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@CeraKelleyRising

2 жыл бұрын

Can you do a video explaining why Mr. Elliott went for Anne instead of Elizabeth who wanted him. Also, what was going on with him and Ms. Clay? For example when he was seen speaking to her when he was supposed to be out of town.

@christinesmith3991

2 жыл бұрын

So sorry, intended to donate but you only seem to offer PayPal which I will not use

@Fluffcat65

2 жыл бұрын

Dear Dr. Cox, I do have a small request: Could you maybe make a video about Mr. Elliot and Mrs. Smith? I was wondering the other day, why Mr. Elliot does not realize or not even suspect that Anne Elliot visits his former friend's (Mr. Smith's) wife in Bath. He does remember what she told him about Anne but does not figure out that Mrs. Smith is Anne's former friend from school? Why is that while he even gets to know her name during his visits to Sir Walter and Elisabeth Elliot? To be overlooking this seems quite unlikely in such a cunning character as Mr. Elliot. I would like to know your opinion on this very much! Is that a logical error in Persuasion?

@yuldouz

Жыл бұрын

I do love your videos, they are very logical and sequenced, and they still remain a live dialogue with your audience. Do you happen to have a Patreon? I'd love to support your work.

@--enyo--

Жыл бұрын

@@christinesmith3991Shame there’s no Patreon.

I also think the letter scene is interesting because it's a direct reversal of the characters. Anne, previously in the novel, is the silenced one. She doesn't have a voice with her natal family and everyone else uses her as a sounding board. Now she's openly speaking her feelings to Harville, forcing Wentworth to overhear and listen. Wentworth, on the other hand, has voiced his opinions on some topics very openly. And now must confine himself to the silent role, writing his feelings instead of speaking them.

@MEA5755

Жыл бұрын

Thank you, I hadn't thought about it from this perspective previously.

My mother was a writer of situation comedy. Once, when asked where to learn to write dialog she simply replied "Jane Austin".

@donnalayton6876

11 ай бұрын

Your mother was a very wise woman.

My favorite part of Captain Wentworth's letter is "you pierce my soul. I am half agony half hope..." Imagine having someone you love and think you lost writing those to you? The Amanda Root/Kieran Hinds movie version of Persuasion is my absolute favorite-the first time I heard his voiceover speak those words gave me chills. It was so beautiful, so full of longing and pain and love that I wanted to hear the letter over and over again. She had such a grasp not only of character but emotion and how to make the reader feel it along with the character. I try to emulate that in my own writing.

This whole episode is phonocentric. Wentworth is writing (a letter to arrange for Capt Benwick's portrait to be reset for his new love), while Anne, for the first time, is speaking and giving her true opinions about how women's love differs from men's love. Capt Harville asserts that the written word - "all histories...all stories, prose and verse..." does not support her. She accepts his invitation to disallow these written voices, on the grounds that "these were all written by men". She remarks that "Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story...the pen has been in their hands". But just before this, Capt Wentworth has dropped his pen - symbolically waiving his masculine advantage - he is listening to Anne and Harville. When he takes it up again, he is writing, as he listens, what he would say aloud to Anne, if he could. He is now the one at a disadvantage - it is a risky move to write to her. Passing private notes to young ladies was not socially acceptable, and he is gambling that she means what she says about constancy, and that it applies to him. His letter speaks of reading her feelings (while she is literally reading his) and does not ask for a written reply, but "a word, a look" - which, after some more suspense, he gets. Ironically, when Anne and Wentworth are finally, for the first time, able to communicate freely in words, we, the readers, hear none of them - Jane Austen gives us the substance of their conversation, but refrains from actual dialogue until after declarations of love have been made - this intimate moment needs the shelter of written narrative.

@ruthfeiertag

2 жыл бұрын

Beautifully put.

@megofiachra3247

2 жыл бұрын

Augh! YES! Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel, and this scene/letter such a fitting climax to the loooong, slow build up. That we don’t actually get to “hear” their reunion is similar to Elizabeth and Darcy, who go for a long walk and allow themselves to get separated from Jane and Bingley. As much as I adore the A&E screenplay, and they retained much of Austen’s original dialogues, this is a scene they had to create some dialogue, because Austen only narrates Elizabeth’s reply. “…forced herself to speak…gave him to understand, that her sentiments had undergone so material a change…as to make her receive …his present assurances.” Similar to Persuasion, we get to hear his declaration, but her words and those of their actual conversation remain hidden.

@cat_pb

Жыл бұрын

This comment is the best

@L1623VP

Жыл бұрын

@@megofiachra3247 Austen does this quite a bit in her writing and unfortunately, at some of the most crucial moments in the story. She did the same thing with Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth. Austen allows him to say, "In vain, I have struggled. It will not do. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." And then...nothing. After that, Austen gives us a few sentences saying that Darcy's proposal insulted Elizabeth, without actually telling us what, specifically, that was. She doesn't let him speak for himself. To me, this pulls the reader out of the scene so Austen can give her commentary on what Darcy said rather that just letting Darcy say it and allowing the reader to experience it. Austen then goes back into the scene to allow Elizabeth to give her full response in her own words in real time. I was shocked to find out, after seeing the 1995 miniseries of P&P that Darcy's amazingly arrogant proposal, so beautifully worded, isn't even in the book. Screenwriter, Andrew Davies wrote it. I love Austen, but this is a problem I have with her in how she pulls the reader out of the scene and paraphrases dialogue or simply omits it all together at some of the most important parts.

@limlaith

Жыл бұрын

I adore your interpretation of this, how you have revealed this, this their duet. It is marvelous!

Captain Wentworth's letter to Anne, or more specifically the circumstances in which he writes it, is one of my favourite scenes in Austen's novels. I really feel like speaking to her directly in this moment wouldn't be possible for him, as he would say more, and more intimate things, than would be appropriate in a room full of people. For me this is the most exciting part about this scene, that he declares (if only in written form) this powerful and deep feelings in a room full of people, where someone might even accidentaly read what he writes. I just love this scene so much, it makes me all giddy just thinking about it ':D

Capt. Wentworth, in the draft, is lovely and warm while announcing "My Dear Ann" and taking her hand, the device of the letter is so much more romantic and fraught with suspense. Will she discover the letter? Will she have the resolve to get herself out of the room? Will she be able to catch Wentworth in time? Will she be able to detach herself from her brother in law to get to "Speak" to Wentworth? The whole novel is about distance and delay in thoughts and actions and assumptions made about what each character thinks would be best for other characters. So these final moments between Anne and Wentworth are one more inch of ending the delay and the distance in a satisfying conclusion. It is the a heartfelt release of the tension, which has been the rather omnipresent unseen character in the work.

