Muriel's Wedding and Persuasion

As an individual within a society, one must conquer the conflict between autonomy and social expectations that influence human behaviour. All societies, groups and families require a certain degree of conformity and the fear of rejection can force an individual to compromise their values in order to belong. The social constraints within any society can only be understood within their context, and both Jane Austen’s Persuasion and P.J. Hogan’s Muriel’s Wedding explore the superficial paradigms surrounding marriage, friendship and social class within their context. In Persuasion, the Georgian society places women as objects of economic exchange; therefore limiting their individuality, whilst Muriel’s Wedding offers insight into the modern day confinements which bound an individual both emotionally and physically.
In her novel Persuasion, Jane Austen uses contrasting characterisation to individualise Anne and explore how family influence her place in society.   The novel deals with the moral struggles of the art of persuasion and the consequences of its power. The novel opens with Sir Walter Elliot, father of the protagonist perusing his “favourite volume”, the “Baronetage” in order to reaffirm his own history and social status as a Baronet. This clearly identifies not only Sir Walters’s superficial values such as looks, but also society’s prevailing value of maintaining a prominent position and overlooking all those belonging to the working class. Sir Walter blatantly displays his veneration of social rank as he exemplifies the target of Austen’s satire.   Her mockery identifies Sir Walter’s vanity as “the beginning and the end” of his character which serves only, through contrast, to elevate the protagonist, Anne Elliot, as virtuous. Juxtaposed to her father, Anne is portrayed as a worthy character. Having “elegance of mind and sweetness of character”, she is identified as separate from the conceit and “Elliot pride” of her father and her two sisters who hold the...