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1 Deborah Mondadori Simionato the Many Journeys in Jane Austen's Persuasion DEBORAH MONDADORI SIMIONATO THE MANY JOURNEYS IN JANE AUSTEN’S PERSUASION: SOCIAL, GEOGRAPHICAL AND EMOTIONAL CROSSINGS PORTO ALEGRE 2016 1 UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL INSTITUTO DE LETRAS PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM LETRAS ÁREA DE ESTUDOS DE LITERATURA LINHA DE PESQUISA: SOCIEDADE, (INTER)TEXTOS LITERÁRIOS E TRADUÇÃO NAS LITERATURAS ESTRANGEIRAS MODERNAS THE MANY JOURNEYS IN JANE AUSTEN’S PERSUASION: SOCIAL, GEOGRAPHICAL AND EMOTIONAL CROSSINGS AUTORA: DEBORAH MONDADORI SIMIONATO ORIENTADORA: SANDRA SIRANGELO MAGGIO Dissertação de mestrado em Literaturas de Língua Inglesa, submetida ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul como requisito parcial para obtenção do título de Mestre. Porto Alegre, Março, 2016. 2 FICHA CATALOGRÁFICA SIMIONATO, Deborah Mondadori The Many Journeys in Jane Austen’s Persuasion: Social, Geographical and Emotional Crossings. Deborah Mondadori Simionato Porto Alegre: UFRGS, Instituto de Letras, 2016. 141 p. Dissertação (Mestrado - Programa de Pós-graduação em Letras) Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. 1. Literatura inglesa. 2. Jane Austen. 3. Persuasão. 4. Jornadas. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Living my dreams is only possible due to the unwavering support of my parents, without whom I would not be here today, so I would like to start by thanking them. Dad, I want to thank you for always believing in me, and assuring me I could do whatever I wished – as long as I read. Maybe someday I will work in the family business, but for now, I will just keep on reading. Mum, you are my Wonder Woman, and nothing I might try to say about you and your never-ending love will do you justice, so I will just thank you for everything, always. Alongside the beginning of the Master’s came Chris Britton. Thank you for being my official proofreader and for putting up with my frustration and self-doubt when writing was hard. I hope one day to see myself the way you see me – in the meantime, I will strive to be that person. Thank you for always being there, no matter what. Thank you to all the Brittons, especially to Vicki and Ernan, who have been as supportive as my own parents through this journey. I am very lucky to have two families now. To my soul sisters, Lúcia Collischonn de Abreu and Mariana Fonseca. Thank you for all the late night chats, skype calls, across-the-ocean support. Long live strident feminists! Thank you to Ana Iris Ramgrab, for brainstorming with me when I felt stuck, for always understanding my references, and for all the pub quizzes won. A massive thank you to all my friends who have been by my side since I can remember. Renata Campielo, Camila Dutra, Bruno Vidor and Diego Socca, life would not be the same without you in it. This thesis would not have happened without the constant encouragement and acceptance of my “academic mother” and adviser, Sandra Sirangelo Maggio. You have allowed me to write something that is me throughout, and have kept the cups of tea coming. Thank you for all the stories and steadfast support. Thank you to CNPq for providing me with a scholarship that was vital for my experience of the past two years, as it gave me the chance to plunge thoroughly into my research both in Brazil and in England. I will be forever thankful to Miss Jane Austen, for she has given me so much. 4 Resumo Com apenas seis romances completos, Jane Austen foi capaz de pintar um retrato ímpar da sociedade rural da Inglaterra do final do século dezoito e início do século dezenove. Através da obra de Austen, o leitor é transportado para duzentos anos atrás, entra em contato com os desafios e problemas enfrentados pelas personagens, aproximando-se assim da vida dos ingleses daquele período. O conhecimento minucioso que Austen possuía daquilo que a cercava e a forma como foi capaz de inserir esse mundo em seus escritos são o motor desta tese de Mestrado, que propõe uma leitura de Persuasão (1817), o último romance completo escrito por Jane Austen, com foco nas jornadas geográficas, sociais e psicológicas apresentadas; e explorando tais jornadas com o objetivo de melhor compreender a obra de Austen. O trabalho vem dividido em quatro capítulos. O primeiro traz um panorama da vida da Austen e das circunstâncias políticas e econômicas da Inglaterra em que ela viveu. Os três capítulos seguintes analisam Persuasão: o capítulo dois discute as principais jornadas sociais apresentadas no romance, com atenção especial ao declínio da aristocracia em contraste com a ascensão do homem empreendedor que “se fez” por conta própria, representados aqui por Sir Walter Elliot e pelo Capitão Frederick Wentworth, respectivamente. O capítulo três viaja com os personagens