In this essay I will discuss how in Persuasion Jane Austen portrays society where, despite conservative resistance, change is underway and how true moral values, can achieve recognition.

Resistance occurs in various forms and whether conservative or otherwise it is a powerful tool in Austen's writing technique. Sir Walter, in the first chapter, is shown to be a very resistant man in general, who when faced with the predicament of losing all that is precious to him - his material possessions - he demands to maintain his current lifestyle with very little compromise so he seeks help from elsewhere "to remove their embarrassments and reduce their expenditure, without involving the loss of any indulgence of taste or pride." Sir Walter's resistance is matched with his daughter Elizabeth's and is far from conservative. They show their displeasure and annoyance of things, or people, openly and have no regard for...