"[A] persuadable character might sometimes be as conducive to happiness as a very resolute character." (Persuasion, chapter 12) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Persuasion seems to tap into the deep gap between the two then-contemporary forms of the novel: one based on Augustan values, in which the rational precedes the irrational, and the second based on Romantic taste, in which the inner world of imagination precedes the external world of evidence. While Austen's earlier novels had consistently asserted an Augustan taste, in Persuasion she seems to grant some validity to the Romantic vision, and at least leaves the reader to ponder an ambivalent answer to the question of whether Anne Elliot acted correctly in succumbing to Lady Russell's persuasion . , when her initial, instinctive desire for a relationship with Captain Wentworth ultimately remained unchanged. Overall, the question becomes whether Anne was right to allow herself to be guided by seemingly well-intentioned caution, or whether she would have been better advised to take a risk and follow the dictates of her heart. A middle ground between these two options, this debate is never more evident than in the final chapters, where Austen records a final judgment on the question of romance versus prudence, leaving her readers somewhat perplexed. Anne says, as she had already done previously in chapter IV, that she was right to be guided by an almost maternal friend, even if the advice was wrong, and that in a similar situation she would perhaps never have given it (chapter XXIII): "But I want to say that I was right in submitting to her, and that if I had done otherwise, I would have suffered more by continuing the engagement than even by giving it up, because I would have suffered in my conscience. This, and the whole context of sincere statement, comes from by a person of the highest moral sensitivity and integrity, but appear to be directly opposed to what had also been an earlier belief, that while she defended Lady Russell and herself, "she should still have been a happier woman in maintaining the engagement, than in sacrificing him." The final capitulation to natural instinct is, however, an image of Anne that is markedly different from that presented at the beginning of the novel. (It will also prove significant later in her rejection of William Elliot.) Indeed , Anne had even been willing to reject Lady Russell's advice two years after following it: in Chapter XXIII, Wentworth asks whether when she returned to England in 1808 with a few thousand pounds, then she would renew the estrangement. He says of his response: "'I would!' was his whole answer; the accent was quite firm." He regrets the wounded pride that kept him from such a step, and takes the blame. This benevolent gesture on Wentworth's part, however, overlooks the fact that, in the end, it is only when Anne draws on her heart's natural propensity to lead her to true love that she is able to save her relationship with him. The error in Lady Russell's judgment of character (which in turn led her to advise Anne imperfectly) is made explicit in Chapter XXIV, when the narrator says, "In some there is a quickness of perception, a subtlety in discernment of character, a natural penetration, in short, which no experience of others can equal, and Lady Russell had been less gifted in this line than her young friend before Mrs. Smith revealed the whole truth about him: “Mr . Elliot was rational, discreet, refined, but he was not open. There was never any outburst of feeling, any heat of indignation or joy, thoughthe evil or good of others." This, for Anne, was a decided imperfection. She appreciated the frank, sincere and eager character more than all the others. The warmth and enthusiasm still fascinated her. She felt she could count much more on the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said careless or hasty things, rather than on those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped." Evidently, Anne comes to realize the value of listening to human impulse ("She had been forced into prudence in her youth, learned romance as she grew up - the natural consequence of an unnatural beginning"). It is this gradual realization that leads her to repeatedly recall her feelings for Wentworth. This is the clearest proof of his ability to lend himself to the romantic exaltation of emotion over reason and of the senses over intellect. Significantly, Anne's most intense efforts are also to understand and live with her feelings, often kept in check. Often, when Anne argues against what she feels, the particular reason turns out to be wrong. When Anne begins to "reason with herself" or when she hopes "to be wise and reasonable in time," reason means not being in love with Wentworth. But this is probably not a novel where feelings are “wrong” and reasoning is “right.” Anne's reasoning is a process of giving herself time. In a sense, through these efforts, Anne aims to be able to feel. He wishes to transform his "senseless joy", not into sense, but into "sensible joy". This gradual alteration in Anne's character and the way she deals with her feelings towards Wentworth implies a certain romantic bipolarity that each of them initially represented (and which, to some extent, Anne continues to uphold, perhaps even feebly, throughout d?©nouement: "Now, as far as such a feeling is permitted in human nature, I have nothing to reproach myself for"). While Anne relies to a large extent on the advice given to her "persuadable character" and believes that following it is her duty, Wentworth proves himself to be a man of "very steadfast character" with complete confidence in himself and his feelings. powers to realize one's destiny. Having earned the money as promised in two years, but only after being rejected by Anne for marriage, Wentworth regretted that Anne had not demonstrated the same degree of trust in him, or the courage to defy her elders, know their own interests. mind or trust in one's own will. “She had shown a weakness of character in doing so, which her strong and confident character could not bear.” When he returns to the neighborhood and Anne has to listen to excerpts of his conversation with Louisa on their walk to Winthrop, she hears him reaffirm his faith in himself. Louisa states that she would rather be tipped over by the man she loves than be carried in a carriage by anyone else, and Wentworth exclaims "with enthusiasm": "I honor you!" Later, when Anne listens to their conversation in the hedgerow, she hears him using words from a conspicuously romantic lexicon as he praises "resolve," "decision," "firmness," "spirit," and "the powers of mind". As Marilyn Butler observes, "Wentworth's personal philosophy leans towards revolutionary optimism and individualism and he is impatient with, or barely acknowledges, those statements of a mentor which for him can be dismissed with the single word 'persuasion'" . Inevitably, Wentworth compares his reckless faith that love overcomes all with Anne's cautious retreat into safety eight years earlier. Lady Russell draws a general moral from Sir Walter's embarrassing case of financial difficulties; its entrenchment will conform to what many families have done, or.