What causes Anne to regain her “bloom?”

Would we prefer that Anne’s words to Captain Wentworth on the gravel-walk (pp. 270-2) had been given in direct discourse? Why did Jane Austen choose otherwise?

What does Anne’s final defense of her first decision (pp. 276-7) tell us about her?

When does Captain Wentworth change his mind favorably toward Anne?

Is Lady Russell a good friend to Anne?

What is the role of persuasion in Persuasion?

Are women more inconstant than men (pp. 264-5)?

What “indefinable” quality (p. 137) could make Gomov attractive to women?

What does Anna’s lorgnette symbolize?

How does the digression on the sea (pp. 140-1) fit in with the story?

What’s so important about the dog that he gets into the title?

Is the ending optimistic?

What might the missing two pages (p. 275) have contained?

What do you make of the coincidence that Yu Tsun’s intended victim is the one person who grasps the meaning of Ts’ui Pen’s legacy?

Why doesn’t Yu Tsun kill Albert at the first opportunity?

What does Yu Tsun mean by saying, “The future is with us (p. 283)?”

What is the cause of the weariness that Yu Tsun says he feels at the end of his statement?