Austen and Sterne's Sentiments

While Jane Austen’s Persuasion and Lawrence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey were written in the same time period and have overlapping themes and similarities, there are also many differences in the effects that are produced in their use of free indirect discourse and the first person narrative, respectively. Two passages that demonstrate the similarities and differences in the effects produced have an overlapping theme of confusion over motives. In Persuasion, there is a point when Anne struggles with the idea of going to the outer door to check for rain when she clearly saw Wentworth pass by earlier. We can compare and contrast this to the passage in A Sentimental Journey when Yorick questions his motives of inviting a lady he had just met to share a carriage with him.

            Though the two passages share the same theme, there are also some differences. We can see that Austen’s use of free indirect discourse distances us from the situation. We witness bits and pieces of Anne’s thought process—“she wanted to see if it rained. Why was she to suspect herself of another motive?” (165) Though we can see what she is thinking, we do not get to see it in a great detail. What would cause her to question herself? We can only observe. Because it is FID, we also are unsure whether the descriptions of Anne are her own or are of the narrator. However, in A Sentimental Journey, instead of distancing us from the main character, we become closer to the main character. Sterne’s use of first person narrative brings us along with Yorick in Yorick’s thought process—“Now where would be the harm, said I to myself, if I was to beg of this distressed lady to accept of half of my chaise?—and what mighty mischief could ensue” (19). We know exactly what Yorick is thinking. His constant stops with the use of hypens add to this effect. His thoughts jump from one thing to another. Sometimes, he is confused and his conscience comes up to persuade him of one thing while his mind thinks another thing—“you know not who she is, said CAUTION” (19).

             While the use of FID in Austen’s novel gives the audience many focal points and hence different lenses to look through, Sterne’s use of the first person narrative also accomplishes something similar. In Persuasion, we see Anne’s focal point—“Why was she to suspect herself of another motive?” (165) She, in her mind, is “suspecting” herself of wanting to get a glimpse of Wentworth. However, we also see that the passage can be from the narrator’s focal point. The narrator in Persuasion usually takes a critical tone. Here we can see that the narrator may be using “suspect” to actually tell us that Anne is trying to deceive herself. Hence, we have two different focal points to view the overall situation. Similarly, Sterne’s use of the first person narrative shows us Yorick’s thought process. In doing so, we have multiple focal points in which we can see this situation as well—Yorick and Yorick’s conscience. In fact, Yorick’s conscience is personified as multiple things: avarice, caution, cowardice, discretion, hypocrisy, meanness, and pride. However, Austen only provides us with the narrator and Anne to view the situation from. We do not see what exactly persuades Anne, but we see exactly what persuades Yorick.