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Corinne Vieracker
ENG 448
Professor Pollak
2 May 2011
Duplicity in Reserved Characters
In several of her novels, Jane Austen presents reserved heroines. In Sense and Sensibility
she presents Elinor Dashwood, in Mansfield Park Fanny Price, and in Persuasion Anne Elliot.
These three characters are also seen as Austen’s most virtuous heroines. For all these heroines
reserve is important to how each operates. Each heroine is expected by society to show emotion
but also keep it in reserve. Showing too much emotion takes away a woman’s modesty, while
being too rational is seen as masculine. These contradictory demands on women required that
they develop a certain amount of duplicity. We see this clearly in the case of Anne Elliot. She
keeps her emotions towards Captain Wentworth quiet, protecting herself when she is really
suffering. Also, Anne keeps her thoughts to herself several times when she is really amused by
other characters in the novel. The fact that we encounter such duplicity in a character who is
also one of Austen’s most virtuous characters may suggest that Austen is commenting ironically
on the paradoxical character of female virtue. Through Anne Elliot, Austen demonstrates how
the demand for women in this time period to be reserved about their emotions often forced them
to be duplicitous.
In Austen’s time women were forced to operate through reserve based on propriety in
society. Women were seen more attractive in society when they demonstrated more modesty.
Austen’s characters operate with reserve through observation and reflection. Thus, it was
considered proper for Anne Elliot to demonstrate modesty and keep her emotions in reserve
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throughout Persuasion. For instance, by listening to Lady Russell and refusing Captain
Wentworth in the past, Anne is acting properly. She is obeying her elders and considering
Wentworth’s career, putting her emotions second and showing modesty. Even at the end of the
novel, Anne recognizes that her actions in the past were the right thing to do. Furthermore, Anne
consistently allows other people to make decisions for her. For example, in the beginning of the
novel her family decides that she should wait to go to Bath and stay with her sister Mary. This
allows Anne to be more useful for her family and thus making her appear better in society rather
than if she were to fight her family’s plans. Also, these plans work for the better for Anne. Not
only does this keep her from going to Bath, which she dislikes, but she is also able to meet
Wentworth and carry out the plot of the novel. If Anne were to disobey her family and be more
open as opposed to reserved then the story would never happen. Anne’s reserved or proper
actions and her lack of actions in the novel demonstrate how women were forced to act within
the limitations that society and family has created, because Anne is doing what is expected of
her.
Societal expectations of women play a large role in how Austen creates and develops
Anne and her other admirable heroines throughout her novels. For instance, Anne Elliot is
expected to marry more preferably high class to help her family, these expectations help lead to
Anne’s initial rejection of Wentworth because part of Lady Russell’s reasoning for persuading
Anne had to do with wanting her to be known. By wanting Anne to be known, Lady Russell
wants Anne to be known socially by marrying high class; this would further help her family keep
their high status. If Anne had married Wentworth before he excelled in his career she would
have been low class, similar to Mrs. Price in Mansfield Park, who married for love.
Furthermore, in Austen’s time period women were expected to be modest and to keep all
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emotions in reserve. These expectations of women are what causes heroines like Anne Elliot,
Elinor Dashwood, and Fanny Price to operate through reserve. They follow what is expected by
society which is to keep their modesty and then they end up keeping their emotions in reserve.
Their reserve is how each character protects themselves by following expectations and hiding
their emotions. This reserve, however, also makes each heroine suffer. In the case of Anne
Elliot, she keeps her emotions in reserve for Captain Wentworth after his return in order to stay
proper and protect herself from his brewing anger. But she also suffers from keeping her
emotions hidden and having to watch him fall for Louisa Musgrove. If these women displayed
their emotions easily then it would have taken away from their modesty. On the other hand, if
women, like Anne, displayed too little emotion they were considered too rational, and were also
seen as masculine.
While society demanded this reserve, society also demanded emotion from women in
Austen’s time. Having too much reserve or being too rational was seen as masculine and
lessened the attraction of women for men which lessened the chance of marrying for women.
For Anne Elliot her reserve took away from her attraction. By keeping her emotions in reserve,
Captain Wentworth cannot tell her feelings for him and believes her to be indifferent towards
him. This demonstrates how it was necessary for women to display some emotion to attract a
man or husband and that reserve is desirable for men in this time but emotion is as well. So in
Anne’s case it is necessary to display emotions to allow Wentworth to know her feelings towards
him. Furthermore, Anne also keeps her amusement in reserve. These moments are seen multiple
times like, “Anne smiled more than once to herself during this speech” and “Anne was amused
by Henrietta’s manner of being grateful, and amused also, that the course of events and the new
interest of Henrietta’s views should have placed her friend at all in favour with the Musgrove
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family” (Austen, 101, 102, vol. 1 ch. 7). With Anne smiling to herself we are able to tell that she
is keeping this amusement to herself or in reserve. And while the narrator tells us that Anne is
amused she never acts on her amusement further adding to the idea that she keeps this
amusement to herself and does not share it with anyone else, or in reserve. The fact that Anne
does keep this to herself further adds to her modesty and creating the image of a plain character
for other characters in the novel. The reserved ways that she presents herself to society may
make her seem masculine or plain but definitely makes her dull and takes away from her youth
which had previously attracted Wentworth.
