Love, Class, and Social Status: The Cinderella Elements in Jane Austen’s Persuasion

Abstract

This paper examines the Cinderella narrative framework in Jane Austen’s Persuasion (1817) [1] and how it reshapes themes of love, class, and personal identity. Rather than relying on magical transformation, Austen grounds the Cinderella structure in emotional growth, moral constancy, and social critique. Anne Elliot’s journey from familial neglect to self-assuredness and mutual recognition with Captain Wentworth challenges aristocratic entitlement while elevating personal merit and character. The narrative highlights the shifting class structures of post-Napoleonic England, particularly the rise of the naval class as a symbol of earned respectability. Through techniques of free indirect discourse, irony, and interiority, Austen crafts a sophisticated reworking of the Cinderella myth—one that privileges ethical development over external transformation. The paper argues that the “happy ending” in Persuasion functions not as fairy-tale closure but as a socially and emotionally grounded validation of resilience, empathy, and mature love.