Persuasion (Characters)

Characters

Captain Benwick

Benwick, "an excellent young man," had been engaged to Captain Harville's sister. Anne meets him when she and her group travel to Lyme to visit Harville, Wentworth's friend. Harville's sister died the preceding summer while Benwick was at sea, and he has been in mourning ever since. Anne notes his "melancholy air" and his withdrawal from conversation. When she strikes up a friendship with him, she finds that his need to be useful prompts him to keep busy, constructing toys for the children and fixing things for the Harvilles. He and Anne discuss poetry, but she warns him of its power to stir the emotions and so suggests that he read it sparingly.

Mrs. Clay

Elizabeth strikes up a friendship with Mrs. Clay, the daughter of Mr. Shepherd, the family's lawyer. Mrs. Clay has returned to her father's house with her children after an unprosperous marriage. She has a sharp mind and "understood the art of pleasing," which makes her untrustworthy to Anne and Lady Russell, who consider her friendship with Elizabeth "dangerous." They both believe that she would like to form a romantic relationship with Sir Walter.

Admiral Croft

Admiral Croft and his wife rent Kellynch Hall after the Elliots move to Bath. His "goodness of heart and simplicity of character" are "irresistible" to Anne.

Mrs. Croft

Mrs. Croft is a "well-spoken, genteel, shrewd lady," who appears older than her thirty-eight years, due to her spending so much time at sea with her husband. Anne admires her for her open and easy manners and her devotion to being with her husband, even under the harsh conditions at sea.

Anne Elliot

Anne Elliot, Sir Elliot's middle daughter, possesses an elegant mind and sweet character recognized by all but her father and sister, who regard her as ordinary and so do not pay her much attention. Years ago, during her relationship with Wentworth, Anne had been quite attractive, but the pain she suffered after their split caused her "bloom" to vanish early.

Anne's loyalty and sense of family duty emerged as she forced herself to follow her father's and Lady Russell's advice concerning her engagement to Wentworth. Her naïve and gentle nature could not stand up to these two powerful influences in her life. She especially trusted Lady Russell's good council and so was persuaded to admit that a marriage to Wentworth would be improper and imprudent. Her unselfishness extended to Wentworth, whom she was convinced would also benefit from the breaking of their engagement, a belief that helped her endure their painful split.

Years later, Anne displays her maturity and levelheadedness as she constructs a plan with Lady Russell to help her father economize. Mary and her friends recognize her responsible nature and her kind heart, which emerges as she nurses her sister and takes charge after Louisa falls from the Cobb. All, except her father and sister, look to Anne for direction when a problem arises.

Over the years, Anne develops a keen understanding of human nature and so recognizes her father's and sister's shallow class consciousness. As she meets and enjoys the company of the Crofts and the Musgroves, she comes to relax her own strict standards of behavior and situation. This change becomes apparent when everyone but Anne makes a fuss when her cousins, the Dowager Viscountess Dalrymple and her daughter, the Honorable Miss Carteret, come to Bath. Anne finds them boring, preferring "the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation." She ignores William's observation that the family's association with them would be good for their position in society. She feels that those whose sincerity sometimes caused them to be imprudent or to lack decorum should be trusted more than those whose guardedness never allowed them to make a social mistake.

Her maturity also contributes to her understanding that while she should not yield to another's persuasion, she must retain her loyalty to her friends and family, even at the expense of her own desires.

Elizabeth Elliot

Elizabeth, the eldest Elliot daughter, has been the mistress of Kellynch Hall for the past thirteen years since her mother died, "presiding and directing with a self-possession and decision." She shares her father's vanity and class snobbery and ignores Anne, for the most part, considering her not worthy of her time or attention.

Mary Elliot

Sir Walter and Elizabeth also did not think much of Mary, the youngest Elliot, but when she married Charles Musgrove, she acquired a measure of importance in their estimation. Exhibiting the same kind of self-involvement as does her sister and father, Mary often complains of being unwell and always insists that her needs take precedence over those of her family. She often turns to Anne to "nurse" her back to health. When she feels that she has been properly attended to, she has high spirits, but when left alone for too long a period, she inevitably comes down with a new series of complaints.

