Persuasion · Chapter
Chapter XXI explained
Anne visits Mrs.
What happens
Anne visits Mrs. Smith, who shrewdly perceives Anne's preoccupation with Captain Wentworth. Mrs. Smith then reveals the truth about Mr. Elliot's character: his selfishness, his cruel neglect of his first wife, and his heartless refusal to help the Smiths after Mr. Smith's death, despite having led them into financial ruin. Anne resolves to inform Lady Russell of Mr. Elliot's true nature.
Themes in this chapter
Selfishness vs. Selflessness
Mr. Elliot's selfishness is starkly contrasted with Anne's selfless loyalty and Mrs. Smith's patient endurance.
Regret and Second Chances
Anne reflects on the painful possibility of having been persuaded to marry Mr. Elliot, shuddering at the misery it would have caused.
Love and Constancy
Anne's unwavering love for Captain Wentworth is reaffirmed; she muses that her affection will be his forever, regardless of the outcome of their present suspense.
Characters to notice
- Anne Elliot
Visits Mrs. Smith, reflects on her feelings for Captain Wentworth, and learns the truth about Mr. Elliot.
- Mrs. Smith
Receives Anne, reveals Mr. Elliot's selfish and unfeeling conduct, and shares her own financial distress.
- Mr. Elliot
Revealed to be disingenuous, artificial, and selfish; his past cruelty and neglect of the Smiths are exposed.
- Captain Frederick Wentworth
Anne's enduring affection for him is confirmed; she muses that her love will be his forever.
- Lady Russell
Anne resolves to inform her of Mr. Elliot's true character, hoping to undecieve her.
Key passages
“How she might have felt had there been no Captain Wentworth in the case, was not worth enquiry; for there was a Captain Wentworth; and be the conclusion of the present suspense good or bad, her affection would be his forever.”
Anne dismisses the hypothetical of a world without Captain Wentworth, affirming that her love for him is eternal, no matter how their current uncertainty resolves.
Highlights Anne's constancy and the centrality of Wentworth to her emotional life.
“Mr. Elliot is evidently a disingenuous, artificial, worldly man, who has never had any better principle to guide him than selfishness.”
Anne concludes that Mr. Elliot is a deceitful and superficial person, motivated solely by self-interest.
Anne's clear-eyed judgment of Mr. Elliot after learning the truth from Mrs. Smith.
“It was a dreadful picture of ingratitude and inhumanity; and Anne felt, at some moments, that no flagrant open crime could have been worse.”
Anne is horrified by the evidence of Mr. Elliot's cold-hearted refusal to help the widowed Mrs. Smith, considering it as bad as any overt crime.
Emphasizes the moral weight of Mr. Elliot's sins of omission and indifference.