Emma Bazinet
Literature 12
Block 1-2
Austen VS Collins
Persuasion:
Anne Elliot: Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5, 2nd movement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzw932RBEH8
I chose this work for Anne, because it embodies beauty and a sad kind of serenity. There are
moments when it is incredibly sad, and I think this is because it expresses a kind of “mal de
vivre” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPsNWP0eEsc) which is simultaneously
sorrowful and beautiful. Every phrase of the piece is a bit like a breath, as if to symbolize
the beauty and heartbreak of life, which we all carry. To me, Anne is bright, beautiful,
virtuous, caring, and reserved and I think this movement embodies these traits perfectly.
Having lost her mother at a young age, Anne is stuck with a vain father and sister who fail to
treat her as a valuable member of the family. To them, she is “just (plain) Anne”, and as a
result of this her only good friend is Lady Russell who incidentally persuaded her not to
marry the only man she truly loves. Perhaps this sounds slightly melodramatic, but Anne is
never bitter or hateful towards her family or Lady Russell. Instead, she continues to uphold
her values and remains committed and forgiving towards her family, focusing instead on
improving on herself. I will try and further demonstrate the link between Anne and this
piece in my presentation.
Mr. William Elliot: Beethoven Romance No. 2, 1st movement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0YCWZnpoO0
Beethoven’s Romance is unpredictable. Well, it’s Beethoven. Seemingly romantic and
graceful, it suddenly turns angry and it becomes clear that behind the grace and beauty lies
unrest that could spring out at any moment. To me, Mr. Elliot is charming, cunning, coldhearted, deceitful, and greedy. Few manage to see the immoral motives behind his actions,
but as Anne astutely notices, something is not quite right about him. Perhaps this piece is
too beautiful to represent such a corrupt man as Mr. Elliot, but the juxtaposition of the
beauty with the darkness seems fitting.
Man and Wife:
Anne Silvester: Barber Violin Concerto Op. 14, 1st movement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oXKuXdmzcw
Anne Silvester and Anne Elliot have a lot in common. Both their mothers with whom they
shared close relationships die when they are young and they are left with absent fathers.
They deal with these hardships differently however and do grow up with fairly different
circumstances. As a result of this, and of the less idealistic tone of Collins’s novel, Anne
Silvester seems to have a tougher demeanour. She is less reserved and is forced to fight for
herself. Both women are beautiful, strong, and clever, but Anne Elliot seems much more
innocent. That is why I chose Barber’s violin concerto to represent Anne from Man and
Wife. To me, Anne is courageous, independent, and clever. Compared to Mozart’s 5th violin
concerto which represents Anne from Persuasion, Barber’s violin concerto is darker, more
evocative, troubled, and dramatic.
Geoffrey Delamayn: Gaston, Beauty and the Beast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK3x2DOoJIc
For Geoffrey, I chose a more comical example. I couldn’t think of a piece that describes a
rather stupid, but athletic male and then I thought, “Oh! Gaston!” Gaston and Geoffrey are
characters that are all brawn and no brain, but in both stories their peers revere them. In
Beauty and the Beast, intellectuals are regarded as being a bit strange, and Belle is labelled
as a “funny girl” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMGfkOaJ6zw). Of course, this also
symbolizes society’s discomfort with smart bookish women. The village people in Beauty
and the Beast could symbolize society in Man and Wife, which seems to have shifted its
values from intellectualism to physical skill. To me, Geoffrey and Gaston are athletic, selfish,
arrogant, and superficial. Both are focused entirely on their own selfish pursuits at the cost
of Anne and Belle’s well being. The main difference between Geoffrey and Gaston is that
whilst the latter pursues Belle to gain what he believes is rightly his, Geoffrey is
disinterested in Anne. However, he strives to marry a woman with whom he can have a
respectable union (Mrs Glenarm), and in this way they are very similar. Gaston wants a
partner who matches his physical beauty, and Geoffrey wants a woman who matches his
social status.