Part 1 of Essay
“And upon looking over his letters and things, she found it was so, and is perfectly sure that this must be the very man, and her head is quite full of it, and of poor Richard!” (Austen, 34) Richard Musgrove is a very, very minor character in Jane Austen’s Persuasion. However, his presence in the novel al ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... uselessness and his failure to live up to the promise of his birth and entitlement. This is a very important point. It seems that in the world of Persuasion, it is the qualities of usefulness, resourcefulness and capability that are attractive to the reader. To the aristocracy, what one does with one’s day is of the utmost importance. The Elliots are landed gentry and as such they do not work or conduct themselves in any manner of labor. It has often been said that the true mark of a gentleman is the abil ....