@stevenlight5006

2 жыл бұрын

Wunderbar

Surely Wentworth could NOT realistically have spoken to Anne in the moment, at least not freely or explicitly? The subject of his enduring love would have been taboo in the presence of others. Truly writing was the only means of communication immediately available to him given the feelings he wished to convey. Fortunately Wentworth, via Austen, is remarkably articulate with his pen!

@sandrajunghall9725

2 жыл бұрын

Good thing for Anne that her desperate longings we're returned, unlike the delusional, fairy tale fantasies of a desperate woman who's pining herself to old maid like M.

@moonw5814

2 жыл бұрын

My thoughts exactly. Both Anne and Wentworth are polite and considerate people. If they had proceeded to speak about such a personal topic, Captain Harville would have been reduced to the world's biggest and juiciest gooseberry. All the same a very interesting talk about Austen's technique.

@bethanyhoward6847

2 жыл бұрын

I tend to agree, as far as speaking about their own love specifically; but Anne’s conversation up to that point had been more general. Wentworth could have added a general comment about man’s constancy without alluding directly to their own relationship, though Anne would have surmised it was about them. It would have been unlikely for them to have much time alone to talk specifically to each other, so I do agree with your point that they would not have commented on their own love before others.

Thank you so much for this. For me, Captain Wentworth's letter is the most powerful expression of love in all the Austen novels, and so very satisfying to the reader. If Jane Austen had stayed with her draft version, it would have been, in my opinion, too similar to the love declarations of her other novels. I recently listened to an audio version of Persuasion narrated by Juliet Stevenson, and when Ms. Stevenson read this letter, I was moved to tears. (And I was driving at the time!) So lovely. Thank you, Dr. Cox. I always enjoy your videos.

@DrOctaviaCox

2 жыл бұрын

I agree, Janice. Its beautiful. According to the Austen family record, Austen herself found the draft version too "tame and flat" and not satisfying enough: [The draft version] "...did not satisfy her. She thought it tame and flat, and was desirous of producing something better. This weighed upon her mind, the more so probably on account of the weak state of her health; so that one night she retired to rest in very low spirits. But such depression was little in accordance with her nature, and was soon shaken off. The next morning she awoke to more cheerful views and brighter inspirations: the sense of power revived; and imagination resumed its course." (Memoir of Jane Austen, by James Edward Austen-Leigh, ch.11).

@janicelewis4805

2 жыл бұрын

I mis-remembered the narrator. It was Greta Scacci.

@rachelport3723

2 жыл бұрын

@@DrOctaviaCox It is stale and flat - and not just in Wentworth's declaration - a letter is so much more satisfactory than a silent look of supplication - but also for the whole visit of the Musgrove party to Bath. It's full of movement and shows those characters in so much more detail, especially Charles and Mary. It also gives a hint of a relationship between Mr. Eliot and Mrs. Clay, which makes their elopement in the summing-up chapter more natural and funny.

@kataw0404

2 жыл бұрын

As soon as the opening words start, I can feel my heart pound.

@sandeesandwich2180

2 жыл бұрын

I have an audio version with the great Glenda Jackson narrating. :)

Yes! One of the reasons the letter is so impactful is because we as the reader are already primed by the excellent conversation between Anne and Capt. Harville. I adore that conversation. When I'm listening on audiobook I always go back and listen to it at last once more. Then going from that into the incredible letter inspired by the conversation is just gold. It's an absolutely perfect chapter from beginning to end. Oh how I wish we had 6 more novels after Persuasion as she was clearly only getting better.

Thank you so much for your analysis. I'm from Vietnam and always a fan of Jane Austen's novels. This is the first time I learn actually about her writing. When reading the novels, I only notice the plot, characters' behaviors and personalities, and relationships. Your explanation is very clear and helpful for me to understand Jane's literature and know more about the English language.

Writing a letter makes the writer vulnerable. A letter is... proof. Darcy's letter included not only proof of his feelings for Lizzie (which he views as degrading) but also mention of an incident which could possibly ruin his sister. (The planned elopement with Wickham) He knows how insulted Lizzie was at his proposal. He knows she despises him at that moment. But he trusts her not to use it. Don't get me wrong, IMHO he was a jerkass before. And his letter wasn't much better than his first proposal. But it showed a measure of respect.

@lost99sheep

2 жыл бұрын

Well, Lizzie wasn’t pleasant either!!

@karleinegraham446

2 жыл бұрын

@Gary Allen Lizzie was also rude and prejudiced towards Darcy. However she was only too willing to listen to Wickham "badmouth" the Darcy family. Lizzie showed a marked preference for Wickham and her Aunt Phillips warned her to be careful.

@margo3367

2 жыл бұрын

He trusted her!

@margo3367

2 жыл бұрын

@@karleinegraham446 Her friend Charlotte warned her off Wickham too. At Bingley's Ball Charlotte said (paraphrasing here) that Darcy was 10 times Wickham's worth. She warned Elizabeth not to let her infatuation with Wickham cloud her judgment.

I believe that the mere act of listening to Dr. Cox boosts my intelligence. Marvelous communication of marvelous content. Thank you!

@alexhenry3435

2 жыл бұрын

Hahaha, I agree! I feel smarter after listening to her.

Thank goodness he decides to write, instead of speak, giving us the most painully beautiful and romantic love letter ever written ;) Thank you for this very interesting lecture, I was never aware why the letter feels so direct, personal, and engaging, only that it does.

In Austen’s time, could he have spoken to her in such an open way in a room full of people? The letter, I think, is so much more romantic. They speak so little and are so uncomfortable with one another throughout the novel this ending seems more in keeping with their relationship.

@DrOctaviaCox

2 жыл бұрын

Ah, this is a good point to raise, Melanie - and I'm happy to clarify. In the video, when I said that Wentworth could have joined the conversation, I meant that he could have engaged Anne intellectually on the subject matter, in the same way that Harville is doing. Not that he could have declared his love for her publicly, which as you say would not have been appropriate. But by engaging with Anne on the subject of constancy, both would have understood each other, even if an innocent listener was none-the-wiser. And I agree with your point about the letter being more in keeping with their relationship. As I said in the lecture, the letter is a metaphor for Wentworth's conflicted feelings - their current distance and restraint, but his desire for them to be closer. And when they do encounter each other again, after this letter, they do not initially speak, they only look and understand each other: "He joined them; but, as if irresolute whether to join or to pass on, said nothing, only looked. Anne could command herself enough to receive that look, and not repulsively. The cheeks which had been pale now glowed, and the movements which had hesitated were decided. He walked by her side" (ch.23). It is only when they are alone again that speech between them begins to flow: "they exchanged again those feelings and those promises which had once before seemed to secure everything, but which had been followed by so many, many years of division and estrangement" (ch.23). The reader does not hear any of their dialogue, however.

