ABSTRACT
Persuasion has long been awarded a special place in the Jane Austen canon on account of its supposedly new affinity with the Romantic celebration of nature. The author argues that Persuasion's emphasis on nature and its depiction of characters as part of natural cycles contribute to the novel's anti-sport statement. Persuasion also includes male characters who, in contrast to Charles Musgrove, occupy an ambiguous position in relation to rural sport. Austen's opposition of rural sport to domestic affection and nature is particularly resonant in Persuasion also includes male characters who, in contrast to Charles Musgrove, occupy an ambiguous position in relation to rural sport. Charles Hayter is a "scholar and gentleman" who will not "value" the hunting privileges of his new living as a curate "as he ought": he "is too cool about sporting", says his cousin, Charles Musgrove. The novel's closure is not exempt from the rigors of Austen's satirical examination of marriage.
