So I’ve just recently watched the film adaptation of Persuasion, the 1995 version. This is the second adaptation I’ve watched but it still pierced my soul. Ha! Before we begin, let us all read the whole letter of Captain Wentworth for Anne Elliot.
I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in
F. W.
I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father’s house this evening or never.
There are days, I must admit, that I like Persuasion more than Pride and Prejudice. Sorry, Mr. Darcy. I mean… who wouldn’t fall with a letter like this?!? To say Captain Wentworth is eloquent is such an understatement. Just like Mr. Darcy, Captain Wentworth is a perfect hero for Miss Austen’s heroine. Just got back from the navy, can write a romantic letter, and (most importantly) rich! Now let’s talk about my favorite parts of this letter.
“Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever.”
Fortunately, it’s not yet late for Capt. Wentworth and Anne. But, for some people, eight years is just too long ago. People have moved on for less than those years, some might even just need eight months or eight weeks! Maybe that’s why this letter just melts your heart. Can you still imagine someone still pinning for a lost love for eight years?
“I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant.”
Ahhhh, so kilig! Yeah, he’s not perfect but he sure is consistent for all those years. With all the hugots and heartbreaks around us, this line just hits that tender spot in our hearts. Who still writes like this? Can someone still write like this and mean it? Why have we forgotten the wonders of written letters? Why have we overlooked words and their uses when they could convey so much more? If I write a letter today, will I sound like this? When was the last time you have written a letter? Write one today and it’s still up to you if you’ll send it or not. There is just magic in composing one.
“You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others.”
THIS. We can all relate to this. Haha! This is us every time our crush is just around the corner. It’s like your ears are just wired to sense his/her voice over others. Your eyes are trained to follow him/her with just your peripheral vision. Your body just know where he/she stands and what he/she is doing. It’s so laughable because it’s so true.
“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope.”
This is Persuasion’s comeback from Pride and Prejudice’s “you have bewitched me body and soul.” This line is something we have gone through. It captured that emotion, that feeling. Long before we heard this line, we cannot identify that feeling. However, now we know. We are in between agony and hope. No matter how dramatic it may sound, we have been there.
So there. My writing prompt for this day. I want to end this by saying, you should read the book. If you liked Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, then, this one should be on your tbr list. It’s not just about unrequited love and happy endings but it also talks about how society influence our choices. I think that we can still relate with their society. Theirs is not that different from ours. Maybe we can learn a thing or two from reading this.
I’m excited for you to read this gem. Happy reading in the future, dear readers!
Travails and Trivialities of a High School Graduate 