Jane Austen Quote - Week 45

This week's quote is taken from Persuasion Volume II Chapter XI (Oxford edition, 2004, p. 196), Captain Wentworth’s words to Anne Elliot:

‘…You were single. It was possible that you might retain the feelings of the past, as I did; and one encouragement happened to be mine. I could never doubt that you would be loved and sought by others, but I knew to a certainty that you had refused one man at least, of better pretensions than myself: and I could not help often saying, Was this for me?’

Ahem. Sorry that I go back to Persuasion again… I promise that I will get another Austen book for my turn next month. But ah…Captain Wentworth’s trepidation is so recognizable here… who would not tremble when one is faced with hope again? For with hope, comes fear… fear of being rejected and hurt again… that the scar that is not yet healed properly will gush open again. But I am sure that Wentworth (or Jane Austen herself) also thought that…that if he/she didn’t seize the opportunity and have another try, he/she would regret it for the rest of his/her life.

So, there you go. ‘Was this for me?’…and Carpe Diem. Wentworth wrote the famous letter, and saw Anne Elliot flying (or running across Bath) over to him. Sigh…

Coming back to Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy… I am certain that Jane had a bit of Tom-moment when she wrote it. I just wish… I just wish things would be different… but it never was, was it not?

Pic: A very lovely photograph of (supposedly) Captain Wentworth’s letter to Anne Elliot (written and photographed by Sodabug), from Flickr.com