Anne Elliot: A Feminist Before Feminism

Though by modern standards Anne Elliot would not be a feminist during the 19th century she was closer to being a feminist than the stereotypical woman of the time was. In fact, she was closer to it than any other female characters in Persuasion. The word feminist, according to Webster's Dictionary, is dated 1895. This means that the word began widespread usage (thus being entered into the dictionary) well after Persuasion ended. There are two definitions of the word feminism in the dictionary.

However, only one is relevant to my topic and it is as follows: [Feminism is] "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. " Anne does not fit the dictionary definition of Feminism. During her conversation with Captain Harville in the second to last chapter Anne argues that women love longer than men. The fact that she in fact does not argue that they love equally as long ("social equality of the sexes") proves that she does not fit the description.

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Anne also says she will not allow Harville to use quotes from literature to prove his point because men wrote them all, and it would only be another biased opinion reflecting the male point of view. So is Anne a feminist or not? She is a feminist. During a time when labeling a women a feminist was impossible, Anne defied female stereotypes and began to behave as what we would call a feminist. To everyone (except Wentworth) she was "only Anne. " The people around her however, could not see the inner workings of her mind as we, the readers can.

With that power we are able to know what she believes in, what she is capable of, and who she is... a feminist before feminism. If someone reads Persuasion with a modern mindset, she is likely to think of Anne Elliot as a prim and proper woman. She should notice that these characteristics in Anne pale in comparison to those in many of the other female characters in Persuasion. Her sister, Elizabeth, is always worried about proper behavior (for someone as important as herself). Elizabeth also worries about cordiality, but only to those who meet her high standards of importance (those who are richer and of higher nobility than herself).

During the early 19th century, women had a clearly defined role in life. Women of any nobility (e. g. Baronesses) had very clearly defined ones. The typical duty of these women was primarily motherhood. It was expected, still, that women marry rather young (about 16-20 years old), have children, and, for those of any level of royalty, be poised, sensitive, mild, and obedient of their husbands. Anne was not the typical woman. At twenty-seven, Anne was not yet married. Anne read many different genres of literature and, in doing so, educated herself on many topics.

When she shares her opinions of literature with Captain Benwick, we find that she has experienced a sort of heightened knowledge of emotions (hers and others') in part due to her reading poetry. This knowledge of emotions and the human condition, so to speak, helps to make Anne more well rounded than most women. Her priorities are put in order according to her feelings and knowledge about them, rather than the potential of advancing into wealthier, even higher class social circles. Anne is surrounded with typical women of nobility, and those who wish they were.

Anne's sister, Mary, has become a hypochondriac to get the attention she thinks she deserves and does not receive. Elizabeth, Anne's other sister, has become obsessed with being the lady of Kellynch Hall. Lady Russell, though she tries to appear intelligent and self-reliant, is not as learned in life lessons as Anne. She also "had a value for rank and consequence, which blinded her a little to the faults of those who possessed them. " These women are not a well-developed group of role models for women in modern terms.

Though everyone has faults, these three women felt more a sense of duty to be what women had always been than to become people themselves, and live lives of their choosing. They all needed something or someone else to tell them what they 'had' to be: mother, wife, dainty, needy, and/or passive. Though in the end Anne marries Wentworth, we know it is on equal terms. Wentworth presents his feelings to Anne in a letter. After listening to her feelings, Wentworth finds her emotions match his.

Though they were "in love" when they were young, they now have fallen in love on more levels than simple attraction. As they got older, learned more, and met more people, they grew not only in years, but emotionally as well. We see the meeting of the minds Anne and Wentworth have in their words and actions after Anne reads Wentworth's letter. Wentworth sees that Anne has become her own woman and the fact that she appears to not need him, makes him more curious than ever about her feelings toward him.

Anne never credits herself with being an emotional hub in two separate communities, but she was. That was because she trusted herself just enough to be confident in helping others without making decisions for them (like Lady Russell did over eight years before the book began). By current definitions, which do not take into account those who preceded feminist "movements" and activism, Anne Elliot was not a feminist in the beginning. Throughout the novel she was an independent, intellectual, emotionally stable woman. By the end of it Anne is almost there.

She holds some feminist ideals, but she does not make them her only conversation topic, or use solely those ideals to base decisions upon, no does she hide them. She proves to Wentworth, with her actions in his presence and those he hears about from others, that she is his equal. That, combined with long-lasting (equal) love of both people, puts Wentworth in Anne's hands and she takes him happily. In the 1800s, and in Anne's life, political and economic equality of the sexes were rarely spoken of. Those ideas were simply ridiculous at the time.

In larger gatherings Anne was generally the only woman in the book who had intellectual conversations with men as well as conversing with women. That proves Anne knows she is the social equal of either sex, not a wall decoration to keep quiet and look pretty. In closing, Anne was a feminist before feminism. She was not radical, nor was she hateful. She focused on making sure that she did not take on the same traditional role her (female) peers were. Anne, in being herself and being comfortable with that, was a feminist. She may not have been in a picket line, but she broke the 19th century female mold.