Anne Elliot
Anne Elliot is the protagonist of Jane Austen's sixth and last completed novel, Persuasion.
Description
Anne is the overlooked middle daughter of a spendthrift baronet, Sir Walter Elliot of Kellynch Hall. Unique among Jane Austen heroines, she is 27 years old and seemingly a confirmed spinster[1]. Her mother is dead; her father and older sister are vulgar and selfish; and her younger sister is a manipulative hypochondriac. This leaves Anne, with her refined tastes and elegant mind, somewhat isolated. Lady Russell, her mother's best friend, is her only real confidante; and although she means well, she is far from perfect. Eight years before, she helped persuade Anne to break her engagement with Captain Wentworth, a poor but ambitious young naval officer with whom she was deeply in love. As a result, Anne begins Persuasion as a sad figure, disregarded by her father, "wretchedly altered" in looks, and resigned to an empty life. When Captain Wentworth, now prosperous, returns to the neighborhood, Anne is at first pained; however, his presence gradually sets her life in motion again.
Film and TV portrayals of Anne Elliot
- 1960: Daphne Slater, BBC miniseries
- 1971: Anne Firbank, BBC miniseries
- 1995: Amanda Root, made-for-television film
- 2007: Sally Hawkins, film, ITV1
References
- ^ Tomalin, Claire. Jane Austen: A Life. New York: Vintage, 1997, p. 256
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