Persuasion's first three chapters are brilliant. They almost entirely ignore Anne, as if the narrative itself has joined forces with her family in making her "only Anne," an inconsequential afterthought who must always give way to her father and sister.
In these chapters, we learn all about Sir Walter's history and present-day concerns. We even learn all about Elizabeth's hopes and disappointments in the realm of romance. If you knew nothing of the story, you would likely assume she is going to be the main character and her path toward marriage the main plot.
Anne's love story, which is what the whole book is actually about, isn't introduced until chapter 4.
And yet, it is not missing from the first three chapters. There are references to it hidden throughout, a presence lurking in the background, even though as a first time reader you couldn't see it.
The reference to Anne "happening to be not in perfectly good spirits" one winter in Bath is a reference to her devastation after her breakup with Wentworth.
Anne's casual knowledge of what Admiral Croft has been doing shows she's been keeping track not just of Wentworth but of his family all these years, and thus how much she still cares about him.
The way she holds back from naming Mr. Wentworth, Frederick's brother, even though she knows exactly who Mr. Shepard is talking about, shows how greatly the whole affair still pains her, that she doesn't want to even speak his family name and/or doesn't want to remind everyone of her past connection with him.
I love how Jane Austen weaves these details in but makes no effort to draw our attention to them, as I feel most authors would do. They're just casually there like Easter eggs for repeat readers to find. If you don't pick up on them, the story still works fine, but they are there to make it even more full and rich and real if you do notice them. It's masterful writing.
This post alone convinced me into reading the book... absolutely amazing!
Oh I love to hear that! Thank you for saying so! Persuasion is so precious to me and I love when someone new discovers it and enjoys it 💕
