2. That Lady Russell, of st eady age and char act er , and
ext r emely well pr ovided f or , should have no t hought of
a second mar r iage, needs no apology t o t he public,
which is r at her apt t o be unr easonably discont ent ed
when a woman does mar r y again, t han when she does
not ; but Sir Walt er ’s cont inuing in singleness r equir es
explanat ion. Be it known t hen, t hat Sir Walt er , like a
good f at her , (having met wit h one or t wo pr ivat e
disappoint ment s in ver y unr easonable applicat ions),
pr ided himself on r emaining single f or his dear
daught er s’ sake. ( vol.1- 4)
3. Elizabet h did not quit e equal her f at her in
per sonal cont ent ment .
Thir t een year s had seen her mist r ess of
Kellynch
Hall, pr esiding and dir ect ing wit h a self possession and decision
which could never have given t he idea of her
being younger
t han she was. For t hir t een year s had she been
doing t he honour s,
and laying down t he domest ic law at home,( . . .)
( vol.1- 5 )
4. This was t he pr inciple on which Anne want ed her f at her
t o be pr oceeding, his f r iends t o be ur ging him. She consider ed
it as an act of indispensable dut y t o clear away t he claims of
cr edit or s wit h all t he expedit ion which t he most compr ehensive
r et r enchment s could secur e, and saw no dignit y in anyt hing
shor t of it . She want ed it t o be pr escr ibed, and f elt as a
dut y. She r at ed Lady Russell’s inf luence highly; and as t o t he
sever e degr ee of self -denial which her own conscience
pr ompt ed, she believed t her e might be lit t le mor e
dif f icult y
I n per suading t hem t o a complet e, t han t o half a
r ef or mat ion.
( vol I – Ch.2- 10)
5. The Mr Musgr oves had t heir own game t o guar d,
and t o
dest r oy, t heir own hor ses, dogs, and newspaper s
t o engage t hem,
and t he f emales wer e f ully occupied in all t he
ot her common
subj ect s of housekeeping, neighbour s, dr ess,
dancing, and music.
She acknowledged it t o be ver y f it t ing, t hat
ever y lit t le
social commonwealt h should dict at e it s own
mat t er s of discour se; ( . . . ) ( Vol I - Ch.6 – 31)
6. He had ver y good spir it s, which never
seemed much af f ect ed by his
wif e’s occasional lowness, bor e wit h
her unr easonableness somet imes
t o Anne’s admir at ion, (. . .) . ( Vol I Ch.6- 32)
7. This was quit e a f emale case, and it
would be highly absur d in him, who could be of no use at
home, t o shut himself up.
I dar e
say we shall have not hing t o dist r ess us. I per f ect ly
under st and
Mr Robinson’s dir ect ions, and have no f ear s; and indeed,
Mar y,
I cannot wonder at your husband. Nur sing does not
belong t o
a man; it is not his pr ovince. A sick child is always t he
mot her ’s
pr oper t y: her own f eelings gener ally make it so.”
(Vol I – Ch. 7 –42-43)
8. “And she,” said Mrs Smith, “besides nursing
me most admirably, has really proved an invaluable
acquaintance.
As soon as I could use my hands she taught me to
knit, which has been a great amusement; and she put me
in
the way of making these little thread-cases, pincushions and
card-racks, which you always find me so busy about,
and which
supply me with the means of doing a little good to one
or two
very poor families in this neighbourhood.
(Vol II – Ch. 5 – 119)
9. “My dear Mrs Smith, Mr Elliot’s wife has no t
been dead much above half a year. He ought not
to be supposed to be paying his addresses to any
one.”
(Vol II – Ch. 9 – 154)
10. Mrs Smith hesitated a little here. “Oh! Those
things are too common. When one lives in the
world, a man or woman’s marrying for money is
too common to strike one as it ought.
(Vol II – Ch. 9 – 158)
11. “ Yes, dear ma’am,” said Mr s Cr of t , “or an
uncer t ain
engagement , an engagement which may be long.
To
begin wit hout knowing t hat at such a t ime t her e
will be
t he means of mar r ying, I hold t o be ver y unsaf e
and
unwise, and what I t hink all par ent s should
pr event as f ar
as t hey can.”
(Vol I I – Ch. 11 – 181)
12. I f I was wr ong in yielding t o per suasion
once, r emember t hat it was t o per suasion
exer t ed on t he side
of saf et y, not of r isk. When I yielded, I
t hought it was t o dut y,
but no dut y could be called in aid her e. I n
mar r ying a man
indif f er ent t o me, all r isk would have been
incur r ed, and all
dut y violat ed.”
(Vol I I – Ch. 11 – 192)
13. She glor ied in being a sailor ’s wif e,
but she must pay t he t ax of quick
alar m f or belonging t o t hat
pr of ession which is, if possible, mor e
dist inguished in it s domest ic
vir t ues t han in it s nat ional
impor t ance.
(Vol I I – Ch. 12 – 199)
14. Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Persuasion. Wordsworth
Classics, 8B East Street, Ware,
Hertfordshire, 1993.
