Subversion of Class and Gender Roles in Jane Austens Persuasion Essay

Subversion of Class and Gender Roles in Jane Austens Persuasion In Jane Austens Persuasion, Mrs. Croft makes but few appearances and delivers little dialogue. Nevertheless, Austen gives her significant register and thematic importance. Mrs. Croft provides a foil for several of the Elliots, while developing a commonality with the frequently ostracized Anne. This bond between Mrs. Croft and Austens heroine valorizes Mrs. Crofts radical views concerning feminism and marriage. Beyond signifying a paradigm shift in such social morals, though, the roles of Admiral and Mrs. Croft allow Austen to subvert the dominant upper class culture. By exhibiting superior but trustworthy manners, by demonstrating the complacency of the dominant culture, and by exerting their own counterculture, Admiral and Mrs. Croft expose both the foolishness and the artifice of their upper class acquaintances. Austen clearly contrasts Mrs. Croft with Sir Walter, Elizabeth and Mary, and therein reve als the egoistic and impractical nature of luxury, saying, none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days (50). She admits to the confinement of a frigate, but notes that whatsoever reasonable woman may be perfectly happy in one (50, italics mine). Meanwhile, Sir Walter cannot imagine life without journeys, London, servants, horses . . . (10), and, for Elizabeth, the sacrifice of one pair of horses would be just now less painful than of both (10). Mrs. Croft thus highlights the Elliots frivolousness. The Crofts also illustrate Sir Walters vanity, by moving his several looking glasses into storage, since Admiral Croft requires only one. Similarly, Mrs. Croft exposes Marys self pity, allowing us to co... ...ne Elliot as worthy not only of the noble relations of their family, but also of the superior culture of the Crofts. Works Cited and Consulted Austen, Jane. Persuasion. 1993. Ware, Herts Wordsworth, 1996. Craik, W. A. Jane Austen in her Time. London Nelson, 1969. DaDundo, Laura. Jane Austen Concise dictionary of British Literary Biography. Vol. III. Detroit Gale Research Inc., 1992. Harmon, William, and C. Hugh Holman. Handbook to Literature. Upper Saddle River, N.J. Prentice Hall, 1986. Magill, Frank N., ed. English Novel Richardson to Hardy. Pasadena Salem Softbacks, 1980. Southam, Brian. Jane Austen. British Writers. Vol. IV. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York Scribners, 1981. Tanner, Tony. In betwixt Persuasion. Persuasion. By Jane Austen. Ed. Patricia Meyers Spacks. New York Norton and Co., 1995.