by Jane Austen
50. Earlier Admiral Croft said he could not tell Louisa from Henrietta (this page).
51. His visits to Plymouth and to his brother in Shropshire were both spoken of earlier (this page and this page). By this point he would have been in Shropshire well over a month (see chronology). Visits to family at this time often were long, due to the slowness and difficulty of traveling: Jane Austen’s visits to family members often extended beyond a month. But staying away from Lyme that long would be odd behavior if he truly loved Louisa. He will later explain the reason for his actions (this page). They have obviously helped facilitate Louisa’s engagement to Captain Benwick.
52. Minehead is a coastal town in northern Somerset (see map). Earlier he and Mrs. Croft were said to “be going away for a few weeks, to visit their connexions in the north of the county” (this page).
53. He obviously thinks Mrs. Croft especially able to discern Wentworth’s motives, whether because she is his sister or because she has shown shrewdness in understanding people. She is earlier pictured as helping to guide him in many things, and it is probable that Admiral Croft has come to rely heavily on her judgment, especially for nonnaval matters.
54. The admiral’s expectation of immediate marriage fits with his description, and defense, of the quickness—measured in days—with which he and his wife married after meeting (this page). He does not seem like the type to wait or worry about the niceties of courtship etiquette.
55. bears an excellent character: has an excellent reputation.
56. A commander, sometimes called master and commander, was someone who could command sloops or other small ships. Though called captain, he would rank below a regular post-captain, such as Captain Wentworth, who could command larger vessels.
57. made: promoted.
58. As discussed above (note 47), the opportunities for naval officers to advance during peacetime were significantly less. Those lower in rank would suffer especially from this, since it might keep them from ever rising higher.
59. augur: project, anticipate.
60. want of spirit: lack of ardor, courage.
61. piano: soft, mild. The term, from the Italian for “soft,” was rarely used outside of musical contexts; the term for the musical instrument is a shortened version of “pianoforte” (“soft-strong” in Italian), and derives from the ability to play the same note either softly or loudly.
62. manners: general outward conduct and demeanor.
63. This suggests a little delay in the arrival of the news to Captain Wentworth. Anne received her letter from Mary when the Crofts arrived, said to have been a week to ten days ago. In her letter Mary wrote that Captain Benwick was expected that day. If he asked Mr. Musgrove for permission then, the engagement was announced, and Harville wrote to Wentworth, the latter should have received the news a number of days ago, for it would not have taken a letter long to reach him. Since it is hard to imagine Mr. Musgrove not announcing his consent immediately, especially since everyone there knew of the engagement, it is probable that Captain Benwick’s shyness made him hesitate to ask, or, perhaps even more likely, that Captain Harville delayed writing to Captain Wentworth, either out of fear that the news would pain his friend or because of his own distressed feelings at Benwick’s quick switch from mourning Harville’s sister to loving Louisa. Captain Harville will later be shown as deeply afflicted on this account.
64. violence: fury; vehement or violent feelings. The term did not necessarily refer to physical violence, and it is doubtful Anne would be thinking of that.
65. oath: curse; profane word or expression.
66. murmur: expression of grumbling or discontent.
67. fling: a scoffing or sarcastic remark, thrown out in passing.
68. Bath was indeed a good place to find a mate. In addition to the presence of so many visitors of roughly similar class, it provided greater opportunities than were generally available at the time for relatively free socializing with the opposite sex. The two principal characters in Northanger Abbey meet in Bath and ultimately marry, and in Emma one character visits Bath and returns with a wife.
69. bespoke by: engaged to.
Milsom Street, one of the main shopping streets in Bath (from a contemporary illustration).
[From Mowbray Aston Green, The Eighteenth Century Architecture of Bath (Bath, 1904), p. 154]
VOLUME II, CHAPTER VII
1. This means he left just after learning of Louisa’s engagement (see this page).
2. Milsom-street: see note 40, and picture.
3. Women were considered more delicate physically, and, thanks to their homebound routines, were less accustomed to exposure to inclement weather than men. Moreover, women’s clothing was more lightweight and delicate and thus more easily soaked and likely to be damaged by water; the hems of their long skirts could also quickly become wet and muddy from walking in the rain.
4. Molland’s: see note 11.
5. A barouche was a carriage with two seats facing each other, but, unlike the similar coach, each seat was large enough only for two; it also differed from a coach in having a top that folded down, allowing it to be either a closed or open carriage (see picture). Barouches were expensive and highly fashionable, and thus appropriate vehicles for a viscountess. In a visit to her brother in London, Jane Austen rode in a barouche at one point. She wrote to her sister, “I liked my solitary elegance, & was ready to laugh all the time, at my being where I was—I could not but feel that I had naturally small right to be parading about London in a Barouche” (May 24, 1813).
6. The walk from Milsom Street to Camden Place would be fairly lengthy and would also involve going up a steep hill (see map).
7. Boots had recently become fashionable for women, especially for outdoor wear. They were generally made of leather, had some decoration, and came up to the ankle (for this reason they were often called half boots). Thus, though better than shoes for the rain, they were not as hardy as men’s full-length boots, which was another reason for women to avoid rain.
