Gender Inequality In Persuasion

In many of her books, Jane Austin focuses on the social issues and inequalities that were very prevalent during the 19th century and Persuasion is no exception to this. In Persuasion, the main character Anne is portrayed as a strong female that struggles with her independence of thought and identity. Always pressured to conform to the standards set by society during that time, she has to find a man with high enough stature to raise the social status of Anne and her family. Similar struggles can be seen within other characters of the book as well. Austin displays true excellence in using the characters in Persuasion to reveal a first person account of the shocking reality of social status, gender inequality, marriage, and the values of social class during the 19th century. Throughout the 19th century ones social status could be considered the most important part of a person’s identity. From birth children are raised in a manor that teaches them to always want more. Whether it is more money, a more respectable title, or to be the most respected in their community, what one is born with is never enough. Those born poor or less …show more content…
The importance of climbing the social ladder during the 19th century was maybe the single most important accomplishment one could make. There was so much focus on material possessions and titles that many became desensitized to the core values of humanity. The social class a person belonged to during the 19th century quite literally define their importance and the role they played in society. Also because a family name was such a valued thing during this time, if one’s name were associated with the highest possible social class they would automatically be highly respectable and very eligible for marriage. The Social Ranking of a person was so highly valued that happiness of self-respect was almost