Presenter: Katherine Becher
Mentor: Veronica Alfano
Oral Presentation
Major: English Literature and Art History
Jane Austen is concerned with women’s place in society, particularly their roles in the household. Domesticity is an especially important issue in Austen’s 1817 novel Persuasion; Austen demonstrates that while women in domestic situations may appear passive or submissive, they actually have powerful (if obscured) societal influence. This influence is founded on their involvement in the household—which represents the moral center of English society – and their ability to share responsibility with their husbands. Austen depicts a wide variety of domestic situations, including the Crofts’ loving and equal relationship, Mary Elliot’s lack of domestic sensibility, and Mrs. Musgrove’s comical over- concern for domestic propriety. The heroine Anne Elliot’s challenge is to navigate these models and so discover women’s ideal role in society, establishing a balance between femininity and assertiveness as she does so. It turns out that in order to embrace the traditional household domesticity that she perceives, Anne must reject certain aspects of it, claiming societal authority without transgressing gender norms. In particular, she rejects the more constrictive and limiting aspects of domesticity; she ensures that it does not become a trap that prevents sophisticated discourse, a way of getting bound up solely with trivialities, or a realm that discourages intellectual depth. Yet she celebrates domestic intimacy, loyalty, and cooperation. Ultimately, Persuasion is about the process of simultaneously accepting and transcending the domestic sphere, which allows Anne to take a more satisfying role in society and allows Austen to hint that her novel of manners is in fact directly relevant to the wider world. I conclude by proposing that Austen’s depiction of gender can cue a re-evaluation of men’s and women’s domestic roles today, because Anne is willing to have an ambivalent point of view about family life and motherhood—something that many women in our society find difficult. If a parent—particularly a mother—displays doubt or ambivalence about their role, they risk facing heavy criticism. Thus Anne’s realistic and healthy mixed attitude transcends her time frame and offers valuable lessons to modern society.