The Significance of Social Status
9:45 PM
It
was once recommended to me that if I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice, I should continue my Jane Austen experience
with Persuasion. When given the task
of selecting a work of satire to read and blog about, this recommendation immediately
came to mind. When reading Pride and
Prejudice, I really enjoyed the way Austen satirized social class; her
effortless wit and eloquent diction made for an agreeable read. If I enjoyed my first Jane Austen novel so much,
what would make the second any different?
Although
I may only be roughly halfway through the novel, Persuasion has not failed my theory quite yet. From its very first
lines, I knew that her commentary on social classes would be right up to par
with that of Pride and Prejudice; I
was utterly convinced as Austen drew me in with, “Sir Walter Elliot, of
Kellynch-hall, in Somershire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took
up any book but the Baronetage…” (3). For those who don’t know, the Baronetage
Austen speaks of is in reference to The
Baronetage of England, a book which lists all British nobility. Right from
the start, it becomes clear that Austen is satirizing the way people of her
time viewed wealth and status as she references this book that tracks those of
high society.
Now,
don’t get me wrong here – Austen’s style and commentary did catch my attention,
but they were not the first thing that came to mind as I perused the first half
of Persuasion. What truly caught my
attention is that Austen’s criticism can still be pertinent 198
years later (score one for literary merit!). Just yesterday I finished
the satiric Crazy Rich Asians duology
written by Kevin Kwan and I found myself making so many comparisons between
these two novels and Persuasion; although
Kwan was published within the last few years, his work has been compared to
that of Austen’s countless times as he sarcastically writes about wealth,
status, and love. As a reader, it is a pleasurable experience to find novels
published approximately 200 years apart, yet still have the opportunity to find
parallels between them. The blend of history and the present day has already
made Persuasion all the more exciting
to read!
As I
make my way through the rest of Persuasion,
I’m hoping that I am able to find more features that are still relevant to life
today. We still view social status with high regard in the modern day whether
we realize it or not, and seeing what Austen has to say about it in her day is
fascinating. My goal for the end of the year is to have made my way through as many of Austen's works as I possibly can; I would like to wade through each novel and examine her satirical commentary.
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