I left school just after my 16th birthday, ignorant but intensely moved and excited by Jane Austen. I’ve been to her farmhouse in Chawton, to her place in Bath and have read everything I can find, books, letters, criticisms and treatise on her work. She formed the foundation of my love for literature, particularly English. Your KZread lectures have thrilled me and brought even more meaning to my favorite works of art🥰

I *must* speak my feelings about this... er... write them. I must write them. I’m so happy I found this channel. Firstly, because it is marvellous. The calm voice, deep intelligence, and delightful humour of Dr Cox are not unlike an Austen novel itself, and I always learn so much! Secondly, because after mumble-mumble many years away from academe I am again a student, and very nervous about writing papers. While Icelandic sagas may or may not have much in common with Austen novels or any of the other works analysed here, listening to Dr Cox puts me in the right frame of mind. And she does what the best professors do, which is to make one feel like one *can* write about literature even if not a Great Expert, that enthusiasm for a work is an adequate starting point. My only sorrow is that I cannot share the joy of these lectures with either my mother, a huge Austen fan, or my father, who was a professor of literature and was teaching Austen as a standard part of courses even in the 1950s and 1960s, when most universities dismissed the works of 19th century women writers as not really serious literature! But I intend to go on enjoying and learning from them for as long as Dr Cox provides them.

General comments: (1) Another aspect of Austen’s craft of realism is her ability to create characters with personalities that seem realistic, because they are well-developed and consistent within the works and also because they resemble real people we have known. Austen gives each character a specific, recognizable voice, both in actual dialogue and in free indirect discourse. (2) Conversation is central to the action of all of her books. We might even say that what is said, and what is not said, by whom and to whom, is at the center of all of her books. I think in general she treats letters as extensions of conversations (much as we now treat e-mails and text messages). Specific instance of phonocentricity: In Mansfield Park, when Fanny is staying with her parents at Portsmith, she first learns of her cousin Tom Bertram’s dangerous illness from a letter from her aunt, Lady Bertram. Lady Bertram has made letter-writing into one of her main activities, and has a distinctively pompous and cliche-ridden style; the quotations from her letter, while affecting concern, make clear that she doesn’t consider the illness to be serious. But then, after Tom is brought home and she sees how ill he is, Austen tells us that she writes as she would have spoken, and we get another quotation that expresses her genuine distress and fear for her son.

@TheMogregory

2 жыл бұрын

Chaucer gave each of his subjects (Canterbury Tales) their own identity and character through the use of dialogue. He used dialect, word choice etc to express how real people actually used language giving an insight into the personalities, background and class of each distinct individual.

Captain Wentworth's *letter* (as opposed to any declarative speech which he might have made to Anne) is also 1. a permanent record of 2. his direct, organized, articulate thoughts. Of the first point: his words don't just disappear from every place but memory when his voice stops speaking. They are permanently recorded for Anne. Of the second: they are his self-summary of thoughts and feelings about her, more articulate, more explaining than just "Anne, my dearest Anne." And thirdly, because of the necessary delay in his writing this letter and then her reading it when he has left the room, it introduces a prolonging of the tension: oh dear! What if Anne/ "I" can't manage to get her/"my" true reply to him in time? Thank you for these videos. They are very thought-stirring.

Here is another interesting example of Austen’s phonocentric language and imagery from Northanger Abbey, where Catherine Moreland describes “the air and attitude” (i.e. behaviour) of General Tilney: “What could more plainly speak the gloomy workings of a mind not wholly dead to every sense of humanity, in its fearful review of past scenes of guilt? Unhappy man!” (ch.23)

Just a thought. Another famous author, another letter. Tatyana Larina's letter to Onegin. In English it goes as follows: "I write to you -- no more confession is needed, nothing's left to tell". But I'm Russian and of course first read it in school long ago in Russian. So, my point is, that in Russian the verb used in the place of "to tell" is "сказать", which means primarily verbal speech, not written. So she is actually saying it all in her mind and soul, not writing. I think it is just the same phonocentrism, but I can't really tell if it conveys in the translation. I also wanted to say thank You for your videos! Jane Austen is my favourite English author (as well as John Galsworthy) so I watch all your videos on her language and style. Thank You!

@alexhenry3435

2 жыл бұрын

That's beautiful, the silence in the letter, says everything. That's really interesting.

As always great dissection. Please please I would be interested in your take on Ms. Bates' personality/mental health in Emma.

@DrOctaviaCox

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Yes, Miss Bates is a fascinating character. And there is a lot to say about her! Emma overlooks her, but clearly we readers are not supposed to.

@cathryncampbell8555

2 жыл бұрын

@@DrOctaviaCox May I second louise's request? Miss Bates has always fascinated me, because she is a symbol of a lady who has lost her social status in that deeply hierarchical world. She -- *like Jane Austen* -- has devolved from being the daughter of an Anglican clergyman, a respectable position in society, to being the impoverished caregiver of her mother. I would love to hear you explore this!

@Notlost-lj9qt

2 жыл бұрын

I agree. Her position in the society in Emma is not often focused on. She is invited to gatherings with people who are now above her position in life. I wonder at how they had to make do and survive with their small income and the gifts they received, while attending events with people who don’t have any of these same concerns. Jane Fairfax has a similar position but age, looks, etc give her an advantage.

@tophatsparrow

2 жыл бұрын

@Dr Octavia Fox I too would love to hear your thoughts on Miss Bates! She is such an underrated character in my opinion. I have a deep sympathy for her situation in life and respect for how she keeps going in spite of her difficulties. I think a weaker person would’ve given in to negative thoughts, I really admire how she keeps going to the extent that she can and is so lovely to all around her, in her own way.

@rachelport3723

2 жыл бұрын

@@DrOctaviaCox I read somewhere - and have come to agree - that we actually are meant to overlook Miss Bates. Most of the clues to the mystery are buried in her chatter, which we readers, like her listeners, largely ignore, letting our minds wander as we skim over the clutter of words. So the author intends - we are meant to disregard her speech as unimportant.

