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200 LITERATÛRZINÂTNE, FOLKLORISTIKA, MÂKSLA
The Regency Crisis, which forms an important historical background for Persuasion,
caused much confusion and heated debates on the question that should rule the country.
In 1811, the illness of King George III led to a serious constitutional crisis in Britain.
Already in 1788, the King had suffered a serious bout of insanity, which 23 years later
resulted in his permanent incapacity. Fears about the security and stability of the country
were also increased by the events across the English Channel, which became even more
threatening in the light of the domestic troubles. The weakness of the state could have
encouraged foreign invasion at any time. The ailing King and the Regent, the future
George IV, were unable to guarantee the stability and order the kingdom needed.
In connection with all–out dissatisfaction with the Prince Regent’s policy, the
question of efficient management of a country estate arose. It became very characteristic
of the period to draw parallels between the government of the state and an estate
or a house. 1 The estate was seen offering commentaries on the government of the state
and vice versa. According to Anne Elliot in Persuasion, each house is a “little social
commonwealth” on its own where the welfare and happiness of its inhabitants depend
on the management of the estate. 2 The country estate was like a small state to be
governed according to similar principles as the state itself. In Persuasion, Kellynch
Hall is a country estate on the verge of troubles caused by its inner weakness like the
state itself during the Regency Crisis.
The reasons for raising the issue of patrilineal descent in the novel lie in this uncertain
and precarious period of British history. The problem of succession in Persuasion
seems to be tightly connected with the political situation in England at that time. According
to the laws of succession, the Prince of Wales, the King’s eldest son should have
become the Regent. Prince George, however, had marred his reputation and title with
gambling, marital chaos, debts and reckless extravagance which was anything but expected
from the future king. The Prince’s unsuitability to rule the country led to various
disputes on the efficiency of the laws of succession. The inflexibility of the laws that had
been valid since the Middle Ages offered no alternative in situations like this. Even the
Tories who had always supported more conservative approach raised the question of
female rule for the state itself in an attempt to prevent the Prince of Wales from gaining
control of his father’s political house. 3 The debates on the Regency Crisis included the
subject of investing Queen Charlotte with some of the Regent’s powers. Though such
innovative ideas did not find enough support in general, the question of the patrilineal
descent was brought up. In Persuasion, this social aspect is vividly reflected in the problem
of who should inherit Kellynch Hall, the estate of the Elliots. Sir Walter Elliot, a
widower and the owner of the estate, has three adult daughters who cannot inherit the
estate because of the exclusion of female descendants from the line of succession according
to the convention of patrilineal descent.
The system of inheritance current at that time had many drawbacks because of its
strict adherence to the conventions. For the inheritance of the title as well as of the land,
estate and family heirlooms, definite laws had been evolved. As the continuity of a house
was valued very highly, the laws of succession established several aspects that were in
service of this aristocratic principle. The most important institutions concerning inheritance
were inalienability and entail that “settled the succession of an estate inalienably
upon the descendants of an individual owner”. 4 The aspect of primogeniture whereby
the preference in inheritance was given to the eldest son was an essential complement to