By Vonnie Alto, Secretary
Once again, for September, avid Janeite, Arnie Perlstein, both hosted and led another penetrating reading group discussion highlighting his hidden shadow theory in his lovely garden at his historic Irvington home.
Arnie’s antique dining table was the centerpiece of our tea. Members dined on a smorgasbord of Sushi; a potpourri of cheese; crackers; salami; fresh grapes and home grown plumbs; cheesecake pie; brownies; assorted muffins and cookies including shortbread, chocolate chip, and jelly cookies; and crustless tea time sandwiches.
We served tea from the kitchen island counter which displayed our permanent collection of teapots and teacups.
We all took our tea in the garden. After the business meeting, we discussed the gaps in Persuasion by probing its mysteries and flaws, its coincidences and surprising revelations….
It is well known that Jane Austen revised Persuasion after finishing it in 1816. However, there were many cancelled chapters resulting in a different ending than originally created with gaps existing which leads to the conclusion that this novel is a work in progress and not a finished work, but it’s very close to being finished. As a result, Arnie noted that there are “many subtly interwoven shadow story threads” if you read against the grain and take the narrator’s voice as flawed and even not present in some scenes.
Many of us were either enthralled or shocked by the revelations that a nearly blind Jane Austen created a nearly blind heroine, Anne Elliot and that there’s a strong LGBTQIA+ theme underlying the entire novel which revolves around two captains: both Captain Wentworth and Captain Harville. While Wentworth is the acknowledged hero of the novel, Captain Harville is an alternative hero. Therefore, according to Arnie, Captain Harville is the first Austen shadow protagonist who is a man -- all the other five from the other books are women.
Now for the scandal! Spoiler alert!
First, Captain Wentworth and Captain Harville were both romantically involved with Captain Benwick, but at separate times and after Wentworth and Harville had their initial romance 8 years prior to the start of the novel. By the time the novel begins, Captain James Benwick is no longer involved romantically with either of them.
What a coincidence that all three of these men are captains! This led to a lively discussion of ship life and how the shipping industry must have been an attraction for LGBTQIA+ men and also an avenue for them to come out of the closet since sailors were cloistered there at sea for long periods of time without women.
How do we know that Benwick is gay? The phrase, “she’s too piano” suggests it. It’s also possible that Fanny (Benwick’s deceased fiancé and sister to Captain Harville) actually exists to give Benwick “a beard” (meaning a cover) to let others think that he is heterosexual. What is peculiar is that Fanny conveniently exists off stage. She died before the novel begins, so she never appears in the book. Therefore, she may not be real but a cover. Apparently, her death broke Benwick’s heart, but in actuality, it allows him to hide his true sexual orientation beneath the guise of a melancholy romantic poet.
Secondly, Arnie ingeniously revealed that Captain Harville is actually Anne’s half-brother, the long lost Dick Musgrove, because Dick is the product of an illicit relationship between Mrs. Musgrove and Sir Walter which is why Sir Walter doesn’t like him.
Harville is a most devious character and strategizes how to keep his romantic relationship with Wentworth. He creates two plans for doing this. With Plan A, Harville impersonates Mrs. Smith in drag, in an attempt to influence Anne to marry Cousin Elliot because Harville doesn’t want Wentworth (Anne’s suitor) to marry Anne as he and Wentworth have a romantic and sexual relationship.
Anne is clearly not interested in Cousin Elliot, but Harville assassinates Cousin Elliot’s character anyway. Since Plan A fails, Harville implements Plan B, his backup plan. He encourages Wentworth to marry Anne because then he (as the fake Mrs. Smith) can remain close by as their best friend. Anne wouldn’t know that he is not the real Mrs. Smith because she is nearly blind and can’t see very well. The half agony, half hope letter is key to this love triangle. Apparently, Wentworth actually wrote the letter to Harville who then convinces Wentworth to give it to Anne.
Harville and Wentworth renew their love for each other when they both leave the room at the White Hart Inn. They also agree that Wentworth should give the same letter he gave to Harville (the half agony, half hope letter) to Anne to encourage her feelings for Wentworth. This will lead to their engagement and then the fake Mrs. Smith will gradually get more and more connected to the new married couple.
Therefore, Wentworth and Anne’s upcoming marriage is really a cover up for Wentworth’s relationship with Harville which means that Wentworth is bisexual. Ultimately, Anne would be let in on their secret and be pulled into an incestuous menage a trois with them since Harville is really her half-brother! What a soap opera of a story! And in a Jane Austen novel!
Arnie noted that it’s this “alternative social layer beneath the conventional one” that Jane Austen skillfully portrayed which is interesting to contemplate, but what’s even more interesting is that it’s “in plain view without most readers catching on to what she was writing about!” That’s where the gaps exists. What brilliant plotting!
Arnie revealed that, “It’s only in plain view in the following sense: If there had been a single paragraph of narrative added early in the novel which explicitly said that Wentworth had a romantic relationship with a fellow sailor at sea not long after Anne rejected him, then it would not have been hard to figure out that it was Harville--that’s the point--our assumptions determine what we see.”
What a brilliant detective Arnie Perlstein is at mining the hidden layers of Persuasion! Thank you, Arnie for giving us such a wealth of hidden insights! For more on this intriguing theory, please see Arnie’s blog, Sharp Elves Society.