I am so proud that this channel has almost 40K subscribers! I remember that when I first subscribed there were only 45--how far it's come! I came across your channel from your Oxford Jane Austen course but didnt get a chance to take it. I'm glad I still have the opportunity to learn so much from you and get to explore such amazing analyses of the works of my favorite author in a critical manner. Your channel has revolutionized my thinking of not just Austen but also in many ways the discipline of English literature as a whole. I can't thank you enough!

@DrOctaviaCox

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Shiloh Liu for such a lovely compliment - this is exactly what I aim to achieve in my teaching, so it means a great deal to me when students feel this way. And thank you for being a subscriber for such a long time! - I'm quite amazed that my channel has nearly 40k subscribers. I put it down to the brilliance of the primary material!

@anjaknatz7157

Жыл бұрын

@@DrOctaviaCox Not at all ! It is y o u who explains and talks to us so well - as if one were abel to be a student again, who wakes up to a deeper understanding of what she already loves! It reminds me so much and it is such an amazing pleasure to listen to such a well informed mind, to listen carefully to one who knows so much and takes on to transfer it! I could listen to you for hours.

Is another example of phonocentrism in "Pride and Prejudice" in Chapter 58 when Darcy and Elizabeth are walking after Kitty goes to visit to the younger Lucas daughter? Once Kitty is gone, Elizabeth and Darcy can speak freely. Their subsequent conversation clarifies the unresolved need for Elizabeth to thank Darcy for his help and for the two to make their true feeling for each other known.

@DrOctaviaCox

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, there is definitely a sense in the declaration scene in P&P that neither of them (once they have revealed their feelings) _cannot_ _not_ speak! - "There was too much to be thought, and felt, and said..." (ch.58).

Thank you. I always like the ending of Persuasion. Your video helped explain why it was so effective. While I very much love P and P, there is something about "Persuasion" which speaks to me on a more personal level. Perhaps because the masculine perspective is more front and center. Also, the two protagonists are the most rock-solid characters in the novel. Captain Wentworth's love letter is indeed beautiful. Any young man going a courting would do well to study it!

Gosh, the draft ending is beautiful and tugs at the reader's heart, too. I think the second ending with the letter was the right choice, but it speaks to Austin's brilliance that both are excellent.

The very fact that he wrote a letter shows the tenderness of the whole situation he and Anne are in. While he very well could have found a way to be cryptic and speak outwardly to her, interrupting her conversation and also perhaps ending her candid responses, he chose to be as straightforward as he could and as vulnerable too. The letter shows that his internal struggle could match that of Anne’s, and that his feelings were also almost always on the verge of something i.e not in the past, but alive and bubbling in the present. Austen so masterfully balances raw and tender emotion in a male character in such a way that is, in my opinion at least, masculine and strong (he opens the way for further conversation with Anne in a society that doesn’t leave a lot of room for woman to take the first step, and he is direct and sure of what he wants and explains respectfully that whatever her response is will dictate whether he goes into the party or leaves her alone) and also emotionally aware on the best way of it’s being received by Anne, without her audience cringing or feeling like it was cheap. Those kinds of moments can so easily put a sour taste in your mouth, but she found a way to be delicate and believable. No wonder she is one of the greats!

This is a fascinating analysis, and I definitely agree with your points that there is more immediacy and intimacy conveyed in the use of the word "speak" instead of "write." However, in the letter, I believe Captain Wentworth is using the word "speak" in a different context (or at least that there is a double meaning) as a synonym for "declare myself" or "propose." If that is the case, then he couldn't have used the word "write," since it doesn't convey the same meaning.

There’s a reference that kind of refutes and supports the idea when Anne reflects on how Mr Elliot is always too careful in speaking, and how she prefers the more open type of speech.

Such an eloquent letter, written while listening to a conversation so very interesting to him, is a little surprising. But it is such a perfect declaration, I won’t really question it!

😎 Another perspicacious and penetrating analysis of one of the most beautiful passages in Austen. Cox has the rare ability to explain that which Austen lovers have ever treasured, rescuing Austen from painful naive gushings and misguided abuses alike of the last decades (dreadful films, being dissected and dismembered -- poorly and wrongly -- by feminist literature experts, being relegated to "womens' studies departments, being interpreted "modernly") by giving us the real Austen -- smoldering passion, genius that never faulters, rapier wisdom, intrepid soul -- an author beyond classification.

@Mary-cz5nl

2 ай бұрын

Your phrase, "women's studies", reminded me of a religious writer who wondered what there was about his wife's affection for Austen and decided to dip into one of her books...new fan.

Thank you for the interesting discussion. JA is so good at demonstrating communication through letters. The letter Darcy gives Elizabeth to clarify his position with respect to Mr. Bingly and Jane (here he is wrong in his assumption that Jane cares too little for Mr. Bingly) and his disservice to Mr. Wickham (in this instance Elizabeth realizes Wickham had deceived her). A letter is the best vehicle for Darcy to express his feelings because he doesn't feel comfortable talking to people until he knows them well. Now, in Emma on the other hand, she and Mr. Knightly talk freely of their feelings throughout the whole novel.

There is also the pun in the word “speak” used to mean “propose marriage”. I think of the interactions in SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. The question of whether there is an actual engagement and whether anyone should actually ask Marianne. Also what about I P&P - “For heaven’s sake, ma’am, speak lower” at the ball. It is the indiscretion of loudly canvassing her opinions and hopes by Mrs. Bennet that adds so much to the humor. There are all those letters in P&P too

Thank you so much for these lectures. The language here is fascinating: "I can no longer listen in silence.." - but that is exactly what Captain Wentworth does do (apart from any scratchngs that his pen might make when he writes to Anne). I think that I may have said this before (in relation to your talk on free indirect discourse) that "Persuasion" was once (very long ago) probably my least favourite of JA's major novels - my first superficial reading made me think of it as high-class (very high-class) Mills and Boon. Over the years I have learnt just how much more there is to it.

I like the way Austen has her gentlemen break the rules of propriety to write the women they love. These letters allow the writers to explain their thoughts and feelings in ways the characters are unable to do in dialogue.

One of my favourite scenes, which I always read with my heart in my throat - even though I know all will turn out well, but I'm always so caught up in Anne's own anxiety and her trying to calm herself down, and everyone's around her fussing, and she can't collect herself and then there Capt Wentworth is and I can breathe! Thank you for the break down - what I learn here helps me enjoy the novels even more.

