 In his introduction to the published screenplay , Dear said he was in part attracted to adapt Persuasion because it depicted a " world in transition " . To him , the novel showed " an old order fading away into decadence , and a new tribe , a meritocracy , coming to the fore " . While directing , Roger Michell felt that the story included " the prototype of the postmodern family " — Anne 's mother is dead , her father is bankrupt , and " the old social orders are breaking down " . Root described Anne as a " feminist in a prefeminist period " and a " strong , independent character " , to whom modern viewers can relate despite the story 's period setting . 
