Modern, Bold and Versatile : A study of a Character in the Novel Persuasion Which Challenges the Romantic Norm

Abstract This study will examine how the protagonist from Jane Austen’s Persuasion - Anne Elliot - challenges the female norms of the Romantic Period. First of all, there will be a study of her personality and background, and then examples of her unconventional thoughts and actions. The examination is to rely on, and refer to, Hirdman’s report The Gender System - Theoretical reflections on the subordination of women (1990), and more specifically the part called Gender Contracts. These principles are to be compared to Elliot’s characteristics, and will contribute to prove how Elliot deviates from the standard female ideal. There will also be an analysis of certain key dialogues and statements in the novel, which will strengthen the assertion that Anne Elliot is a subject, rather than an object. In a wider sense, the study will reveal that Persuasion is a story about a young woman’s quest for independence, and how she finally becomes reconciled with her past. Keywords: Jane Austen, Persuasion, Anne Elliot, Hirdman and Gender Contracts, Feminism, English literature, The Romantic Period, Wollstonecraft