In my view, this is also in keeping with English culture. Even today, the English often curb what they wish to vocalise (politeness, dignity and context a potent advocate of vocal curbing.) ... however, if they feel strong enough emotions, they'll write them out in a LETTER! England is likely the only country in the world where the words "I'm going to write them a letter" actually means "I'm feeling strong emotions, I'm going to let the recipient know how I feel, AND" (if they are feeling particularly angry) "I may remove the 'kind' from 'kind regards' at the end of it!" Savage.

I’ve read this book many times now. It’s such a quick read. But once we get to this part in the book I start crying every time and don’t stop till the end. It’s so satisfying every time.

Haven’t watched the whole video yet but this letter is one of my most loved pieces of her writing :D If I remember correctly, we never get this kind of declaration in Austen’s other concluding chapters where lovers finally make themselves understood. Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park are almost a little insulting to the dignity of the heroines; P & P doesn’t include anything specific; S & S is more of an apology; I think the only other one is Emma perhaps, but this one relays real sentiment and feeling. I love listening to it as well when Ciaran Hinds is narrating :)

@stevenlight5006

2 жыл бұрын

A wonderful actor, he did play the role of the captain.

@maryhamric

2 жыл бұрын

I read this novel and I gasped when I read the letter. A supremely sublime moment for me in reading literature.

Your excavations into the text (whatever it may be) are always a revelation and I am continually amazed at how much I learn and how much my own appreciation is increased -- you obviously 'teach' from a place of genuine appreciation yourself so what you convey cannot help but magnify our own -- just sent a small monetary thank you ❤️

Persuasion is my favorite book and I love your videos because you make me fall in love with Austen all over again.

I wonder...how much of her use of letters to emphasize phonocentrism has to do with that late 18th/early 19th century emphasis on the study of rhetoric as one of the core subjects for the educated, cultured person to study? The scene in which Edmund answers his brother's defense of their attempts to put on a "home theatrical" in Mansfield Park also comes to mind. The study of rhetoric at that time put such an importance on "proper" speech (and oration) as a critical skill for the educated gentleman and lady, with books on rhetoric actually even codifying the posture, stance, facial expressions, and gestures that were "appropriate" for the speaker to use for specific types of arguments or statements. So speaking did have, in some ways, some primacy over written communication. The person who could move appropriately in society and who could participate effectively in all of the VERY strictly-structured types of conversations of the time period was more socially-valued than a "scruffy" writer. I mean, she also has several different spots where she discusses either the common "polite world" epistolary style or the ideal epistolary style--again, from Mansfield Park, the description of Lady Bertram's writing style as being expansive but without having any real content (paraphrasing, because I don't have the text in front of me), as one example. I don't know. Definitely not wanting to develop this idea into a full thesis, but the relative values placed on various art forms in that era and culture could definitely influence how artists then viewed and constructed their own work and what aspects of their medium they then chose to emphasize or um, play with.

At 15:55 - Captain Wentworth wants to communicate the physical presence of speaking. It also happens that every time they ARE within physical proximity, someone always seems to intrude on the moment, changing the context of whatever else they might have wanted to say. But here, in the letter, he can communicate without anyone else interrupting his thought.

Oh, she did write with such beauty!

@DrOctaviaCox

2 жыл бұрын

She did indeed!

There seems to be an additional meaning to the actual word "speak" in the Regency that isn't in use today, which adds a layer of intimacy and immediacy to everything you've laid out in this video. I would have to go and do a thorough search through the novels, but if I'm remembering correctly, "speak" is used synonymously with "propose marriage to," *even when it's done in the form of the letter* as Mr. Martin does to Harriet Smith. The idea of "speaking" with regard to marriage has carried into today's language in the term "He/she is spoken for." Obviously Jane didn't mean "I must speak to you" to mean "I must propose marriage to you" when she was writing to her sister, but the difference is that there are very special people we *speak* to, as opposed to merely conversing or talking. I think Jane made that distinction in the novels, using different language for social visits compared to intimate family and friends.

In thinking more about this scene - because I actually just finished reading Persuasion for the first time yesterday - it is just filled with ironic contrasts. Frederick is writing a letter for Captain Harville, apparently because it's too upsetting for Harville to do himself, as Captain Benwick (thoughtlessly) asked Harville to reset a portrait that would have been given to Harville's dead sister, but only months later was being given to another woman (Louisa). Only shortly before that, Harville and Benwick had thought that Frederick was going to marry Louisa, but Harville still asks Frederick to carry out the commission given him by Benwick and get the portrait of Benwick reset to give to Louisa. Meanwhile, Harville is strangely engaging Anne in conversation on the topic of constancy of love, arguing in favour of men's superiority in that domain, when the very reason he was discussing it at all was because of Benwick's inconstancy! It seems constancy, rather than persuasion, should be the theme of the book, as almost everyone in the book appeared inconstant at one point or another. Charles Musgrove had wanted to marry Anne, but when she wouldn't have him he moved straight on to Mary. Henrietta became sidetracked from Charles Hayter when Frederick appeared on the scene. Benwick's apparent despair at the death of Harville's sister was easily overcome by any amiable and available female within speaking distance - first Anne, then Louisa. Frederick appears to be inconstant in chasing Louisa, and in a way he was, because he was trying to make himself love her rather than Anne. Anne's father could be considered inconstant for considering marriage to Mrs Clay (though Anne's mother had been dead a long time, he'd never really loved her), and Mrs Clay herself was inconstant for abandoning Anne's father to be the mistress of Mr Elliot (ANOTHER Mr Elliot). Mr Elliot was inconstant for quickly overcoming his inclination for Anne in order to take in Mrs Clay as a mistress. The only really constant ones might be the Crofts, and to some degree, Anne and Frederick. And maybe Charles Hayter.

