely able
to speak to a larger audience. Anne was a muted figure in her fathers house, and in a way Anne
has been seeking her own voice to use against her fathers. When Anne at last returns to the
company of her father and Elizabeth in Bath, Anne is now able to speak for herself. When told of

Korbel 26
the meeting her father and sister had planned with Viscountess Dalrymple, Anne tells her father
that she will not be attending, instead standing by her morals and going to visit Mrs. Smith
whom she had promised to visit. Here, Anne has at last managed to be heard by her father,
breaking out of the snare of silence (Cixous 1947). Having found her feminine voice, Anne is
now able to speak rather than simply observe others.

Conclusion
While Sir Walter objectifies everyone, Anne has created her own feminine gaze with
which to view the world. Throughout the novel, the women are objectified by both themselves
and by their male counterparts. But Annes gaze does not linger on others figures or external
beauty. Instead, Anne looks past peoples physical cover and opens them up to see the
personality and mental worth within. In fact, the best readers in Persuasion are two female
characters, from two different classes, in a book written by a woman. Despite Annes argument
that women are hardly ever properly portrayed in novels, Persuasion is in direct contrast with
that statement. Instead of a male protagonist like Captain Wentworth, whose masculine gaze
would have risked the text focusing on a womans body rather than on her mind, a female
protagonist proved to focus on the observation of others external and internal affairs. Anne
represents Austens idea of the female gaze, the all-seeing eye that takes the time to understand
every aspect of a person rather than simply noticing one thing.
Historically, Austens primary audience has been female, and Austen has helped to inspire
women for over two-hundred years. Female literary voices were scarce during Austens time, and
Austen helped to add another female voice to the male-dominated literary world. In Austens
texts, women have found a strong connection with the characters because they are being relayed

Korbel 27
through a female voice, a voice they understand and that understands them. Not only could the
main characters inspire female readers to live a certain way, but Austen herself inspired women
to read and to write. Through works like Persuasion, Austen showed women what it means to be
a female reader and demonstrated how women could improve their lives by reading.
In the twenty-first century, Austens works are still widely read and are even influencing
other forms of media. Films, TV, and web series have adapted Austens works again and again
and Austens plots and characters are now influencing another type of audience. The fact that
Austen is still popular in the twenty-first century proves that there is something everlasting about
her works and that her characters show a form of humanity that relates to people regardless of
their time period or culture. In Persuasion the readers learn through Annes experience. While
she is watching other characters, we the readers are also watching these characters, noting how
their decisions and actions affect their lives and learning from Annes stable reactions how we
too should react to these incidents. Through Austen, women are learning how to better
themselves, how to glean an education, and how to read the world in their own unique and
feminine way.

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