Just as Anne is planning her move to Bath, Mary contracts another aliment and insists that she "cannot possibly do without" Anne's care. While Mary shows none of Anne's compassion nor even temper, Anne frequently agrees to stay with her sister since she was "not so repulsive and unsisterly as Elizabeth, nor so inaccessible to all influence of hers."

Sir Walter Elliot

"Vanity was the beginning and the end" of Sir Walter's character. He spent his time perfecting his personal appearance and reviewing his position in society. His favorite pastime is to reread his entry in the Baronetage, a book that records his and his family's history and social standing. He is quite attached to his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, who shares his temperament, but considers his two other daughters to be of very inferior value. He has lost hope of Anne ever marrying well and so puts his faith in Elizabeth to uphold the honor of the family through a prosperous marriage.

Sir Walter's snobbery had previously prompted him to deny his blessing for Anne's plans to marry Wentworth. He considers a naval career undesir-able, insisting that sailors work hard but do not deserve to be raised from an obscure birth into distinction that he considers unmerited. He also finds sailors rather unattractive, due to their weathered features. Sir Walter only appreciates people and things he finds aesthetically pleasing. He reveals his shallowness when, at the end of the novel, he welcomes Wentworth into the family since the captain has amassed over twenty-five thousand pounds and has moved as high in his profession as possible and thus is no longer "nobody." Wentworth is now esteemed "quite worthy to address the daughter of a foolish, spendthrift baronet."

William Elliot

William Elliot, Esq., Anne's cousin and the heir presumptive to the Elliot inheritance, had a falling out with the family after his relationship with Elizabeth failed to end in marriage. The family had also discovered that he had "spoken most disrespectfully of them," which they could not forgive. Soon after, he married a rich woman "of inferior birth." After she died, he tried to resume his relationship with Elizabeth, but she would not consider it.

Eventually, he reestablishes his relationship with the family by insisting that his treatment of them had been due to an unfortunate misunderstanding. Sir Walter forgives him, and the family now becomes "delighted" with him, influenced by his charm and the fortune he has amassed through marriage. William now turns his attentions to Anne, who initially is flattered. To all, he appears polished, agreeable, and sensible. His conversations with others reveal "correct opinions" about the world and family honor. He also displays a kind heart and a sense of moderation.

The family assumes that he will marry Anne. While she admits the thought of being able to move back to Kellynch is hard to resist, she decides there is something about his character that bothers her. She distrusts his past, due to rumors that he had indulged in bad habits. Also, although he appears to be rational and discreet, he is not open. Anne notices that he never displays his emotions — any "warmth of indignation or delight." She becomes suspicious of his guardedness.

Anne's suspicions of William are proven true when Mrs. Smith reveals to her his true character. Elliot is, in reality, "a designing, wary, cold-blooded being who thinks only of himself." Mrs. Smith has experienced firsthand his lack of feeling for others when she watched him lead her husband into overwhelming debt. She concludes that he is "black and hollow at heart." Mrs. Smith proves his true nature when she shows Anne a letter he had written, criticizing her family. At the end of the novel, Elliot runs off with Mrs. Clay.

Captain Harville

Anne considers Captain Harville, a good friend of Wentworth's, a perfect gentleman, "unaffected, warm, and obliging."

Mrs. Fanny Harville

Mrs. Harville is "a degree less polished than her husband," yet she displays the same good heart, warmly welcoming the group from Somersetshire to her home. She also insists that Louisa recuperate under her care after her accident.

Charles Hayter

Charles Hayter, a scholar "very superior in cultivation and manners" to the Musgroves, has been involved in a relationship with Henrietta. When Wentworth arrives, Henrietta's attentions and affection are temporarily transferred from Charles to him.

