What impressions do we get from Captain Wentworth, Austen’s hero, from chapters 7 to 9?
In chapters seven to nine of Persuasion, Austen introduces us to Captain Wentworth as he has jus arrived in Kellynch. This is the first time that Anne and Wentworth have seen each other in eight years. We learn more about Wentworth and the way he thinks and acts. In these three chapters we also see the effect of Wentworth’s arrival on Anne, Henrietta, Louisa and their relations. Through the reactions of the characters we learn more about some aspects of his personality and his behaviour, especially towards Anne.
In chapter seven we get the impression from Mr Musgrove than Wentworth is someone who has made a good impression on him and can be respected as after meeting him, Mr Musgrove “came back warm in his praise”. We also get other impressions of “Captain Wentworth” from Louisa and Henrietta after he visits their house. They are both charmed by Wentworth and they are “perfectly delighted” with him, especially after they see “how much handsomer, how infinitely more agreeable” he is “than any individual among their male acquaintance”. Austen makes us like Captain Wentworth without us having even met him through the opinions of other people.
Not only do the Miss Musgrove’s praise Wentworth, their father has a high opinion of him as well. We also see that Mary and Charles are desperate to meet him, to the extent that they will put from their minds one of their son’s injuries to have dinner with Wentworth instead. Through their, in particular Mary’s actions we see that Wentworth has been deemed important enough to warrant some excitement. We also see the reactions of Mary and Charles after their dinner with Wentworth that they also have praise for him especially on his “charming manners”.
However Anne’s reaction to Wentworth and his avoidance of breakfast at the cottage the day after is one of understanding, this is due to the fact that only she knows that he does not want to see her and is avoiding her. However he does come to the cottage, for a brief time where he and Anne meet again for the first time in eight years. Their interaction is only short as he is only visiting for a few minutes before hunting with Charles, yet they are reduced to greeting each other formally “a bow, a curtsey passed” and they never exchange any words.
We see that Anne is relieved to have their first meeting over and done with. However after observing that Wentworth has not changed much and in fact looks much better, she finds out from Mary that Wentworth thought that Anne was “so altered he should not have know” her again. At the end of the chapter we switch to Wentworth’s point of view and his thoughts. We gain an insight into his past relationship with Anne and we find out how he used to feel about her and how “he had never seen a woman since whom he thought her equal”.
This suggest that Wentworth is still not over Anne and was still not used to being in her presence as he had had “no desire of meeting her again”. We see that Wentworth tries to deny that he has any feeling for Anne and he fools himself into thinking that he wants to marry someone else, anyone except for Anne. We know that he hasn’t been totally unaffected by Anne’s decision eight years previously as he states that he wants a woman who has “A strong mind, with sweetness of manner”, two thing which he thinks that Anne lacks due to her being persuade not to marry him.
In chapter eight we see much more of Wentworth as he is now part of the “same circle” as Anne Elliot and her in-laws. From Anne we learn more about how her past relationship with Wentworth is much different from her present one. We see that whilst they were “Once so much to each other! ” they are “Now nothing”. During this chapter we also find out more about Wentworth’s life at sea and the reaction of Louisa and Anne to this. Louisa reacts much like Anne remembers she acted when she was getting to know Wentworth and didn’t know much yet about the navy.
We find that Wentworth served with the Miss Musgrove’s other brother, Richard who died sometime previously. Wentworth is kind to the Musgrove’s, in particular Mrs Musgrove about the death of “Dick” even when it is implied that he did not even like her son and “had probably been at some pains to get rid of him”. At the end of the chapter we find that Wentworth is enjoying himself and according to Anne, who cannot help notice, this is due to “the attention of all the young women” this includes Henrietta, Louisa and the Miss Hayters.
However Wentworth also seems to be worried or at least curious as to why Anne doesn’t seem to be enjoying herself and has not even danced as all she has been doing is providing the entertainment. We also see more interaction between Wentworth and Anne yet it is still only polite and does not even hint that there was anything between them in the past, as if they are only recent acquaintances. In the last chapter we see that Wentworth has had no trouble fitting in at Kellynch and even though he had had plans to move on and visit his brother in the country “the attractions of Uppercross induced him to put this off”.
However with an old face turning up in Uppercross again we find that his reaction to Wentworth is much different to everyone else’s opinion of him. The Musgrove’s all had “unvarying, warm admiration” for him, whereas with the arrival of Charles Hayter we see Wentworth from a different perspective. One of the factors which could have explained Charles’s opinion of him could be that before the arrival of Wentworth Charles had been attached to Henrietta yet after his arrival Henrietta had forgotten all about him and it was as their relationship had never occurred.
We also see more proof that Wentworth cannot see Anne hurt as he saves her from her nephew Walter who had enthusiastically climbed onto her back and had not let go despite being told several times to do so. In this instance we also see more about Charles Hayter’s opinion of Wentworth after his good deed is that Walter should have listened to him when he told him to do something. However his opinion of Wentworth has not changed yet he feels slightly inadequate as Wentworth helped where he could not and he feels as if he is being replaced by Wentworth.
In conclusion I would say that we find out a lot about Wentworth, especially through opinions of other people. We also find out about more of his past in these three chapters than in the six chapters before. Wentworth is a typical hero from a ‘romantic’ novel and he seems as if he is too good to be true as he has no huge flaws in his character. We get the impression that overall Wentworth seems to be past the hurt Anne’s rejection caused him yet underneath there are hints that this is just a fai??ade. This adds depth to his character and make him a much more likeable person.