The idea of Anne Elliot and some of Austen’s other characters being forced to
demonstrate both reserve and emotion presents a sense of duplicity in her characters. The
characters present both the qualities of having reserve and emotions. They appear reserved in the
social situations they are presented in Austen’s novels, but through Austen’s use of free indirect
discourse the readers are able to witness each characters other emotions to demonstrate and build
this duplicity. Her heroines Anne Elliot, Elinor Dashwood, and Fanny Price are forced into this
duplicity, but she has other characters like Whickam, Willoughby, and Frank Churchill who also
present duplicitous characteristics. These male characters, however, are not as admirable or
virtuous as her duplicitous female heroines. In fact, these male characters are depicted as rude
and inconsiderate and at some points the villains in Austen’s novels. Thus, in Austen’s novels,
she presents two sets of duplicitous characters, the good and the bad, with their main difference
being their gender. With the different genders in her duplicitous characters, Austen is
demonstrating how the male characters have the choice with their duplicitous personalities, while
her female heroines have this personality forced upon them by society and society’s expectations
to be both in reserve and to demonstrate emotions. Her male characters do not have the same
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expectations of society, but only use their personalities in negative ways. Her female characters
have this personality through force but are able to use it to exceed in society making them
admirable. Anne Elliot uses both her reserve and her emotions to excel in society by winning
over Captain Wentworth by the end of the novel and succeeding in society’s expectations to
marry. She further uses her duplicitous nature to carry out Austen’s most fantasy like endings
and by marrying Wentworth through her duplicity, Anne is also able to help Mrs. Smith with her
money issues.
The difference between the male and female duplicitous characters creates the idea that
Austen is commenting on the paradoxical character of female virtue. It appears hypocritical to
present her admirable female characters with similar characteristics as the characteristics she
uses to present several of her male villain type characters; however, Austen is able to use these
similar presentations to depict the limitations of women in her society because the while the male
characters have a sort of choice to be duplicitous the female heroines are forced into the duplicity
based on society. Furthermore, the fact that the paradox is of her most admirable and virtuous
characters creates the idea that these characters are admirable due to their ability to succeed with
this duplicitous nature without becoming the villain that the male characters are. Because they
have duplicitous nature that is similar to that of her male characters but have still managed to
stay good they become virtuous and admirable for Austen readers. These heroines have
overcome what society has forced upon them and have managed to use it to succeed in society’s
expectations. Their ability to do this allows them to cross the barriers created through society
and its expectations and limitations.
Furthermore, through society’s expectations of women, Austen also shows society’s
limitations for women. With being forced to be both in reserve and to display emotions, women
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have a harder time succeeding and getting what they want from society. In the case of a women
wanting marriage, she must have the perfect amounts of both reserve and emotions. If she has
too much reserve she is seen as too rational and thus masculine, but on the other hand if she
shows too much emotion she is not taken seriously and is seen as flighty. A man may want a
woman to show some emotion to encourage him, but if she is too reserved he may turn away. In
opposition, a man may want a woman to be very modest and too much emotion my again turn
him away. Austen shows these requirements of courtship in all of her novels. Even her most
emotional characters, like Marianne Dashwood, grow into a sense of reserve before marrying.
Austen is demonstrating the limitations of how women get what they want. Even for Anne
Elliot, she keeps her emotions in reserve throughout the entire novel but must show some
emotion towards Wentworth before he is comfortable proposing again. Austen repeatedly uses
these duplicitous heroines to demonstrate the difficulty for women to attract and marry whom
they want in her time period. The lack of ability for women to obtain what they want based on
society’s expectations depicts society’s limitations. In this way society is somewhat paradoxical,
because societal expectations are for women to marry, while societal limitations make it more
difficult for women to marry.
Through society’s expectations and limitations and the effects of a duplicitous nature for
women, Austen is able to critique the hypocrisy within society during her time period. Since the
limitations collide with the expectations for women, Austen is able to demonstrate this collision
and the difficulty it presents for her female heroines. For Anne Elliot, society and her family
expect her to get married, however, she is limited to whom she can marry. She is to marry
someone of a higher class that will help elevate her family. But these expectations and
limitations hurt her. Charles Musgrove does propose to her, he is of a higher class and can help
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elevate her family, but she denies him because he does not meet her own wants. Thus, Austen is
commenting on the collision of society’s limitations and expectations as well as a woman’s
specific wants. Austen explores the possibility for the three to coexist to create a happy ending.
For Anne Elliot it does after Wentworth’s second proposal, however, the ending of Persuasion
can be read as a fantasy ending and one of Austen’s truly happy endings. The fact that Austen
does only have the one book with a fantasy ending could demonstrate a critique on happy
endings and their existence in a society with regulations. With all of the barriers and boundaries
of the society that Austen presents in her novels she is able to give a true idea of the hypocrisy
society is itself. Not only her female heroines develop a duplicitous nature in her novels, but the
society that forces the duplicitous nature has one as well. Thus, the critique Austen is able to
depict through duplicitous characters like Anne Elliot is able to reveal the hypocrisy of the
society of her time period.
Through multiple heroines, Jane Austen is able to demonstrate how society demanded
women to be reserved about their emotions to keep modest while also keeping their emotions
created duplicitous women. Her heroine Anne Elliot and her relationship with Captain
Wentworth in Persuasion demonstrates this concept. Austen is able to use Anne’s emotions
towards Wentworth as a way to show them as being in reserve in the company of other
characters, but proving that she does have them through the technique of free indirect discourse.
The critique of society forcing this duplicitous nature on women also creates a critique of society
itself and how society can have its own duplicitous nature based on the collision of expectations
and limitations along with the wants of the people these expectations and limitations affect the
most.