AUSTEN’S PERSUASION: MERITOCRACY, MASCULINITY, AND POLITICAL DISCOURSE

Abstract

This essay analyzes the pieces of Jane Austen’s Persuasion in which the author compares the aristocracy and the meritocracy through various interactions and portrayals of values in order to illustrate the moral superiority of the returned sailors. The meritocracy, social success through hard work and amiability, contrasts starkly with the established aristocracy, who only recognize those with noble bloodlines. Through analysis of the aristocracy and meritocracy’s relationships to community, possessions, and women, her political message becomes clear: the lifestyle and values of the meritocracy is more desirable than that of the aged aristocracy. Persuasion contrasts the masculinity of each system, favoring the meritocracy, marked by manners and morals tested in action, over the inheritance of the aristocracy. Informed by her personal experiences with the Navy, the political climate, and her nation’s international history, Austen subtly participates in the political dialogue through her work Persuasion to advocate for the new masculinity promoted through the meritocracy.