When you think of old and new money clashing in literature the prime example that comes to mind is “The Great Gatsby.” Jane Austen’s “Persuasion” turns out to be an amazing novel with this theme as well (with a happier ending). The following is an essay I wrote about characters in “Persuasion” represent different types wealth

Many people ask the berating question: should you marry for love or money? But, what kind of money? Persuasion, written in 1817 by Jane Austen, follows Anne Elliot, a black sheep of an upper-class British family. Her father’s, Sir Walter Elliot’s, careless spending forces an intermittent habitation to Bath with her family. They seek a tenant for their house, Kellynch Hall, and Anne’s ex-fiance, Captain Fredrick Wentworth, who has spent the last eight years in the Navy, is interested and they become reunited again. Throughout the narrative, old and new money are important concepts. Old money is inherited, while new money is earned- therefore, the values and attitudes towards people who hold whichever type are treated differently. However, due to the time of the novel, this concept can not be applied to women. Either, they inherit money like the Elliots, or they marry rich. Sir Walter’s old money juxtaposes Captain Wentworth’s new money through the Navy, which discriminates against women because of limited money making capabilities of the time.
Wentworth’s new money appears as hard earned through the Navy while Sir Wentworth’s is not deserved, which attributes women as lesser than men. To start, Anne and her family are part of the upper class because of her father, Sir Walter Elliots’s inheritance. Due to his frivolous spending, he and his daughters are forced to move to Bath in order to save money. His money practices and personality contradict those of Captain Wentworth. Wentworth displays passion for those around him, and earns his money through hard work. To show his personality, the text mentions: “[Captain Wentworth] had been lucky in his profession… But, he was confident he should soon be rich;- full of life and ardour, he knew that he should soon have… everything he wanted.” (Austen 27) Here, Wentworth is shown as confident, passionate, and driven. His plan for a fortune coincides with his plan for winning back Anne, shown through patience paying off later through Anne’s requited love. The Navy is a vessel used throughout the novel for men to work from the ground up and achieve wealth. As Wentworth says, he earned a large sum of his wealth through catching enemy ships. This ties money earned through the Navy as particularly brave, and hard earned, instead of the general positive connotations associated with new money. Specifically, throughout the novel the Navy is a way to achieve new money status. Outward commentary on Naval traits says: “…protesting [Louisa] was convinced of sailors having more worth and warmth than any other set of men in England; that they only knew how to live, and they only deserved to be respected and loved.” (Austen 93) In this section, Naval officers are placed on the highest pedestal in all of England. The hyperbole of people in the Navy, in essence, being the only ones deserving of good lives. Women are barred from achieving such elitism because they are not able to join the workforce, and thus Navy. Through Captain Wentworth, becoming someone of new money is seen as equivalent to good character, but women are unable to be seen in such a light.
The Elliot’s inherited new money is tied to generational wealth and luck, negatively shown mostly by Sir Walter. The descriptions of old money also can also be applied to women, unlike new money- because that is the main way women can earn fortunes. In addition to the numerous descriptions of mirrors in Sir Walter’s study, the novel states: “…[Sir Walter] would never condescend to sell. No; he would never disgrace his name so far.” (Austen 11) Sir Walter in this case becomes the poster-boy for greedy, vain old money concepts. This particular example of Sir Walter’s anxiety of appearing lower class is soon ironic, because Captain Wentworth becomes a tenant whose roots are middle class. But, as discussed before, through Naval work he becomes rich and thus can afford an elegant upper class home like Kellynch Hall. When discussing renting tenants, the idea that the war will soon end and thus men in the Navy will need a place to stay, so they are likely tenants. Mrs. Clay and Anne support the notion that Naval men would be exceptional tenants, but Sir Walter seems to despise the idea. He thinks of people in the Navy as socially inferior, shown by him supporting his objection through: “‘First, as being the means of bringing persons of obscure birth into undue distinction, and raising men to honours which their fathers and grandfathers never dreamt of; and secondly, as it cuts up a man’s youth and vigour most horribly; a sailor grows old sooner than any other man.’” (Austen 20) To start, words that stand out are: obscure, birth, and distinction. Sir Walter believes anyone, attaining a fortune or not, not born into a noble family inherently have to be “obscure.” The rationalization of sailors’ timelines, as he says, goes from “obscure birth” to “undue distinction.” Sir Walter not only believes that people not born into nobility are strange, but if they attain wealth through hard Naval work it is undeserved, because they did not remain in their original social class they were born into. Changing their designated social class thus shakes what nature intended, due to ancestors not achieving such glory. This describes the first section of the quote- Sir Walter explaining his beliefs men need to stay in their social class and not try to achieve wealth outside their families. The second part of describing why he would not want to rent to a Naval officer in this quote involves his point that they seemingly grow old fast. First, he used the word “cuts”- an extremely harsh word- to describe how Naval men’s youth is taken by their positions. While this indeed speaks to his vanity once again, because he desires a young, beautiful, man that can occupy Kellynch Hall, it also shows another way Sir Walter looks down at the Navy but as well as lower class civilians as well. He does not have to fire dirty canons, be under a boiling sun in the middle of the ocean- he can stay instead, and occupy himself with his appearance as he pleases. Words that stand out in this part of the quote are cuts, horribly, and old. To connect this back to women not being the equation of new and old money, while he indeed was discussing the Navy, he mentions men five times in this quote. The overarching narrative: Sir Walter believes anyone born in the lower class that gains new money status does not deserve equality among old money people. Through Sir Walter, old money is depicted as greedy and selfish.
In Persuasion, the gap of old and new money and any debate pertaining to them excludes women entirely. To continue analysis of Sir Walter’s quote about naval officers being tenants of Kellynch Hall, it must be pointed out women simply are not the equation of the worthiness of new money. He may not like rich Naval men, and he certainly will despise poor women that remain in their class, or even women that marry a bachelor with old money. The expectations are presumptuously higher for any British woman because she has to be born into wealth. Or, perhaps marry a rich man. While it may be a debate for Sir Walter if men should earn wealth or not, at the time it was almost impossible for a woman to achieve wealth through a career. Later in the novel, Anne and Captain Harville debate about the difference between sexes in romance. Anne states, “Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher degree; the pen in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything.” (Austen 220) Here, Anne brings to light the problem of women being pushed into the shadows because men often control the narrative. This connects to women being dependent on men for old and new money because of their forced inferior place in Britain at the time. In the first paragraph, the quote about how perfect the people in the Navy were viewed, and how they were deserving of everything. This is due to the framing of men by men because they have the “pen” and thus creates outlooks and histories. With the Navy being extremely male-dominated, there is a refrain that only a certain type of men specifically can achieve being overwhelmingly fulfilled, happy, rich. However, women are unable to achieve this. To add on, most women at the time can only accumulate wealth through birthright, leading to the greedy display of old money values from Mr. Wentworth as their mascot. Although Anne does not hold these values and is a foil to her father, she still inherits this money. In total, the difference of old and new money continues as relevant throughout Persuasion and brings to light how women were restricted in wealth capabilities.
Jane Austen’s Persuasion contrasts Sir Walter’s greedy, vain old money with Captain Wentworth’s dignified new money, resulting in the clear disparity between how men and women at the time can achieve wealth. The novel used the Navy to establish the dignity of new money, and Captain Wentworth to show perceptions of both kinds. But women are not able to achieve new money recognition because of the male domination in the workforce, and if they do it would need to be through marriage. Or, women can have old money status, but that is depicted as inferior in character throughout the novel. Perhaps, any kind of money is worth marrying for, especially if you are unable to make your own.