Introductions

a. Sir Walter Elliott (9-10); a conceited and silly father (10)

b. Elizabeth Elliott

c. Anne Elliott, faded and thin (11)

d. William Walter Elliott

e. Lady Russell (15)

f. Mr. Shepherd (father of Mrs. Clay)

All Not Well

g. money

h. Elizabeth unmarried

i. Anne lost her bloom

The Present Time (summer of 1814)

Superior and Inferior

a. solid and superficial

b. Which characters would be placed as "superior"

1. Sir Walter, Elizabeth, Anne

2. William Walter Elliott

3. Lady Dalrymple and Miss Carteret

4. Lady Russell

5. Mary Musgrove (only because she is formerly an Elliott)

c. Which characters would be placed as "inferior"

1. Mr. and Mrs. Musgrove

2. Louisa, Henrietta, Charles Musgrove

3. Admiral and Mrs. Croft

4. Frederick Wentworth

5. The Hayters

6. The Harvilles

7. Captain Benwick

8. Mrs. Clay

9. Mrs. Smith

Name and Title vs. Meritocratic

d. The problem with meritocracy is it is too recent (though the Elliott’s received their baronetage from service at the time of the Restoration)

e. But times are changing

1. What motivates characters to act?

2. Are even the most scrupulous characters honest about their motives?

3. Is there a reward/punishment system in the novel? Are characters rewarded for good behavior and/or punished for bad behavior?

4. How is "persuasion" used in the novel? Who in the novel is "persuadable" and who is "determined"? What value is assigned to these qualities?

What examples of transience and change do we have in the novel?

a. The Elliotts leaving Kellynch

b. Changes in Bath society; naval officers now of some importance

c. Henrietta’s temporary abandonment of Charles Hayter for Wentworth

d. Louisa’s abandonment of Wentworth for Benwick

e. Benwick’s abandonment of mourning for Louisa (commented on poignantly by Captain Harville)

What examples of permanence?

f. Wentworth’s affection for Anne

g. Anne’s affection for Wentworth

h. Admiral and Mrs. Croft

Is this an either/or? Must we choose either permanence or transience?