Harshit

Fiction(120351104)

31 March 2022

Q. Meritocracy in Jane Austen's Persuasion.

The English society of the early 19th century was under upheaval due to the Napoleonic

wars and the American revolution, which weakened the moral authority the Aristocracy

wielded on the peasantry. England, an aristocratic society established on the agrarian

relationship between landowning and peasantry since the middle ages, was struggling to

save the ethical fabric of society. Austen sees this upheaval reaching England through its

naval officers who didn't have noble blood but won their glory in battles, representing

Meritocracy in contrast with Aristocracy. Jane Austen explores in her novel the vanity and

superficial nature of the aristocratic class and the pleasant and humble nature of the

meritocratic class.

Jane Austen glorifies Meritocracy through her characters and their likability. The navy men

like James Benwick are well-read and emotional characters, while Lady Russel,

representing nobility, is the vane and has "little taste for wit" like Mr. Walter, who is not a

well-read person.

Although not an outwardly political novel, Persuasion reconciles Meritocracy in a society

dominated by Aristocracy. During Austen's times, Meritocracy was promoted in only a few

professions like the military and created disruption in the lower aristocratic classes of a
baronet(lesser nobility) whose position in nobility was already uncertain. Persuasion shows

the immerging class of navy men representing Meritocracy as more appealing and genuine

characters than nobles with ancestral wealth. The navy men like captain Wentworth

representing merit and having fought and earned their wealth during revolutionary wars, are

more gentlemanly, have more wealth, and have a brighter future than nobles. The

movement of Elliots from Kellynch-hall and their replacement by admiral Kroft's family

shows a shift in the social structure where the wealthy meritocratic class has started

replacing the extravagant Aristocracy.

The problem of Aristocracy with this immerging class of navy men was that they had

acquired wealth too suddenly and in ways inaccessible to the Aristocracy, which scorned

any physical labor. Hence we see Sir Walter being critical about the sea-faring men, that

they age earlier, get injured often in battles, or fall sick. His criticism of Meritocracy

originates from his lack of having any, and his bias towards nobility originates from his

inferiority complex towards navy men who have earned their fortune rather than inheriting

it.

Merit for Austen is not only war heroism but is a maturity that one acquires through

experience. Anne represents Meritocracy in Austen's novel, and her comfort or discomfort

around certain people tells us their inherent nature. The aristocratic class is more engaged

in social relationships, gossip, their image in society, and money, contrary to the navy men

who are more genuine and cordial, living in the pleasant countryside. In the novel, Mr.

Wentworth represents merit while Mr. William Elliot represents Aristocracy, and Anne's
choosing the former for marriage and revelation of Mr. Elliot's real nature certify Austen's

claim of the supremacy of merit.

Anne being the symbol and beacon of merit, is the calmest and most brilliant when Louisa

Musgrove falls, even among the navy men. This scene uplifts Anne in merit and forces

Wentworth's attention on her. The narrative shows merit as an essential feature of personal

and social relations and distinguishes it from the social relations of nobles which are

manipulative. Her marriage with Wentworth symbolizes the acknowledgment of

Meritocracy in the ruling class, and a greater social change Austen envisions.

In the beginning, Mr. Walter leasing Kellynch hall shows the instability of the agrarian

relations between peasant and nobility and the beginning of a new form of society in which

social mobility is available for the lower or middle classes.

The meritocratic class represents change and progress, unlike the nobility, who remain

socially, mentally, and financially stagnant in society. The characters representing

Meritocracy are "the repositories of social virtues" for English society. They are more

adaptive to their social circumstances and appear genuinely humble and courtly, contrary to

the nobility, which is vane and elitist. In an English society where opinion towards nobility

is declining due to the Napoleonic wars and American Revolution, the navy men are the

symbol of new nationalism and pride for peasantry while embodying merit in a society

where the landed class dominates. In this new age, their wealth cannot be questioned, and

their scars of honor cannot be ridiculed by the Aristocracy. Their existence is most
appreciated during war times, and Austen highlights their good character as a result of

military discipline rather than etiquette.

Bibliography-

1. Austen, Jane, and Gillian Beer. Persuasion. London: Penguin Books, 2003. Print

2. Harper, Haley Elizabeth. (2018). AUSTEN'S PERSUASION:

MERITOCRACY, MASCULINITY, AND POLITICAL DISCOURSE

(Bachelor's thesis, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA)