The above sketch is the closest thing we have to a real portrait of English writer Jane Austen. It was drawn by Jane’s sister, Cassandra Austen (c.1810). It is an unfinished pencil-and-watercolour sketch and it shows Jane seated, looking away, with a rather serious expression. It is considered the only portrait known to have been drawn from life.
Welcome again to my Wednesday literature segment, which features the second and final extract from Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Despite finishing the book a month ago, it still lingers in the recesses of my mind. I point you to my previous article on the book, The Navy (Jane Austen), for a more detailed breakdown of my connection with it.
As an aside, one of my favourite gifts is a bookmark I received from my family here in Colombia. You may have seen it sticking out of my books in some of the images I’ve shared before. I thought I’d show it to you because it’s just so sweet, while also being uplifting and encouraging.
Now back to today’s very short 2 page excerpt from Persuasion, about the turning point in the novel where Louisa Musgrove takes a fall from a ‘cobb‘ – which, if you were wondering like me, is a stone harbour wall. It’s a serious fall too. She strikes her head and is left badly injured and unconscious.
The fall comes about because she is flirting with Captain Frederick Wentworth and asks him to catch her as she jumps down from the harbour wall. It causes particular heartache for the novel’s protagonist and heroine, Anne Elliot, because she still loves Wentworth. In fact, the novel tells the story of their delicate and tentative reunion after Wentworth returns from years of naval service.
We learn that eight years earlier Anne and Wentworth had been engaged, but Anne is persuaded not to marry him by her close family friend and former governess, Lady Russell, who believes the match is imprudent because Wentworth has little fortune or position at the time. Hence the title of the book – Persuasion.
Also, this was Austen’s final completed novel before she succumbed to an undiagnosed illness in 1817 at just forty-one years of age. Austen herself remained unmarried and childless throughout her life, and in light of Anne Elliot’s frustrations and regrets at being once so close, yet so far from the love of her life because of societal pressure, it’s easy to see why many readers have felt there are echoes of Austen’s own circumstances in the story. It makes the novel all the more poignant.
Without further ado, I present to you ‘Louisa’s Fall’ from Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Below that you can find the film adaptation from Persuasion (2007) of the incident and its immediate aftermath.
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I am not a big Jane Austen fan but have been thinking about trying again. We shall see.
I understand totally. As I wrote in my previous extract from ‘Persuasion’ I was apprehensive about reading it because my thinking was that I read stories to escape the petulance, gossip, and trivialities of elite social circles. But after early slow going, I found myself pleasantly surprised becoming more immersed and appreciative of Austen’s subtle but witty linguistic sensibilities.
I had read that ‘Pride and Prejudice’ was the best book for newcomers to her work, but it wasn’t available. Have you read that?
I started and DNF. Hated it. I guess Austen just isn’t for everybody.
Fair enough.
Lo fascinante de la obra es cómo el orgullo hace que alguien se vuelva repentinamente distante tras un desacuerdo, creyendo que castiga al otro con su indiferencia. Spoiler para los intensos que se alejan: Wentworth pasó ocho años ignorando a Anne solo para admitir que seguía muriéndose por ella. El desapego fingido cansa, la honestidad enamora
Estoy totalmente de acuerdo con tu análisis sobre la inutilidad de la indiferencia ante el amor que se tienen. ¡Tu predicción es acertada! Pero a Wentworth le hicieron creer que Anne no quería que se concretara su compromiso. ¿Qué otra cosa podía pensar? Al menos, ocho años después, lograron superar eso.
Precisamente por eso, lo maduro habría sido hablar con ella y asegurarse de la verdad. Pero a veces trasladamos esos mismos errores a nuestra propia vida. De haber hablado de frente, la trama habría sido otra. Las obras de Austen se destacan justamente por el carácter y la evolución de sus protagonistas; en Orgullo y prejuicio, por ejemplo, Darcy y Elizabeth no resuelven sus vidas asumiendo cosas en silencio, sino confrontando su orgullo con honestidad. Al final, la comunicación es lo que define el verdadero carácter, tanto en la literatura como en la realidad”.
Bueno, al final Wentworth le contó la verdad (por escrito, claro, jaja), y se podría decir que lo mismo ocurrió a la inversa durante sus ocho años de separación. Estoy totalmente de acuerdo en que podemos arrastrar esos mismos errores a nuestras propias vidas, algo que admito que también me ha pasado por orgullo, inseguridades y problemas de autoestima.
Como bien dices, en un mundo ideal — que la alta sociedad inglesa pre-victoriana desde luego no era — deberían haber hablado abiertamente. Creo que tus reflexiones sobre las obras de Austen, centradas en el carácter y el crecimiento personal, son muy esclarecedoras e invitan a la reflexión, sobre todo tu conexión con Orgullo y prejuicio.
Gracias por aportar una reflexión tan profunda a este artículo.