Once again, for September, avid Janeite, Arnie Perlstein, both hosted and led another penetrating reading group discussion highlighting his hidden shadow theory in his lovely garden at his historic Irvington home.
Arnie’s antique dining table was the centerpiece of our tea. Members dined on a smorgasbord of Sushi; a potpourri of cheese; crackers; salami; fresh grapes and home grown plumbs; cheesecake pie; brownies; assorted muffins and cookies including shortbread, chocolate chip, and jelly cookies; and crustless tea time sandwiches.
We served tea from the kitchen island counter which displayed our permanent collection of teapots and teacups.
We all took our tea in the garden. After the business meeting, we discussed the gaps in Persuasion by probing its mysteries and flaws, its coincidences and surprising revelations….
It is well known that Jane Austen revised Persuasion after finishing it in 1816. However, there were many cancelled chapters resulting in a different ending than originally created with gaps existing which leads to the conclusion that this novel is a work in progress and not a finished work, but it’s very close to being finished. As a result, Arnie noted that there are “many subtly interwoven shadow story threads” if you read against the grain and take the narrator’s voice as flawed and even not present in some scenes.
Many of us were either enthralled or shocked by the revelations that a nearly blind Jane Austen created a nearly blind heroine, Anne Elliot and that there’s a strong LGBTQIA+ theme underlying the entire novel which revolves around two captains: both Captain Wentworth and Captain Harville. While Wentworth is the acknowledged hero of the novel, Captain Harville is an alternative hero. Therefore, according to Arnie, Captain Harville is the first Austen shadow protagonist who is a man -- all the other five from the other books are women.
Now for the scandal! Spoiler alert!
First, Captain Wentworth and Captain Harville were both romantically involved with Captain Benwick, but at separate times and after Wentworth and Harville had their initial romance 8 years prior to the start of the novel. By the time the novel begins, Captain James Benwick is no longer involved romantically with either of them.
What a coincidence that all three of these men are captains! This led to a lively discussion of ship life and how the shipping industry must have been an attraction for LGBTQIA+ men and also an avenue for them to come out of the closet since sailors were cloistered there at sea for long periods of time without women.
How do we know that Benwick is gay? The phrase, “she’s too piano” suggests it. It’s also possible that Fanny (Benwick’s deceased fiancé and sister to Captain Harville) actually exists to give Benwick “a beard” (meaning a cover) to let others think that he is heterosexual. What is peculiar is that Fanny conveniently exists off stage. She died before the novel begins, so she never appears in the book. Therefore, she may not be real but a cover. Apparently, her death broke Benwick’s heart, but in actuality, it allows him to hide his true sexual orientation beneath the guise of a melancholy romantic poet.
Secondly, Arnie ingeniously revealed that Captain Harville is actually Anne’s half-brother, the long lost Dick Musgrove, because Dick is the product of an illicit relationship between Mrs. Musgrove and Sir Walter which is why Sir Walter doesn’t like him.
Harville is a most devious character and strategizes how to keep his romantic relationship with Wentworth. He creates two plans for doing this. With Plan A, Harville impersonates Mrs. Smith in drag, in an attempt to influence Anne to marry Cousin Elliot because Harville doesn’t want Wentworth (Anne’s suitor) to marry Anne as he and Wentworth have a romantic and sexual relationship.
Anne is clearly not interested in Cousin Elliot, but Harville assassinates Cousin Elliot’s character anyway. Since Plan A fails, Harville implements Plan B, his backup plan. He encourages Wentworth to marry Anne because then he (as the fake Mrs. Smith) can remain close by as their best friend. Anne wouldn’t know that he is not the real Mrs. Smith because she is nearly blind and can’t see very well. The half agony, half hope letter is key to this love triangle. Apparently, Wentworth actually wrote the letter to Harville who then convinces Wentworth to give it to Anne.
Harville and Wentworth renew their love for each other when they both leave the room at the White Hart Inn. They also agree that Wentworth should give the same letter he gave to Harville (the half agony, half hope letter) to Anne to encourage her feelings for Wentworth. This will lead to their engagement and then the fake Mrs. Smith will gradually get more and more connected to the new married couple.
Therefore, Wentworth and Anne’s upcoming marriage is really a cover up for Wentworth’s relationship with Harville which means that Wentworth is bisexual. Ultimately, Anne would be let in on their secret and be pulled into an incestuous menage a trois with them since Harville is really her half-brother! What a soap opera of a story! And in a Jane Austen novel!
Arnie noted that it’s this “alternative social layer beneath the conventional one” that Jane Austen skillfully portrayed which is interesting to contemplate, but what’s even more interesting is that it’s “in plain view without most readers catching on to what she was writing about!” That’s where the gaps exists. What brilliant plotting!
Arnie revealed that, “It’s only in plain view in the following sense: If there had been a single paragraph of narrative added early in the novel which explicitly said that Wentworth had a romantic relationship with a fellow sailor at sea not long after Anne rejected him, then it would not have been hard to figure out that it was Harville--that’s the point--our assumptions determine what we see.”
What a brilliant detective Arnie Perlstein is at mining the hidden layers of Persuasion! Thank you, Arnie for giving us such a wealth of hidden insights! For more on this intriguing theory, please see Arnie’s blog, Sharp Elves Society.