Majority of Jane Austen’s, Persuasion, the burning love Anne shares for Wentworth seems to be a lost opportunity or perhaps, just the wrong timing. Critics before me such as Cheryl Weissman may pursue this argument of ambivalent desires even at the novel’s ending. However, the passage we examine (160) reveals not just a continuation of past issues but instead, the ultimate anticipation where fate has finally fused this couple once again.
Although we are unsure of the narrator’s identity, we can infer it is someone who after all these years of observing, finally gets to see Anne’s heart restored. Particular detail is put into describing the current state of emotions involved. After those eight years of “diving and estrangement,” their relationship can now flourish. The anaphora of “there” emphasizes the two visible together everywhere. They no longer repress their attachment to the other like they did before, but are now open with their feelings and have come together in this society. “Those” emotions of the past are now stronger due to the separation.
Perhaps, the narrator repeats “more” to truly focus the benefit of the challenges they have endured so they may better understand the other’s “character, truth, and attachment”. Returning to the past is merely connecting the memories and love from their previous engagement to who they are now. Because they are so united with each other, it as though the action of all the people around them is meaningless. The busy chaos contrasts with the peace of heart and mind the two can now enjoy, where they share their “retrospections and “acknowledgements.”
What I believe the narrator tries to highlight is that the length of time that had elapsed did not hinder their love, but further enhanced it. Now is “perhaps” the right timing where they are “more justified in action.”
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