Anne Elliott, on the other hand, personifies nearly every virtue. She is without obvious fault; except one could say that she is, perhaps, too perfect. Even Austen describes her as a heroine [who] is almost too good for me. Anne is the most serious of Austens heroines, and the most introspective. She is also older; at 27 years of age, she is a woman, not a child.

Having read Emma one cannot help but be struck by the startling contrast one finds in Persuasion with Austens description of Anne, in the opening pages of the novel, . . . Anne Elliott had been a very pretty girl, but her bloom had vanished early; even at its height, her father had found little to admire in her . . . It seems Anne, despite her gentle, patient and obedient nature, is viewed as a disappointment by her father. Annes only real fault is that she followed poor advice from an aunt, but she felt duty-bound to seek and to follow such advice, as any respectful young woman from a good family would.

The two paths these heroines, Emma and Anne, take to an eventual coming of age dont vary all that drastically, at least as far as the novels respective plots are concerned. They both must endure a series of misunderstandings with those around them, including their lovers. They must both experience a moment of truth, a crossroads, when each of them must determine the direction that life is going to take. The key difference in their journey is an important one, however, and it reflects how Austens writing had matured and grown more reflective by the time she had written Persuasion.

Emma is a young woman who is a bit overconfident of her social abilities; she needs to be tamed and shown where her boundaries are. She truly does not mean harm, but she is too young and naïve yet to have an intuitive sense of when to hold her tongue or refrain from interfering in the business of others. Emma is in need of a mentor, and she finds several: Mr. Knightly, Jane Fairfax, Mrs. Weston and even Harriet Smith all help to guide Emma as she becomes a more sensitive and tactful version of her former self.

Emmas moment of truth comes to pass courtesy of Mr. Knightly. When he admonishes her for her treatment of Miss Bates, calling her conduct unfeeling and insolent he tells her . . . I must, I willI will tell you truths while I can, satisfied with proving myself your friend by faithful counsel, and trusting that you will some time or other do me greater justice than you can do now. Emma is thunderstruck by Knightleys rebuke. She has never had a harsh word spoken to her by anyone whom she loves. The realization that the person she admires most in the world is disappointed in her conduct causes a sudden wave of wisdom to wash over her. She cannot deny the error of her ways; she must make amends with Miss Bates and turn away from her childish overindulgences.

Anne Elliotts moment of truth is both subtler and more internal. She has grown up to be a mature woman; she knows what she is about; she doesnt need anyone to tell her who is she is or what she wants. Anne had always felt she had made a mistake in letting someone else persuade her when it came time to make a life-altering decision. Though she regrets the loss of Captain Wentworth, she is not bitter. Anne accepts her lot in life quietly and nobly. But she, too, experiences a coming of age; hers comes in the form of openly acknowledging her internal feelings and desires. At the end of the novel, Captain Wentworth finally acknowledges his love for Anne, in writing. A verbal exchange follows, when Wentworth challenges Anne; he questions how she could have allowed herself to be talked out of marrying him. Annes response is the key to understanding the profound change that has taken place in her perspective; she replies, . . . I was right in submitting to [Lady Russell], and that if I had done otherwise, I should have suffered more in continuing the engagement than I did even in giving it up, because I should have suffered in my conscience. With this statement, Anne is articulating for the first time why she allowed herself to be persuaded to decline Captain Wentworths first offer of marriage. Instead of thinking to herself that she must have been weak and misguided, and that she lost her only opportunity for happiness, she now understands that she did the only thing she could have done, because, above all, she had to remain true to herself. It is true that Lady Russells advice was poor, but Anne made the right choice, at that time, in following her advice. Anne could not have been happy in marriage if it meant defying her aunts wishes. Instead of viewing herself as failure, Anne can now see herself as a strong and faithful person, willing to sacrifice for what she believes is right. She can now marry Captain Wentworth with the true feeling of joy in her heart that would have been deprived from her had she married him before.

In the coming of age stories of these two heroines, we see a marked contrast in the obstacles Austen places in the way of her heroines. Emma, innocent and naïve, is delivered by her wise and paternal lover. Anne, however, redeems herself. Through Anne, Austen signifies a profound shift in the portrayal of her heroines. With Anne Elliott, Austen is saying that women dont need to rely on others to find their true selves. They simply need to look within.

Molly Cormaney was born in Cedar Falls, IA...and has lived there ever since. She earned a B.A. in English and political science, and an M.A. in English from the University of Northern Iowa. Her "day job" consists of employee training and development for Cedar Falls Utilities. In the evenings she teaches literature and composition courses for Upper Iowa University.
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