Oh wow! The comparison of the draft form of Wentworth's declaration with the final version of it in letter form totally blew my mind. The original draft version is sweet, but very anti-climactic. Whereas the letter version not only holds the tension of the ending high, but it also creates a moment of fear in the reader that Anne might lose him again, that he might slip through her fingers if she doesn't act quickly. The depth of feeling in the letter makes their connection seem so much deeper and so much more intense than it does in the draft version of the ending. Austen probably meant it to be the same feeling in both versions, but the one with the letter cracks everything wide open and finally enables them to openly speak their true feelings to one another again. The whole novel was about unspoken feelings, side glances and overheard conversations with a third party, and them never being able to directly come out and say what they really feel or what they want to say to each other. So, to end this story with a sweet and cosy, almost non-spoken, acceptance of the fact that they belong together is not as satisfying as the ending with the heartfelt letter. Thank you so much for sharing this draft version of the reconciliation because it shows not only how brilliant a writer Jane Austen was, but also how amazing she was at revising her own work. I don't think people understand how at least half the writing process is about revising and editing. Anyway, I already thought her to be a genius, but this little bit of information just totally blew my mind! Love your channel! :D

Thank you for this, and all your other, lectures/expositions. Much appreciated! I’ve only just caught up with this particular episode, and it has prompted me to share something (for what it’s worth). Thank you for introducing the literary technique of phonocentrism…… I wasn’t aware of it as such and have found it very interesting and helpful for a greater understanding of the text. I’m no scholar, but for me this example of phonocentrism, and the pinnacle drama of Wentworth’s outpouring of ‘I can listen no longer in silence…..’ is yet another example (as if it were needed!) of Austen’s total plot mastery. Early on, Wentworth has convinced himself of total indifference to Anne - the end of chapter 7 sees him blithely, and schizophrenically, describing the character and temperament of a woman he seeks to marry (such a choice specifically and ironically espousing Anne’s characteristics [fancy that!]) and fooling himself into a state where anyone with those qualities would do ‘excepting Anne Elliott’. Earlier in chapter 7 Wentworth had confided to Henrietta that Anne was so altered that ‘he should not have known (her) again.’ This could of course simply be with regard to her physical appearance, but one suspects not. In the last para of that chapter, we see his turmoil so exquisitely laced with personal irony and emotional deception. Wentworth will have anyone (almost) except Anne, but it’s the very persona of Anne that’s his criteria for choice, criteria very much and deeply alive despite his profession of now not knowing her (something he later indicated he’d not want Anne to be aware of). We are left to wonder what Sophia must have made of all this, but one imagines she wasn’t fooled! Then for the remaining chapters we see Wentworth continuing to emotionally mislabel and struggle against his true feelings towards Anne (something Anne never does) presumably because he’s told himself that the short attachment they had mutually engaged in was now so subsumed within him that it had become a faded memory with no power of residual emotional pull. The winding path of his journey of coming to terms with this emotional truth is evident as the tale unfolds; but wonderfully, and crucially, we come to the dénouement (as you put it) upon Anne’s ‘I’m not so much altered’ response to Wentworth’s remembrance of her poor card playing abilities (as if he'd care in his denial situation!) followed by the serendipitous on-going conversation which Anne has with Captain Harville regarding the constancy of the sexes which, on Wentworth’s over hearing, finally tips him into emotional truth and reality. His brain had informed him that Anne’s inconsistency towards him had justified his withdrawal, which to Anne is seen as, and a demonstration of, a lack of constancy. He loved, she loved, he didn’t, she did. He finally realises and accepts at last that his attachment for her has been constant all this time (it was only his intellect that was out of square), and his inner pain on hearing Anne say that women ‘lov(e) longest’ propels him into ‘speaking’ to her via letter which is the stab to his heart which finally and irrevocably drives denial out and allows certain truth in. Parenthetically, there’s a compelling foil, or mirror, (in my mind), and another layer of the plot, to Wentworth’s and Anne’s situation as portrayed in Captain Benwick and his tragic loss of Captain Harville’s sister, especially in the final paragraphs of chapter 11. Anne in effect, in her soothing advice to Benwick, also captures the essence of the conflict she and Wentworth are grappling with, and she wonders about and considers the disparity between the intellect and the heart in such matters. Here she recommends some select literature to help the afflicted Benwick; but in the end (and she knows this) it’s the reality of the human factor which decides the day for the two couples, which in Benwick’s case is in finding love with (an altered) Louisa. This final realisation for Wentworth and Anne superbly resolves all the emotional tension both have (all too humanly!) been fighting with throughout the narrative, in a way so organically and realistically constructed by Austen from the very beginning. In the final analysis Wentworth and Anne had actually been constant with each other during their ‘separation’, but ultimately they needed the teeth of others’ cogs to mesh with theirs before things operated properly and in alignment for each. It’s a beautiful tale, and fittingly has a depth of content commensurate with its late composition.

The most romantic letter ever. Right up there with Keats' love letters to Fanny Braun

From what I remember from books of the period, "speak" was used as a metaphor for declaring one's feelings and/or proposing marriage. "He must speak!" "Did he speak to you?", etc. Think it was used as late as the 1930s -- remember it from Cold Comfort Farm.

I see your videos and I pounce on them. I honestly prefer written words than spoken because you can look back and reread to see if you’ve misread, which you can’t necessarily do with a speaker. I also believe two people can deliver the exact same words and convey completely different meanings, therefore are able to take something meant to say one thing and give it an entirely different meaning. The last few years of American politics are a clear example of this, tho I supposed in this context their voice can give more insight to the intent. It’s a shame that we’ve lost the knack and desire to write letters. And then to ask questions to clarify what the writer meant to say before taking an offense. People are rapidly losing the ability to speak with intimacy at all. We’re devolving into grunts and monosyllabic responses. I won’t even go into how people text bizarre spellings or just use emojis instead of language. Don’t get me wrong, I use some shortcuts myself when texting. People do not read. There can be 25 massive signs in bright red within a 10 foot radius telling them something and they ask a person anyway. They read only headlines and assume they know the story just from them. Children aren’t taught English properly anymore. Mine are adults aged 30, 28, and 25 and none can diagram a sentence. One of them says her terrible spelling doesn’t matter. She writes business emails every day for a tech giant. The fact that there are now programs to correct grammar, spelling, syntax, and even usage marketed to COLLEGE students appalls me. Even autocorrect will change what I think are words in common usage to nonsense. People complain that children aren’t taught to read cursive when they’re not being taught to read or write. Their vocabularies are stunted. Parents are complaining that students have to read a book for class. We’re absolutely losing all ability to communicate intelligibly or believe at least half of what we hear or read. Sorry for the rant but I love books and stories and language that colors the world. Austin was a master. You can see, hear, and smell her world. For her heroines you can feel the time dragging by. She used language beautifully and I’ve always wondered what it would be like to speak to her in person.

@debbiericker8223

2 жыл бұрын

I used to love diagramming sentences (back when dinosaurs roamed the planet). It was like solving a puzzle.

