Austen clearly uses the theme of appearance versus reality to characterize Anne and Sir Walter. She evidently believes that how a character sees others is a direct reflection of that character’s personality. Thus, we know that Anne Elliot possesses true depth of character and sincerity because her superficial family fails to recognize her fine qualities: “Anne, with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, which must have placed her high with any people of real understanding, was nobody with either father or sister: her word had no weight; her convenience was always to give way”. Anne is clearly the only Elliot who can “see reality”: she understands her family’s need to economize and recognizes Mary’s frequent sickness as a call for attention. This is moral significance; she has no consideration for the feelings and wishes of others. However, Anne initially suffers from great family loyalty. She allows Mary to drag her to Uppercross cottage because Elizabeth reasons, “nobody will want Anne in Bath”. When she does arrive in Bath, Anne follows Sir Walter and Elizabeth to various upper-class social gatherings and shows great respect to her cousin Lady Dalrymple, whom Anne really views as a foolish noble. Anne’s maturity is evident when she rejects Lady Dalyrmple’s dinner invitation in favour of visiting her old and widowed friend, Mrs. Smith, whom her father views as “low company” and a “disgusting association”.
These comments really show the difference between Sir Walter and Anne. Sir Walter is not just vain about person but also vain of situation. “He considered the blessing of beauty as inferior only to the blessing of a baronetcy”. This is such a vast comparison to Anne who believes that reality is more important than appearance. In being Anne’s genuine friend Mrs. Smith hastens Anne’s departure from the superficial world of Kellynch Hall and acts as Lady Russell’s character foil. Unlike her shallow father and sisters, Anne can see past Mrs. Smith’s shabby apartment and recognize the sweet person within. Mrs. Smith gradually begins to replace Lady Russell as Anne’s confidante because Lady Russell places so much stock in “rank and consequence”, that she is “blinded…to the faults of those who possessed them”.
Lady Russell is an appropriately overbearing advisor to the insecure and obedient Anne that we meet initially. Anne foolishly allows Lady Russell to persuade her to reject Frederick Wentworth on the basis of his poor appearance and dearth of “connexions”. Moreover, Anne is encouraged to continue seeing William Elliot because Lady Russell fails to see his deception and instead believes he has “knowledge of the world” and a “warm heart”. This is an emotive synecdoche to describe William Elliot who is the cousin of Anne.
Mrs. Smith, however, proves to be a better confidante because she sees through William’s affected kindness and exposes his true intentions to Anne, thus preventing a potentially disastrous and unhappy marriage for her. After Mrs. Smith tells her of William’s desire to marry for a noble title, she reflects on Mrs. Smith’s ability to accurately gauge character: “Here is a line for seeing human nature; and she has a fund of good sense and observation which, as a companion, make her infinitely superior to thousands of those who having only received ‘the best education in the world,’ know nothing worth attending to”. Mrs Smith is very similar to Anne in many ways because they think alike and value reality over appearance. Anne’s transformation into a mature, self-governing woman, complete with a sincere friend, is clear when she acknowledges that she herself is sometimes a better judge of true character than Lady Russell is: “There is a quickness of perception in some, a nicety in discernment of character, a natural penetration, in short, which no experience in others can equal, and Lady Russell had been less gifted in this part of understanding than her young friend”. This is a rule of three, which is another technique that Jane Austen uses. Anne’s developing maturity, marked by her continued visits to Mrs. Smith and her rejection of William Elliot, is brought to fruition by Wentworth’s declaration of love for her.
As a character foil to the deceptive William Elliot, Wentworth genuinely wants Anne to be happy in marriage. When Wentworth first arrives at Uppercross, Anne is terrified, yet secretly delighted to see him again. Her continued love for him is evidenced by her frequent reflections on their past “hearts so open…tastes so similar…feelings so in unison…countenances so beloved”. Moreover, she is mortified by their current estrangement: “his cold politeness, his ceremonious grace, were worse than any thing”. Even though Wentworth has become a prominent member of the Navy and has amassed a substantial fortune, Anne still resigns herself to Lady Russell’s decision and does not pursue him. She consequently endures his growing affection for Louisa Musgrove and her own inability to change his view of her as one “so altered that he should not have known her again”. Wentworth’s passionate love letter, however, which declares to Anne, “you pierce my soul,” stimulates Anne to mature. For the first time in almost eight years, Anne feels complete, “overpowering happiness”. Instead of falling prey to her self-described “timidity” and “feebleness of character”. In the last chapter Anne decides to act on her own desires and according to her own principles by marrying Wentworth for love. This is an appeal to the reader. Most women of the age found love wonderful and it was a big deal to be involved and in love with a man. The idea of it being a love story appeals more to readers than a horror story. At Jane Austen’s time love was a man part of life and this is why she wrote about it.
