Interest Of Mr Elliot example essay topic

Marriage is a word well known by all, which means or represents the legal union between a woman and a man as the Larousse dictionary states, but what is unknown for everyone are the motives that lead to that union since they can go from love to interest and change from case to case. Since the motives for a marriage can also be influenced by the society where the marriage is going to take place, in the novel "Persuasion" Jane Austen, the author, exposes some of the different motives that lead to a marital union under the influence of the XIX century, which principally are love, society rank and wellness meaning interest and last but not least loneliness and desperation. The principal motive that lead to a marriage in the XIX century according to Jane Austen was interest, since is the motive more represented in her works. But this does not mean that interest was always focused on the same path.

Rather by using the character of Mr. Elliot, the author, drives us to see and exposes the different directions interest as a motif could take. Firstly, Mr. Elliot marriages with a "fine woman with a large fortune" (132), letting us know that for the XIX century society the simplest way of getting money was marrying with a person that had it and it was not considered 'reprehensible's ince it was a way 'to do the best for itself' (190). This practise was 'too common' (190) in Jane Austen's society, and in order to that, people was immune to get affected by a union of interest. This is confirm by a comment of Mrs. Smith, a friend of Mr. Elliot who while talking about the motives of Mr. Elliot to marry says that "when one lives in the world, a man or woman's marrying for money is too common to strike one as it ought". (190). The interest as a motive strikes again with Mr. Elliot, but in this instance his interest was driven not by money but by his interest to keep his social rank.

The interest of marrying to ascend in society or to keep the same social rank was very common, since the society of the author was focused on the importance of the persons not for they good acts and deeds, but by the title that followed their family name and it is for this that Mr. Elliot was not able to "bear the idea of not being Sir William". (195). But the motive of keeping one's social rank elevated, was not only the case of certain Sirs in Austen's society, but it was a very common and leading motive in women. Women where more interested in getting to marry with a person of high rank or of the same social level than men, thing that had to do with the fact that a woman after marrying was to inherit the social class of her husband without mattering if her social rank before marrying was higher or lower. But this fact does not have to do with Mr. Elliot since he was already a Sir and he was a man. Rather his baronetcy was threaten by the possibility of Sir Walter Elliot, the uncle from who Mr. Elliot was a heir, to get married again with Mrs Clay and have a male baby that would become the new heir.

The interest of Mr. Elliot to save his title drove him to ask in marriage the hand of one of Sir Walter Elliot daughters, Anne, with the one he would be able to have a baby heir. Since Anne rejected Mr. Elliot's hand, his selfish desire drove him to do what "he could", "something for his own interest and his own enjoyment". (236). The thing that Mr. Elliot did in order to save his baronetcy was to 'prevent' Mrs. Clay 'from being the wife of Sir Walter Elliot' (236) by taking her to establish with him, Mr. Elliot in London. After considering part of the motives that lead to a marriage in the book "Persuasion" as well in other of the works of Jane Austen, it becomes more that evident that even if Jane Austen accepts the condition and the blindness towards the important matters and the right motifs of her society, but she does not feels identified with it at all, and that is why she always portraits her society in a satirical way. Jane Austen makes clear to the reader that behind a marriage or union by selfish interest true happiness and enjoyment can not be found.

In her task of displaying what kind of motifs could lead to truthful happiness, Austen recreates attraction by 'situation' as a motif by using Captain Benwick and Louisa Musgrove, without being blind to the influence of interest as a motif, which is going to be always present in an union but that is going to be incline towards good, since interest can be right hearted. Since the union of Captain Benwick with Louisa was one imposed by situation, it becomes important to the reader to understand the frame of circumstances. Captain Benwick was 'an excellent young man' (94) who was mourning the dead of his fianc'e, meaning that his heart was hurt, that he was suffering. Louisa by the other hand was suffering not in soul but in flesh the pains of a fall. In matters of personality, Louisa was "high spirited" and "joyous" while Captain Benwick was "dejected", a "thinker", a "feeler" and a "reader" (158), and according to persons that knew them, everything of each of them, of Captain Benwick and Louisa, seemed to not suit the other. The situation was more pointed to make them fall in love since despite their commonness in suffering, they where together almost all the time, without more company and he used to take care of her while she was recovering and his interest was to give love and receive love back since he had an affectionate heart.

Many of the marriages take place not as consummation of a love affair, but because two persons have found someone near to what they are expecting at certain point of their lives. This statement becomes meaningful in the union of Cap. Benwick with Louisa and since they were young and each of them liked something about the other, even if it was only a matter of work as it was the case of Louisa who liked the navy, it was very possible for them to 'soon grow more alike' (158) as another acquainted of them mentioned once and since they interest was pure, the same acquainted mentioned that "she saw no reason against their being happy". (158). After considering the example of this couple who was prone to achieve happiness we pass to examine the motive that in Jane Austen eyes was the conductor for a truly happy union. Love is meant to be the strongest bound for a union but it is only shown in totality in one marriage which is the case of the Crofts, which becomes an ideal of happiness and of marriage also.

The love as a motive leads them to have a life full of meaning and enjoyment and leads them to pass the barriers set by the social world where the world of the woman was separate from the one of the man and where the two worlds were un-mixable, since Mr. croft helps at home and participates in the female world and Mrs. Croft participates in the men world by living in a boat, driving, helping his husband in taking decisions, etc. By unions of this type, Jane Austen was trying to highlight that when the heart has good motives and love leads for a union, things as money are not important for happiness. The motif of love in Jane Austen's eyes was good considered and we learn this from the fact than rather than just showing the kind of Union of love, she uses it as an example for the young ones. We see this in the case of Anne who seeing in the Crofts an ideal of happy love mentions when speaking about her relationship with Captain Wentworth that "with the exception perhaps of Admiral and Mrs Croft, who seemed particularly attached and happy... There could have being no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so unison, no countenances so beloved". (63).

And this happiness that love brings was noticeable not only by those who were in love, since Louisa Musgrove, before meeting her husband, who was already mentioned Captain Benwick, mentions basing her self in Mrs. Croft that if she "loved a man, as she loves the Admiral, I would be always with him, nothing should ever separate us, and I would rather be overturned by him, that driven safely by anybody else". (83). Love is such a fine link for a union and it is so vital for happiness and for the being that Jane Austen tries to make a print of that in ourselves. Comments originating from Mrs. Crofts makes us feel how sincere and deep a relation can be when the right motives like love are the ones that direct the union.

One of this comments is the one found in page 70 where she relates that 'the only time that she was frighten was when she was without her husband' because as long as they could be together 'nothing ever ailed her, and she has never met with the smallest inconvenience'. Definitely Jane Austen finds truth and sincerity in love, even do this one is not free of interest, but the interest of this one is pure, since the interest that carries is not the one of thy self but the fulfilment of the interests of the person whom is loved. By means of the example of the Croft's Jane Austen was trying to set not only an ideal for the young characters of her novel, but also for the beings that were to read her novel, and ideal that is truthful an meaningful even in our days and it is going to continue like that for ever. The example that she leaves us is going to be helpful when considering the heart motives to act, not only when is about marriage but in all aspects of our lives, since the principle is the same and we understand thank to the influence of the novel "Persuasion" that everything that is do with the right motive and love is going to lead to total happiness and success. Austen Jane. Persuasion.

New York: Oxford University Press Inc, 1998. Gary " ia-Pela yo Ram " on. Little Larousse I lustrated. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Larousse, 1992.