The glances in Persuasion

I’ve finished rereading Persuasion. It is a great novel. There is, indeed, a bareness to the book, but it doesn’t matter—there is a sense that everything else is unimportant, the novel is about feelings, and the finest moments in Persuasion are between Anne and Frederick Wentworth.
In Jane Austen, there are lots of glances, and the glances are full of meaning.
Here’s an example in Persuasion, when Mrs Musgrove is talking about her dead “poor Richard”:

“There was a momentary expression in Captain Wentworth's face at this speech, a certain glance of his bright eye, and curl of his handsome mouth, which convinced Anne, that instead of sharing in Mrs Musgrove's kind wishes, as to her son, he had probably been at some pains to get rid of him; but it was too transient an indulgence of self-amusement to be detected by any who understood him less than herself…” (Ch.8)

There’s a similar moment later, when Mary says something snobbish and self-important:

“She received no other answer, than an artificial, assenting smile, followed by a contemptuous glance, as he turned away, which Anne perfectly knew the meaning of.” (Ch.10)

These subtle moment escape everyone else, but Anne notices, because she understands her Frederick.
Now, this is the scene in Lyme, when they see William Walter Elliot for the 1st time:

“It was evident that the gentleman, (completely a gentleman in manner) admired her exceedingly. Captain Wentworth looked round at her instantly in a way which shewed his noticing of it. He gave her a momentary glance, a glance of brightness, which seemed to say, "That man is struck with you, and even I, at this moment, see something like Anne Elliot again."” (Ch.12)

Then later, they see him again at the inn:

“"Ah!" cried Captain Wentworth, instantly, and with half a glance at Anne, "it is the very man we passed."” (ibid.)

Without saying much, Jane Austen conveys, in these glances, that Frederick still cares about Anne and wants to see her reaction, and that Anne notices it all.
My friend Himadri has written about erotic passion in Persuasion, so I won’t write much about it, except to say that, like him, I do think “Austen understood the nature of the erotic better than most: it is, after all, a state of mind. The successful depiction of the erotic lies not in the physical detail, but in the minds of the characters.”
In Persuasion, there are some moments that are particularly erotic. When Anne realises that Frederick Wentworth has taken little Charles away from her:

“Her sensations on the discovery made her perfectly speechless. She could not even thank him. She could only hang over little Charles, with most disordered feelings. His kindness in stepping forward to her relief, the manner, the silence in which it had passed, the little particulars of the circumstance […] But neither Charles Hayter's feelings, nor anybody's feelings, could interest her, till she had a little better arranged her own. She was ashamed of herself, quite ashamed of being so nervous, so overcome by such a trifle; but so it was, and it required a long application of solitude and reflection to recover her.” (Ch.9)

The action seems to be nothing—but it’s the nearness of Frederick that makes her so nervous. 
Himadri mentions another moment, when Frederick helps her get into the carriage. Instead, I’m going to mention a different moment, when Anne is in a carriage in Bath and suddenly sees Frederick Wentworth, whom she hasn’t expected:

“Her start was perceptible only to herself; but she instantly felt that she was the greatest simpleton in the world, the most unaccountable and absurd! For a few minutes she saw nothing before her; it was all confusion. She was lost, and when she had scolded back her senses, she found the others still waiting for the carriage, and Mr Elliot (always obliging) just setting off for Union Street on a commission of Mrs Clay's.” (Ch.19)

Jane Austen writes masterfully of the battle between sense and sensibility in Anne Elliot—Anne tells herself to stay calm and feels ashamed of her agitation, but cannot control her emotions. We can see that in the scene of the walk—she occupies her mind with poetic descriptions of autumn to distract herself, but cannot help trying to listen to Frederick and the Musgrove sisters.
Then when she learns of Louisa’s engagement to Captain Benwick:

“No, it was not regret which made Anne's heart beat in spite of herself, and brought the colour into her cheeks when she thought of Captain Wentworth unshackled and free. She had some feelings which she was ashamed to investigate. They were too much like joy, senseless joy!” (Ch.18) 

Back to the scene in Bath, just a look at Frederick Wentworth is enough to make her feel confused and lost. She’s ashamed of her own reaction. Then when he sees her, unprepared:

“He was more obviously struck and confused by the sight of her than she had ever observed before; he looked quite red. For the first time, since their renewed acquaintance, she felt that she was betraying the least sensibility of the two. She had the advantage of him in the preparation of the last few moments. All the overpowering, blinding, bewildering, first effects of strong surprise were over with her. Still, however, she had enough to feel! It was agitation, pain, pleasure, a something between delight and misery.
He spoke to her, and then turned away. The character of his manner was embarrassment. She could not have called it either cold or friendly, or anything so certainly as embarrassed.” (Ch.19)

Jane Austen understood so well the stirrings of the heart. But both Anne and Frederick are unsure about each other, so they have to restrain their emotions, and keep glancing at each other, trying to guess at each other’s feelings.
Here is the scene at the theatre:

“As her eyes fell on him, his seemed to be withdrawn from her. It had that appearance. It seemed as if she had been one moment too late; and as long as she dared observe, he did not look again: but the performance was recommencing, and she was forced to seem to restore her attention to the orchestra and look straight forward.
When she could give another glance, he had moved away. He could not have come nearer to her if he would; she was so surrounded and shut in: but she would rather have caught his eye.” (Ch.20)

Soon after:

“Such was her situation, with a vacant space at hand, when Captain Wentworth was again in sight. She saw him not far off. He saw her too; yet he looked grave, and seemed irresolute, and only by very slow degrees came at last near enough to speak to her. She felt that something must be the matter. The change was indubitable. The difference between his present air and what it had been in the Octagon Room was strikingly great. Why was it?” (ibid.)

Whenever they’re in the same room, they’re always conscious of each other’s presence, everything else becomes unimportant.

“As she spoke, she felt that Captain Wentworth was looking at her, the consciousness of which vexed and embarrassed her, and made her regret that she had said so much, simple as it was.” (Ch.21)

Note that Jane Austen writes “she felt”—Anne isn’t looking, but she knows he’s looking at her. Again later:

“The careless expression was life to Anne, who saw that Captain Wentworth was all attention, looking and listening with his whole soul; and that the last words brought his enquiring eyes from Charles to herself.
[…] She had spoken it; but she trembled when it was done, conscious that her words were listened to, and daring not even to try to observe their effect.” (Ch.22)

As he cannot ask, he has to listen to her words. As she cannot tell him how she feels, she has to communicate it in her conversations with others. Much of speech in Jane Austen, especially in Persuasion, has double meaning.

“She felt its application to herself, felt it in a nervous thrill all over her; and at the same moment that her eyes instinctively glanced towards the distant table, Captain Wentworth's pen ceased to move, his head was raised, pausing, listening, and he turned round the next instant to give a look, one quick, conscious look at her.” (Ch.23)

That is a great scene of overheard conversation, which leads to what I think is the most romantic love letter in literature.
In Persuasion, as we can see in these glances, Jane Austen captures so well the joy, passion, agitation, confusion, jealousy, embarrassment, and shame of someone in love. She might have worked on a small canvas, but she achieved perfection, with her understanding of human nature. Her novels are still read over 200 years later—they are here to stay.