@andrewsmith8454

2 жыл бұрын

From the Wikipedia article on phonocentrism: 'Ong has argued that American society is particularly opposed to phonocentrism. He believes that one cause of this is the fact that written documents, such as the United States Constitution, form a key part of American national identity. He also notes that many Americans view the reality of words as defined by dictionaries rather than by vocal speech. He has stated, "We are so literate in ideology that we think writing comes naturally. We have to remind ourselves from time to time that writing is completely and irremediably artificial."'

I have to say that, following such a penetrating analysis of the significance of "speech" through writing and the contrast between it and actual speech, the draft version of the scene irresistably brings to mind Mr Bumble and Mrs Corney from _Oliver Twist,_ rather than any more exalted proposal scene. Perhaps we can say that, in writing, Wentworth can not only express his love, but the reasons for his love - with a spoken declaration, the reasons can be superfluous, if not downright harmful, as Darcy learned to his cost.

The high drauma of letter-writing, where people are so overcome they HAVE to withdraw and write a long, detailed text reminds me rather of the reasons one should not send email in an angry state. A written letter is a much greater risk than an encounter where the "dialogue" of body language can be read and the written word fills in what people want from romance -- a clear understanding of what a lover might be thinking and feeling at a key moment. On the other hand, there's something to be said for that scraped ending. In love stories about rich courtly love stuff, from Shakespeare on out, the implication seems to be that the only or most mannerly way to conduct romance, given the messiness of the feelings involved, is to send mail. Here we have a genre trope of adults running around like high schoolers stuffing notes in eachother's lockers rather than interacting with eachother's reactions directly. Letters do wonders for detailing and prolonging the vicarious experience of love for readers and filling in necessary blanks, but the idea of a conversation of body language when, after much talk, words fail, is really theatrical too. And, once we have a moment like that, much of what might be in a letter CAN be real visceral conversation with all reactions described. I think much of this letter content is about the burden of courtship rituals or convenience for writers. Austen does the trick fabulously, but the other ending is at least as interesting.

I love you channel. I treat it as a Masters Class in English Literature, which I always wanted to take at University but never had the chance. If you ever decided to have a real class, I will be the first to sign up.

Really enjoyed this video. Also thought it was interesting in that by having the letter as a vehicle for the declaration, we have one of the few instances in Austen's novels where we are able to get a description of the same scene from two different viewpoints. It makes the letter more authentic as it shows how different characters might focus on different things that are happening, but it also draws more attention to the distance still between Anne and Wentworth right at the point when they are trying to move back into harmony in their relationship.

Netflix has just released the trailer for their Persuasion, many here will watch it with mixed feelings. Their Anne looks to be far more playful than book Anne. The playful characters in Jane Austen, Elizabeth Bennet, Henry Tilney, Mary Crawford, are all shown with a family member with whom the playfulness can develop naturally in a safe space. There is not one playful person in Anne’s life, Lady Russel loves her but is not playful. Lady Eliott May have been playful as Miss Stevenson, but that fragile quality is unlikely to have survived 17 years of matrimony with Sir Walter. The other hint in the Netflix trailer is the way they are representing Annes’s interior monologues. It is a huge part of her appeal but not easy to bring to screen. ITV 2007 used the diary, this one seems to be directly to camera. It is always fascinating to see how scriptwriters deal with the source material, this gives the devoted reader/viewer another chance to reflect on their own take and extend.

I want to know more about this Mr. Lushington. He sounds like a character Austen could've created.

I loved this video thank you and yes how true! I always looked at the letter as a veil And nothing compares to Anne running in the streets with the letter clutched in her hand to find him. It’s truly one of the most beautiful sequences in any of Jane Austen’s novels. She leaves me holding my breath every time. Thank you

I just finished reading Persuasion for the first time and this scene in particular struck me so viscerally. The letter is beautiful. It brought tears to my eyes. I agree with your assessment here and I believe the revised version, the one that made it in the end, is definitely the stronger choice.

Is Mr Lushington a real name or is that an 1800's version of "McDreamy"? Either way I'm adopting it as my new code word.

You make me want to study literature, I get so much more from my favourite books hearing these elements! Do you think Austen consciously made these changes, utilising these techniques, or do you think this is how she wrote naturally and just knew one sounded “better”?

For me, one of the most effective instances where Jane Austen chose to employ the phonocentricism (is that a word?) of a spoken conversation (related by the Author) contrasted with the written word is when Mr. Darcy, having spoken of his love for Elizabeth Bennett and been verbally refused, then chooses to write to her of his motivations, actions and his dealings with Mr. Wickham. It would certainly have been ungainly in the design of the novel, but Jane Austen could easily have had him bluster out all the information conveyed in the letter. But Mr. Darcy’s character would have been materially altered. And think how much less powerful that letter would have been had the scene between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett been related by Elizabeth in a letter to her sister Jane. I have read that “Pride and Prejudice” was originally an epistolary novel. But, in revision, Jane Austen dexterously uses (related) speech and written messages to invites her readers to use their own intelligence to read both speech and writing and come to an understanding of her characters and appreciate their “real-ness.” In “Persuasion,” I think she does this masterfully.

Having just re-read Northanger Abbey, in that work at least, the main character's struggles arise primarily from her phonocentric assumption that others' primary meaning can be understood from their literal words.

The ' cancelled chapter' version with its 'silent but very powerful dialogue' also puts speech at the centre. Austen makes it clear that the body language of, and glances exchanged between, Wentworth and Anne imply a proposal and acceptance; his subsequent 'My own dear Anne' is simply the voicing of something that has already been silently agreed between them.

I love your dress, nothing to do with Jane but I must say it. Great videos. I love the deepness of your analysis

I think this from the end of Mrs. Gardiner's letter to Lizzy is an example: "Will you be very angry with me, my dear Lizzy, if I take this opportunity of saying (what I was never bold enough to say before) how much I like him?" This, like Wentworth's letter, shows how it is sometimes easier to speak in writing than within the social restraints making speech difficult or impossible, yet conveying an intimacy between writer and reader. The scene at the inn exemplifies all the constraints that exist between Anne and Wentworth throughout the novel. They aren't courting; their courtship happened eight years and a half ago. Now they are in company repeatedly with people who know nothing of that former relationship, and in which he appears to be courting someone else. Here they are in a room at an inn, with several other people in the room, I don't think Wentworth was capable at that moment of politely joining in the conversation - his feelings demanded open expression, and he could not do that without the privacy and intimacy of a letter. Imagine how Harville or Wentworth's sister, who was also present, not to mention the clueess Mrs. Musgrove, would have reacted to seeing him suddenly expressing his love for Anne! Thank you for this lovely video. I always look forward to what you have to say. I have, by the way, the recent edition of Pride and Prejudice that has the letters written by scribes and it's fascinating to be able to hold this letters. Holding Darcy's letter on two sheets covered completely and the envelope also written over, is electric. When I did that for the first time, I couldn't help wishing I could do the same with Wentworth's letter!

