Reviews

Persuasion by Jane Austen

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rcaudf's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

tortilla_lea's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wentworth may be my favorite Austen lead so far (huge maybe). The flaws of Anne Elliot are at first glance the main flaw of the story, her inability to make decisions independent of others’ opinions. However, upon further investigation, it’s important to contextualize how much she’s revered as a good woman of her time for being obedient, kind, selfless, easily persuaded. She’s pretty and silent and so in tune with others’ feelings. But us, as readers, can see the turmoil and complexity to her. She reminds me much of what we might hear if Jane Bennet had a POV in P&P. And her decision to be with Wentworth, in the end, proves to be maybe the first decision she’s made for herself. My only problem is that the decision she makes seems cheapened by the convenience of it. Mr.Elliot is revealed to be a scoundrel, Wentworth is rich now and seen as a good catch even to those who previously disliked him, AND Wentworth is the one still putting himself out on a rope to try and be with her. She even notes that if she hadn’t found out about Mr.Elliots true character, she might be persuaded once again by lady Russell to marry him. From that we see that the book fails to have a big climactic character development moment for her where she, against all obstacles, chooses Wentworth for herself regardless of what her family thinks.
However, I just contextualize all of this with the pressure she feels as a women. She doesn’t have the privilege to make this grand gesture to Wentworth. She has to marry well, she has to obey, she has to sacrifice in many areas of her life. Persuasion ends up being a story of relief, lucky that everything turned out the way it did so Anne Elliot could live a happy life of convenience with the man she loves.

OH, and Wentworths letter is truly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever read.

pluviophile's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

elysehdez19's review against another edition

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3.0

No me ha terminado de convecer... Tuve muchos conflictos con la protagonista y aunque la historia me parece buena, tiene un no sé qué, que hizo que no la disfrutara como yo esperaba. Sorry Jane