A barouche. The top is folded down, making it an open carriage.
[From Ralph Straus, Carriages and Coaches (London, 1912), p. 232]
8. Mr. Elliot’s decision in favor of Anne could result from his preference for her and avowed dislike of Mrs. Clay. Another possibility is suggested by later events (see note 27).
9. Union-street: a small street near Molland’s (see map). Toward the end of the novel it will be the site of an even more fateful encounter between Anne and Captain Wentworth than the one about to happen now.
10. The clear suggestion is that Anne is looking for Captain Wentworth, even as she is assuring herself that she wishes only to see if it rained. The reference to halves of her indicates her awareness of a divided self. One reason why part of her would not wish to look for him (or acknowledge doing so) is that she does not want to think herself too eager for him. She also may want to shield herself from possible disappointment, since she still cannot know whether he has any interest in her. She would not wish to overthrow the calmness and steadiness of mind that she has struggled so hard to attain by carelessly indulging false hopes. Another reason is that rules of propriety dictated that a woman should not look directly at a man, but wait for him to make all the advances, even visual.
11. Molland’s was one of the leading confectioners and pastry shops in Bath, selling both sweet and nonsweet foods. Such shops could be popular places for wealthy people to gather and meet; Molland’s included the inducement of space for customers to dine. A number of chance encounters in Jane Austen occur in shops. Many, especially those catering to affluent customers, encouraged casual browsing and extended visits through spacious, pleasant atmospheres and ample seating for customers.
For Captain Wentworth’s probable route from below Milsom Street, see map.
12. This is the first time, excepting the immediate aftermath of the accident at Lyme, that he has seemed less calm and assured than she when they are together. This reversal will contin
ue through much of the last part of the book.
At the same time, his approaching her to speak, and the exchange that now follows, represents the first time in the novel—excepting the carriage ride back from Lyme, when he spoke only from necessity—that he has initiated friendly conversation with her.
13. She, unlike Mary, had been present when he courted Anne (this page).
14. In addition to a coachman, a woman of Lady Dalrymple’s wealth would usually be accompanied by at least one footman, who would ride on the outside and perform services such as taking messages, helping people in and out of the carriage, and announcing the carriage. A footman would also indicate his employer’s identity and importance through his fancy livery.
15. Mr. Elliot has not returned yet from his commission for Mrs. Clay.
A Bath chair (from a contemporary illustration). The woman’s headdress and the umbrella covering it are satirical exaggerations.
[From Works of James Gillray (London, 1849)]
16. Bath is in the west of England, which is the rainiest part of the country, thanks to the moist ocean air brought by the prevailing westerly winds. It is especially rainy in the winter, the time when this conversation occurs.
17. Umbrellas as a protection against rain had first come into significant use in the early eighteenth century (umbrellas for protection against the sun, or in ceremonial functions, had long existed in various parts of the world). In England, they caught on more slowly than in other parts of Europe and were for a while derided as odd or foreign or effeminate. But by the last decades of the century they had attained wide popularity and become a standard personal item, especially for wealthier people.
18. chair: a sedan chair for transportation. Sedan chairs consisted of an enclosed seat carried by two men, one in front and one behind, using two long poles attached to the bottom of the seat (for a picture, see this page). They were a prominent feature of Bath because of the difficulty of getting carriages through the narrow streets of the old sections of the city (though in the 1790s, not long before the novel’s date, a rebuilding program had widened many streets). In a letter written just after arriving in Bath, Jane Austen writes, “My Uncle overwalked himself at first & can now only travel in a Chair” (June 2, 1799). Chairs, not necessarily covered, could also be used to carry people all the way into and out of the baths, allowing them to avoid changing vehicles or walking; some houses were specially designed so that the residents could be carried all the way to or from their beds (for an example of chairs being taken inside a room in Bath, see picture). Their popularity is shown by the detailed regulations drawn up by the city of Bath, which included a precise schedule of rates to be charged, depending on the distance traveled. Chairs could be easily hailed and would certainly be available in a popular commercial location such as this.
19. Presumably she feels a little embarrassed about being arm in arm with another man after Captain Wentworth has just shown such friendliness toward her.
20. Their gossip suggests the smallness of the Bath social world. It also means that, immediately after arriving in Bath, Captain Wentworth is hearing others speculate that Anne will marry another man and support their speculations with observations on that man’s feelings, his footing in Anne’s family, and the prevailing high opinion of his social charms.
21. Thus Anne experiences the first direct conflict in attention between Mr. Elliot and Captain Wentworth, and she focuses all her thoughts on the latter.
22. Again Anne struggles for composure; it has taken only a brief exposure to Captain Wentworth to place her once more in that position.
