Jane Austen’s Persuasion: Major and minor characters

Abstract

This essay will be looking into characterisation in the Jane Austen novel, Persuasion and how it depicts the views and beliefs of the main characters. Austen cleverly shapes the reader’s opinion regarding the characters through their actions and thoughts. Whether it be with their thoughtless actions towards our heroine or their vanity and snobbery, Austen manages to create some very memorable characters but it can be said that some of them are flawed, or if they are as Austen intended them to be, at least it could be said that these characters are very much different from Austen’s previous characters. The reader gets to know Anne Elliot’s family, as Austen depicts some wonderful characters in Anne’s father and sisters. Through their vanity and selfish acts as well as glimpses into Anne’s mind and thoughts, negatives and absences in the novel, our heroine becomes one of Austen’s most whole and completed character in any of her novels.Some of the minor character have been thought to be somewhat shallow in characterisation and lacking which could have been do to the fact that the novel was published after Austen’s death and therefore one cannot say if the author would have rewritten some of the scenes which have been criticised. But overall Persuasion is a joy to read, flaws or not, and perhaps because of these flaws the novel can inspire a new reading and understanding each time it is read.