Charles Musgrove

Charles Musgrove, a well-respected local man, had asked Anne to marry him, but she turned him down, and eventually he married her sister Mary. Her marriage to Charles pleases Sir Walter, who appreciates that Charles's standing in society is second only to Sir Walter's.

Charles's good nature allows him to tolerate his wife's frequent bids for attention, a quality Anne admires. She admits that his temperament and common sense make him superior to her sister; however, he is not clever enough in conversation for her to regret turning him down. He spends much of his time involved in sport but in nothing else of consequence, a situation Anne decides would have been improved if he had married a woman of equal understanding who could have helped steer him in a more useful and rational direction.

Henrietta Musgrove

Henrietta and Louisa, Charles's sisters, are typical women of their time and station. They live "to be fashionable, happy and merry." They both are high spirited and open but have no time for the more cultivated pursuits that occupy much of Anne's time. Anne appreciates their mutual affection for each other, something she has not enjoyed with her own sisters. Henrietta and Louisa pay Wentworth a great deal of attention and develop a "fever of admiration" for him that Anne fears might turn into love. Henrietta had been in a romantic relationship with another man before she met Captain Wentworth. Her attention and affection, however, soon return to the former man.

Louisa Musgrove

Louisa Musgrove is more incautious than her sister is. Her desire to jump off the Cobb causes her serious injury. While she recuperates, she falls in love with Captain Benwick.

Mr. Musgrove

Mr. Musgrove and his wife live an unordered life. Anne notes that they, "like their houses," always seem to be "in a state of alteration." They are old English in style, whereas their children are devoted to the new, and whereas neither is educated nor elegant, their friendliness and hospitality ensure their popularity; they never lack invitations or visitors.

Mrs. Musgrove

Mrs. Musgrove shares her husband's easy manner.

Lady Russell

The Elliots have relied on Lady Russell's generous support and generally reasonable advice ever since Mrs. Elliot died. Though she possessed a winning combination of benevolence and strict integrity, she was prejudicial against those she deemed of lower rank and consequence. She shared Sir Walter's disapproval of Anne's early attachment to Wentworth, noting that the captain had no money. She also considered "his sanguine temper, and fearlessness of mind," a dangerous combination and so strongly advised Anne against marrying him. Wentworth's behavior had not suited Lady Russell's own ideas, and she was hasty in suspecting them to indicate a character of "dangerous impetuosity." When Anne and Wentworth reestablish their relationship, Lady Russell reveals her magnanimous nature, admitting that she was wrong about him.

Mr. Shepherd

Mr. Shepherd, the Elliot's lawyer and Mrs. Clay's father, presents himself to be "civil and cautious."

Mrs. Smith

Mrs. Smith, Anne's widowed schoolmate, had been kind to her after Anne's mother died. When Anne reestablishes their friendship in Bath, she finds Mrs. Smith in ill health and financial difficulty. Mrs. Smith displays "good sense and agreeable manners" even during her hard times. Anne admires her "elasticity of mind," her lack of self-pity, and her resourcefulness.

Captain Frederick Wentworth

In the summer of 1806, Captain Wentworth, Mrs. Croft's brother, lived near Kellynch Hall and soon fell in love with Anne, who noted his quick mind, fearlessness, and generous spirit. These qualities, however, prompted Lady Russell's disapproval, which led to her advising Anne not to marry him.

When he reappears in Somersetshire years later, however, Wentworth's sterling character again reveals itself to Anne. He shows his compassionate heart as he listens to Mrs. Musgrove's sorrow over her son's early death, and he takes full responsibility for Louisa's accident, even though her impetuosity had been the cause. His stirring conversation about his days at sea prompt all to feel a "warm admiration" for him. While his stubbornness will not allow him to forgive Anne's initial rejection of him, that same quality will not let him give up on her. His generous nature allows him to forgive Sir Walter's and Lady Russell's interference as he becomes a part of the family.