Persuasion

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1817

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Volume 1, Chapters 1-3

Volume 1, Chapters 4-6

Volume 1, Chapters 7-9

Volume 1, Chapters 10-12

Volume 2, Chapters 13-15

Volume 2, Chapters 16-18

Volume 2, Chapters 19-21

Volume 2, Chapters 22-24

Character Analysis

Themes

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Important Quotes

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Volume 1, Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 10 Summary

Anne determines that Captain Wentworth is in love with neither Henrietta nor Louisa. After a few meetings, Charles Hayter stops attending the gatherings arranged by the Musgroves, seemingly giving up his pursuit of Henrietta.

The Musgrove sisters invite Mary and Anne on a long walk through the neighborhood, and Captain Wentworth and Charles Musgrove join them. As they walk, Anne feels alienated from the group.

Henrietta and Charles decide to call on their cousins at Winthrop while the rest of the group rests on a hill nearby. Anne accidentally overhears a conversation between Captain Wentworth and Louisa in which Wentworth praises Louisa’s strong character after she says: “I have no idea of being so easily persuaded,” and Wentworth claims that “My first wish for all, whom I am interested in, is that they should be firm” (81).

Louisa tells Wentworth that the Musgroves would have preferred Anne as a sister-in-law to Mary, but that Lady Russell “persuaded Anne to refuse him” (82), and describes the extreme pride of the Elliot family. Anne, deeply hurt by what she overhears, rejoins her sister and hopes that the group will start walking home.

Henrietta and Charles return with Hayter; it is clear from their behavior that Henrietta and Hayter have reconciled. The group begins to walk home when they meet with Admiral and Mrs. Croft’s gig. They offer one of the ladies a seat for the return journey; each of the ladies denies that they are tired. However, Captain Wentworth speaks privately to his sister, who then insists that Anne should take the seat. Anne has no choice but to accept, touched as she is by Wentworth’s “perception of her fatigue, and his resolution to give her rest” (84). Though she believes that Wentworth still carries a grudge against her, she admits that he cares for her enough to look out for her comfort, and doesn’t quite know what to make of his actions.

Chapter 11 Summary

Anne prepares to leave Uppercross Cottage, but is anxious about staying with Lady Russell as she lives closer to Captain Wentworth and Anne knows that they do not like each other. First, she travels with the Musgroves and Captain Wentworth to visit Wentworth’s friends, Captain and Mrs. Harville and Captain Benwick, in Lyme. Captain Benwick was previously engaged to Mr. Harville’s sister, but the lady died while Benwick was at sea. The Harvilles and Benwick are generally found to be lovely people by those of the party, but especially Anne, who is depressed by the idea that “These would have been all my friends” (92) had she married Captain Wentworth.

The group walks through Lyme. Anne walks beside Captain Benwick and the two talk extensively of poetry and literature. The grieving Captain Benwick seems to brighten up with Anne’s attention. Anne suggests a series of novels for Benwick to read and wonders at her own presumptuousness to suggest a series of coping mechanisms that she herself could do with following.

Chapter 12 Summary

The next morning, Anne and Henrietta wake early and walk to the sea. They speak of Hayter and Henrietta’s hopes that he will soon become the curate in their neighborhood. Anne cautiously supports Charles Hayter, and Henrietta remarks that Lady Russell’s involvement would be helpful, as she is “able to persuade a person to any thing!” (96). They meet with Louisa and Wentworth and walk back to the inn. On the way, they pass a gentleman who is struck by Anne. Captain Wentworth notices this gentleman’s attraction and looks at Anne, who assumes that some of her previous beauty has returned. At the inn, they see the same gentleman and his groom dressed in mourning and preparing to leave. At breakfast, Wentworth asks the waiter who the gentleman is; it is Mr. Elliot, Anne and Mary’s cousin, which sparks intrigue and excitement in the group.

Before they leave Lyme, the Musgrove party joins the Harvilles and Captain Benwick for a last walk. Anne again talks to Captain Harville, who reveals that Wentworth told him of Benwick's fiancée's death out of intense friendship and concern. As they walk down the Cobb, or harbor wall, Louisa insists on jumping down and being caught by Wentworth. However, she is too eager, and he fails to catch her; she hits her head and fall unconscious. In the ensuing panic, Anne takes charge, keeping calm and directing everyone’s actions. They bring Louisa back to the Harville’s and send for a surgeon, who examines Louisa and says that she will recover from her concussion with much rest and care. They debate over who should return to tell Louisa’s parents what happened. Wentworth expresses his wish that Anne stay to nurse Louisa, but after Mary contests her usefulness, Anne joins Wentworth and Henrietta on the drive back home.

Wentworth directs all his conversation at Henrietta on the drive back until she falls asleep. Then, Wentworth consults Anne as to the best way to break the news to the Musgroves. Anne is pleased by his high esteem for her opinion, and they agree that he should go in first to tell them before bringing Henrietta inside.

Volume 1, Chapters 10-12 Analysis

Lady Russell’s persuasiveness reappears as Wentworth and Louisa’s courtship seems to progress favorably. Her reputation is so strong that the Musgrove sisters are well aware of Lady Russell’s meddling in the Elliot sisters' lives. Rather than condone this, however, Henrietta expresses a desire for Lady Russell to meddle a bit in her own life and secure a better fortune for her fiancé, as Henrietta believes Lady Russell to be “able to persuade a person to any thing!” (96). Henrietta’s confidence in Lady Russel is a moment of dramatic irony, as the reader understands that not all persuasion leads to greater happiness.

During Wentworth and Louisa’s conversation outside of Winthrop, several points of Anne’s character are discussed through comparison with Louisa’s own disposition. That Louisa displays a “firmness” of character that is not easily persuaded is at first lauded by Wentworth as desirable in a woman, indicating his disappointment over the broken engagement with Anne. However, when she stubbornly insists upon jumping down the stairs at Lyme, leading to a life-threatening head injury, it becomes clear that tenacity is not the pinnacle of character that Wentworth professed it to be. Louisa’s accident is vindication for Anne’s more cautious behavior, and serves to remind Wentworth of the virtues of being levelheaded. In the aftermath, Anne’s self-assuredness and deft handling of the situation has a profound effect on Wentworth, who finally sees how Anne has matured in the years they have been apart.

Though Wentworth seems to be courting Louisa Musgrove more decisively in these chapters, his notice of Anne’s desires and needs suggests that he has not completely forgotten her. “His perception of her fatigue, and his resolve to give her rest” (84) when Mrs. Croft offers one lady a seat in her carriage surprises Anne, as this scene directly follows one in which he and Louisa seem to criticize her tendency to be persuaded by other people. Furthermore, at the inn at Lyme, Wentworth solicits the waiter for information about the gentleman in mourning that they passed on their walk, precisely because he showed interest in Anne. These slight inconsistencies between Wentworth’s actions point to an irresoluteness in his emotions: though he is trying to move on from Anne and outwardly show himself interested in Louisa, he cannot help but show Anne attention. Through Benwick’s attentions to Anne, Austen also hints that her protagonist is more desirable than her friends and family may assume her to be.