23. One reason for this frequent meeting in Bath—seen both in this novel and in the other Austen novel set in the city, Northanger Abbey—is that Bath was not very large. The central part of the city stretched not much more than half a mile, and even the outlying residential districts did not extend much farther (see map). There were also only a few main shopping streets, all close to one another. Finally, the city had many common social events—balls, plays, concerts—that tended to bring large numbers of people together, though, as explained below, Sir Walter and his family do not often attend these events; whether Lady Russell does is never indicated.
24. Pulteney-street: A main thoroughfare in eastern Bath (see map). It is not clear where Anne and Lady Russell are returning from. One possibility is Sydney Gardens, a popular place for walking at the end of Pulteney Street; another is the hilly area east of Bath, which was a popular venue for drives.
Curtains of the time.
[From Thomas Arthur Strange, English Furniture in the 18th Century: A Guide to Collectors, p. 358]
25. Since the early 1700s curtains had become increasingly common in English homes and were made of a variety of fabrics and colors. By 1800 the most popular type of curtains hung from a rod and opened horizontally; this meant that a portion of the curtains would be visible from the outside. For examples of contemporary curtains, see picture on previous page.
26. The ambiguity results from not knowing if Lady Russell really was looking only at curtains. If so, Anne would be the object of pity and disdain for assuming that others are as focused on Captain Wentworth as she is. If not, Lady Russell would be the object for being unable to admit her own interest in him. The exact truth is deliberately left uncertain. My guess is that while Lady Russell is too honest to lie directly—in other words, she was not staring at Wentworth—it is possible she did perceive him briefly and turned to looking at curtains to avoid looking more in his direction.
27. This, like her possible mistake about Lady Russell, suggests some irony at the expense of Anne. In other Austen novels powerful romantic feelings often lead an otherwise sensible heroine into foolish feelings or behavior.
28. The theater was a prominent feature of life in Bath (see note 103).
29. the rooms: the Assembly Rooms. There were two in Bath, the Lower Rooms and the Upper Rooms, each with rooms for dancing, cards, and refreshment. They were the leading venues for social life in Bath, with an important event, usually a dance, occurring most nights at one set of rooms; there was a general Bath social schedule to keep these events from clashing.
30. fashionable: socially elite.
31. stupidity: dullness, tedium.
32. The Elliots’ disdain for public amusements reflects a change in Bath at this time, one noted by various observers. Throughout the 1700s public events had dominated social life, and visitors were strongly encouraged to attend. But the city’s growing popularity, along with increasing affluence and improvements in the ease and speed of transportation, swelled the ranks of middle-class visitors, and this made those in the top echelons of society recoil. The high aristocracy gradually ceased coming at all, while those a little lower, like the Elliots, turned to select gatherings among themselves, however dull such gatherings might be. In contrast, Captain Wentworth does not allow his choice of entertainment to be dictated by such considerations.
In her preface to Northanger Abbey, published at the same time as Persuasion but written thirteen years earlier, Jane Austen notes that many things, including manners, have changed in the interval. This change in Bath is probably part of what she had in mind, for in the earlier novel, unlike here, much of the action in Bath centers around public gatherings.
33. She may mean her strength for participating in more active events or, perhaps even more, her strength for facing Captain Wentworth with equanimity (“knowing nothing” probably refers to her having learned nothing about him since the encounter at the shop). The line below about feeling the courage to address him suggests this concern is greatly in her mind.
34. Concerts were another popular form of evening entertainment in Bath, with the finest performers in England sometimes featured. They were usually held on Wednesdays (see chronology, for sequence of days). Like theatrical performances, they were often advertised as being for the benefit of a specific person or persons; concerts’ close connection with various charities caused them to be frequen
tly called benefits. Aristocrats like Lady Dalrymple would often exercise patronage of this type.
35. all over courage: generally courageous.
36. answer: be satisfactory.
37. The reasons for Mrs. Smith’s not replying when she hears who is of Anne’s party, and then for wondering whether she will see much of Anne anymore, will be revealed soon.
VOLUME II, CHAPTER VIII
1. octagon room: One of the three principal rooms in the Upper Rooms (see note 29). The other rooms were the Ball Room (the largest of the three) and the Tea Room (see diagram). The Octagon Room, named for its shape, was originally built as a card room, but the interference from the constant circulation of people through the room caused a separate card room to be built off the Octagon Room. By this point it was used primarily as a place for meetings (in Northanger Abbey the heroine meets friends there before a ball) and for music (though not for this concert).
2. Anne had guessed Captain Wentworth would come due to his love of music. It was earlier mentioned as an important taste they had in common (this page), so it is appropriate it should draw them together here for what will be their most sustained and important conversation so far. In contrast, early in the novel, at the first dinner they both attend, their common interest in music led to an encounter that underlined their complete estrangement (see note 60).
Diagram of the Assembly Rooms.
[From Mowbray Aston Green, The Eighteenth Century Architecture of Bath (Bath, 1904), p. 161]
3. temper: dispositions, emotional qualities. Anne’s interrupted speech, “But it appears—I should hope …”—a rare fragmentary sentence from her—indicates the hesitation with which she approaches the topic of Louisa. She knows it may affect him strongly, though without knowing how, and that it is a matter with momentous implications for herself.
