Would You Be In The Upper Class?

Jane Austen explores the subject of class in the novel, Persuasion. During that time, merit and wealth began to take the place of birth as the indicator of high class. Men and women married often to people of high class with lots of wealth in hopes of bringing that rank and wealth to their own families. Most of the time, people would marry others who were in the same class as them. This way, they would be accepted by their families and could associate with higher classmen. Even in her book Pride and Prejudice, Austen shows the aspect of class and how Mr. Darcy thought that Elizabeth was under him because of her low status.

Sir Walter is looking for someone of high class to lease Kellynch Hall so they can get the money. He is also trying to find someone of high rank and class to marry Elizabeth, since Mary is already married and he doesn’t have much regard for Anne. Mr. Elliot would have been the perfect man, but, Mr. Elliot and Sir Walter had disagreements that weren’t settled until later on. Sir Walter’s favorite book is the Baronetage because, “he could read his own history with an interest which never failed” (Austen 7). He was always vain and, “few women could think more of their personal appearance than he did, nor could the valet of any new made lord be more delighted with the place he held in society” (Austen 7). He always thought of his social standing and is most proud of that. He only wants to associate with people either in his class or in a class higher than him.

            Anne, the main character in Persuasion, portrays how class had an effect on life during that time. Years before, Anne had fallen in love with Captain Wentworth, who at the time, “had no fortune,” and wasn’t the same class as her (Austen 20). As a result, when she did get engaged to him, Lady Russell had told her to break the engagement for Anne’s sake, because she believed the, “engagement a wrong thing; indiscreet, improper, hardly capable of success” (Austen 20). Anne knew that she was just trying to help her but Lady Russell did it because of Wentworth’s class rank. Anne later did marry Wentworth and no one objected because he was in the same class as her. When Anne wanted to go and visit her friend Mrs. Smith instead of going to a play with everyone who was the same class as her, Sir Elliot was very upset because she was going to visit, “a poor widow barely able to live…an every-day Mrs. Smith…to be the chosen friend of Miss Anne Elliot, and to be preferred by her to her own family connections among the nobility of England and Ireland” (Austen 94). He didn’t approve of Anne going to spend time with someone who was in a lower class than her instead of coming to meet those members of her family and friends who were in the same class or higher.

            Mr. Elliot is seen as the everyday gentleman who is in a high class. However, when Mrs. Smith tells Anne about the truth, she finds out that Mr. Elliot isn’t the man she thought he was. He just wanted to marry Anne because of the status and because he would gain ownership of Kellynch Hall. However, he wanted to sell the land so he would get more money out of it.

Works Cited

Austen, Jane. Persuasion. New York: Knopf, 1992. Print.

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Modern Library, 1995. Print.