lisa kallman

"Persuasion", written in 1815, was Jane Austen's final novel; more shadowed, serious, and rebellious than most that preceded. The heroine, Anne Elliot is a character of profound depth, kindness, intellect, and maturity; a woman who had suffered loneliness and the disappointment of lost love, a despicable family situation, and regret over the weakness of her younger self. From her biographies, we know that Jane Austen suffered similarly. In Anne Elliot, the reader can feel the presence of Jane Austen near the end of her life. just two years after the publication of "Persuasion". Unfortunately, the creators of this series made the unfathomable decision to modernize her into a snide woman who radiates no great depth or seriousness but blurts inappropriately, without wit. The series also fails to create the long, slow burn of desire that precedes the reunion of Anne and Frederick, an element of the story that expresses the deep longing of true lovers denied connection. Jane Austen would not like this character, I believe, but she did clearly love Anne Elliot.