I like how she turns it around in Sense and Sensibility. Willoughby’s final letter to Marianne turns out not to be his words at all, but his wife’s. The letter is cold and formal and not at all like Willoughby. When he gets to speak to Marianne at last (through Elinor) it is passionate, vulnerable, self chastising and very real.

@jen-dy6tm

8 ай бұрын

I never even thought about that! The element of impersonation is potentially present in a letter - dictated by another- but much less so in person.

I think it's something we often do, referring to ourselves as "speaking" in writing. I always considered it as a sort of unimportant abuse of language, not a significant figure of speech, but thinking of it now I guess it makes sense.

I have always loved this particular letter, and this video simply made me crazy about it!!

As soon as I saw you had uploaded I couldn't help smiling. Your videos are excellent and so thoughtful.

Great insight! Persuasion is one of my favorites

"I can listen no longer in silence," emphasizes this, since he does only silently listen (and write).

Well, now I must say that I enjoyed watching this video and reading the comment section immensely! Such an interesting point and conveyed to us in a captivating way.

As I watched Disney's what if... I always wondered how close it was, for Anne to marry Sir Elliot? What If she did marry Sir Elliot? Or married Captain Benwick? He seemed to like her at first. I wonder 🤔

Doctor Cox, I am wondering if one week, you could do a presentation (or perhaps an additional one) not on the primary texts, but on the sort of texts used to learn literary theory. I really appreciate your close readings, and feel that I would like to learn more about how to look closely at a text myself. Do other listeners have suggestions for me as well? I know many of you are well educated in the area.

Very interesting analysis and, as you say Octavia, the novel is filled with irony throughout regarding the theme and relationship of speaking and writing - Austen was so clever! The fact the two hardly say a word to each other throughout the entire story is so ironic - in that his final speech to her (still through the silence of writing) is ironically so present and powerful as you say. I find this to be so profound! The only word you use Octavia that I question is your use of the word symbolic - a symbol is meaning derived through convention (as in the meaning of a flag where there is no direct relationship between signifier and signified). I don't think any of the artistic meaning created in this book is derived at symbolically - but rather, through the use of irony, which is in many ways actually the opposite of symbolism. But I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis. thank you.

Most interesting, thanks. I love Jane Austen and am rereading P&P for the umpteenth time.

Seeing this again in my feed. So excellent and just as interesting the second time as the first. Thank you!

So excited for this!!!

My birthday is tomorrow and I love Jane Austen, thank you for this video!

I think one way the two versions differ is the published version makes Wentworth more honorable than Bentham or Elliot. We know, based on their brides, that neither suffered half in agony or half in hope whether they would be accepted. Wentworth is everything Austen thinks a man should be but he is not full of himself. He doesn't intrude on Anne's private conversation to declare himself. We know Anne was often put at disadvantage by others' public declarations that she had to agree to. Instead by writing he allows her to decide on her own whether or not to accept him. Her decision, whatever it might be would remain between them. In the original with supplication and acceptance the balance is off. What does he have to apologize for really? And acceptance doesn't require anything of Anne but to take what she is given which she has done throughout the novel. In the published version she is forced to make the choice for herself a much more satisfactory ending. Thanks for these readings I am enjoying them.

Thank you for speaking about this. I consider Persuasion to be Austen's most thought provoking work. Wentworth's letter is luscious tension; very glad she made that edit.

That was brill! Thank you :)

I have adored Jane Austen for a couple of decades now, but your videos are helping me develop a much deeper appreciation for her writing. Thank you so much for sharing your insight.

Thank you for the video!

I really appreciate these analyses you have done with Austen's writings- very informative, fascinating and thought provoking. I believe Capt Wentworth would NOT have spoken to Anne Elliot in that moment, because one: she's engaged in a conversation with another and two: what he has to say, wants to say, are words that are meant only for Anne Elliot to hear. It's rare someone on the cusp of bursting out about their feelings towards another, would do so in such a public setting; that's why they end up walking through the park: what they have to say is for their ears only, in private. This is the most beautiful letter I have read in ANY book, which expresses so powerfully the hold he has on his feelings and the desire to share them with Anne. Also, in the discarded ending, Wentworth is able to speak, BECAUSE they are alone. This is not possible in a room filled with Capt Harville, Mrs Musgrove, The Admiral's wife and whoever else was there: these are not emotions to be spilled where outsiders can hear them.

Brilliant, as always.

@DrOctaviaCox

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, A D!

I wish I could take one of your classes

Thanks you for this lecture. You made my day because I enjoy all your Austen literary insights.

Thanks for this lovely video and great explanation

Interesting analysis, thank you.

I love and appreciate all of your Austen videos and also your dress is very pretty!!

You are fantastic Octavia, thank you for your brilliant videos!

I love the depths of your analyses you do on this channel to that point that I've just read the Persuasion to be able to watch this video with understanding and without spoilers. And I think I'll read all of Jane Austin's other novels as well in order to be able watch your analyses and really enjoy them 🙈

I think Captain Wentworth saying, “I CAN LISTEN no longer…” also puts the reader in the room, so to speak, with the characters. As it is written in the present tense, first person “listening”, we are right there in the room with the three-being carried away with the discussion between Anne and Captain Harville and agonizing with Captain Wentworth listening to the discussion. I think it places the reader in the room much more than a third person, “Captain Wentworth listened…” would do.

As I'm listening and appreciating, another thought abt Wentworth, and what his letter reveals abt him & Anne personally. They are always alone in a crowd. Family, and social obligations, press in and take precedence...until the end, when Anne finds that her understanding and wondering are indeed matched with his. His letter, which is his reveal, is private, and symbolizes circumventing all those demands and finally making a space for them, together, but Just Them. It fits his passionate nature to find a way to be 'outspoken', and claim attachment to Anne, in a way they couldn't resist when they first met.

Wonderful analysis.

I love your lectures. I feel I am back in Classic Liturature class at University

great video!

Brilliant video.