pela Inglaterra e explora os lugares que eles visitam, priorizando os dois locais mais proeminentes para a história visitados por eles, a cidade costal de Lyme Regis, e a cidade turística de Bath, investigando – com a ajuda de acadêmicos especialistas em Austen como Maggie Lane e John Whiltshire – o impacto desses locais nas personagens e no modo como influenciam seus movimentos. O capítulo quatro analisa as jornadas pessoais das personagens, com atenção especial para as mudanças de espírito e humor em Anne Elliot, através do texto “Luto e Melancolia” de Sigmund Freud, objetivando compreender o que acontece com a personagem, e como ela supera o luto, recupera sua vivacidade e encontra seu caminho. Ao final deste trabalho, espero que as considerações aqui apresentadas possam contribuir, através do uso dessas “lentes de viagem”, para o conjunto de análises críticas sobre Persuasão, pois jornadas são mais do que apenas movimentos físicos de um local a outro: elas podem ter efeitos profundos e permanentes. Palavras-chave: 1. Literatura inglesa. 2. Jane Austen. 3. Persuasão. 4. Jornadas Sociais 5. Jornadas Geográficas. 6. Jornadas Emocionais. 5 Abstract With only six complete novels, Jane Austen was able to paint a unique portrait of the genteel society of England in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Through Austen’s works, the twenty-first century reader is transported two hundred years back in time, gets in touch with the trials and tribulations of her characters, and gains an insight into the lives of English people during that time. Austen’s thorough knowledge of her surroundings, and how she expertly inserted them into her writings, are the motors of this thesis. This Master’s Degree Thesis proposes a reading of Persuasion (1817), the last complete novel written by Jane Austen, considering the geographical, social and psychological journeys presented, exploring said journeys in order to better comprehend Austen’s final novel. This thesis is divided into four chapters. The first contextualizes Austen’s life and the social and political circumstances of the England she knew. The three ensuing chapters analyse Persuasion: chapter two discusses the main social journeys found in the novel, with special attention to the decline of the aristocracy and the rise of the self-made-man, here represented by Sir Walter Elliot and Captain Wentworth, respectively. Chapter three travels with the characters around England and surveys the places they visit, with focus in the two most prominent locations in the novels, the seaside town of Lyme Regis, and the watering resort of Bath, exploring – with the help of Austen scholars such as Maggie Lane and John Wiltshire – the impact of those places on the characters, their relationships with said places and how they face their movements. Lastly, chapter four delves into the main characters’ personal journeys, focusing on Anne’s shifting states-of-mind, utilising Sigmund Freud’s text “Mourning and Melancholy” to understand what happens to her, how she overcomes her mourning, regains her bloom and finds her way back to Wentworth. At the end of the work, I hope to shed light on the importance of the “travel goggles” when it comes to analysing literary texts, Persuasion in particular, as I believe that journeys are more than just trips undertaken to get from one place to the other physically: they can have deeper and ever-lasting effects. Keywords: 1. English literature. 2. Jane Austen. 3. Persuasion. 4. Social Journeys. 5. Geographical Journeys. 6. Emotional Journeys. 6 Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wand'ring bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me prov'd, I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd. William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116 7 Table of Contents AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY……………………………………………… 10 1 THE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY………………………………………………… 20 1.1 NOVEL TIMES…………………………………………………………........... 20 1.2 KING GEORGE’S MADNESS AND THE REGENCY……………………… 29 1.3 SEARCHING FOR A PLACE………………………………………………... 35 2 SOCIAL CROSSINGS………………………………………………………... 55 2.1 BARONETAGE VS. THE NAVY LIST……………………………………… 56 2.2 THE CLASH OF GENERATIONS: OLD VS. NEW………………………... 64 2.3 STATION VS WARMTH……………………………………………………... 69 3 GEOGRAPHICAL CROSSINGS…………………………………………… 73 3.1 FROM KELLYNCH TO UPPERCROSS: AWAY FROM HOME………… 79 3.2 LYME REGIS: A WALK DOWN THE COBB……………………………… 85 3.3 BATH AND BEYOND………………………………………………………… 95 4 EMOTIONAL CROSSINGS………………………………………………… 105 4.1 FINDING ANNE ELLIOT……………………………………………………. 107 4.2 GENDER SWAP……………………………………………………………… 114 4.3 ONE FOOT IN SEA, ONE ON SHORE……………………………………… 121 THERE AND BACK AGAIN………………………………………………… 125 REFERENCES…………………………………………………..…………….
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