Persuasion by Jane Austen and A Sentimental Journey by Lawrence Sterne differ when they question their motives for interacting with another character in the novel. Anne questions her motives for wanting to check if the rain has stopped when in reality she really wants to be seen by Wentworth. Yorick in a sentimental journey questions his motives as to why he should or should not invite Madame de L on his journey. This confusion leads to a difference in the way they are presented. Anne Elliot uses free indirect discourse while Yorick is in first person narration.
In Persuasion Anne Elliot puts herself in a situation where she is forced to find asylum inside a store because of the rain, knowing that Wentworth is outside, while he doesn't know of her close presence. Her concerns for the rain try to overshadow her real reason as to why she wants to go out and check if the rain has stopped when in reality she wants to be seen by Wentworth. For instance, “She now felt a great inclination to go to the outer door; she wanted to see if it rained. Why was she to suspect herself another motive(165)?” Anne takes herself through complex excuses because she subconsciously wants to be noticed so that he will approach her. She uses persuasion to her advantage this time then when it was used against her when she did not marry him eight years ago.
Unlike Anne, Yorick in A Sentimental Journey doesn’t hide his feeling towards wanting to invite Madame de L with him to Paris. He doesn’t try to overshadow his motives like Anne attempts to do. Because first person narration is used, the reader can easily identify how mush he trusts his instincts and doesn't doubts his feeling towards others whereas in Persuasion free indirect discourse makes that harder to do because the reader has to interpret through analyzation if Anne's thoughts are being voiced or if it is just the narrator's. Yorick faces his dilemma by consulting imaginary people: Avarice, Caution, Cowardice, Discretion, Hypocrisy, Madness and Pride. He comes up with the pros and cons of inviting her on his journey but trust his instinct and comes to terms with his true motives and decides to inviter her, “–and as I generally act from first impulse and therefore seldom listen to these cabals, which serve no purpose, that I know of, but to encompass the heart with adamant– i turn’d instantly about to the lady– (19).” First person narration makes a character's true motives clear, while free indirect discourse makes it harder upon the reader to decipher a character's true feelings.
I agree with free indirect discourse being a bit more difficult to understand a character's feeling. Rather than reflecting on the emotions, it enables us to see how she interacts with the society around her, which can actually reveal another dynamic. While trying to uphold this image of herself, is the motive of checking the weather really convincing to those around her, the reader or even herself? While it may not convince us, it probably convinces them. To convince others ties in subtly with the persuasion of others to believing something that may or may not be true.
ReplyDeleteYour comment on persuasion being to her advantage this time is interesting. She does succeed in catching his attention.