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Passage Illustrated: Anne is surprised to find Mary unwell in the drawing-room.

She knew the ways of Uppercross as well as those of Kellynch. The two families were so continually meeting, so much in the habit of running in and out of each other’s house at all hours, that it was rather a surprise to her to find Mary alone; but being alone, her being unwell and out of spirits was almost a matter of course. Though better endowed than the elder sister, Mary had not Anne’s understanding nor temper. While well, and happy, and properly attended to, she had great good humour and excellent spirits; but any indisposition sunk her completely. She had no resources for solitude; and inheriting a considerable share of the Elliot self-importance, was very prone to add to every other distress that of fancying herself neglected and ill-used. In person, she was inferior to both sisters, and had, even in her bloom, only reached the dignity of being “a fine girl.” She was now lying on the faded sofa of the pretty little drawing-room, the once elegant furniture of which had been gradually growing shabby, under the influence of four summers and two children; and, on Anne’s appearing, greeted her with —

“So, you are come at last! I began to think I should never see you. I am so ill I can hardly speak. I have not seen a creature the whole morning!”

“I am sorry to find you unwell,” replied Anne. “You sent me such a good account of yourself on Thursday!”

“Yes, I made the best of it; I always do: but I was very far from well at the time; and I do not think I ever was so ill in my life as I have been all this morning: very unfit to be left alone, I am sure. Suppose I were to be seized of a sudden in some dreadful way, and not able to ring the bell! So, Lady Russell would not get out. I do not think she has been in this house three times this summer.” [Chapter 5, pp. 35-36]

Commentary: Anticipating a Caring Scene with Anne Elliot, Austen's Protagonist

The incident which Cooke has chosen for the subject of the frontispiece is not particularly memorable, but it is highly revealing of the thoughtful character of the novel's protagonist, twenty-seven-year-ld Anne Elliot. In the fifth chapter, Anne displays her customary empathy when she attempts to comfort her sister Mary after her family have left Kellynch Hall for Bath. Anne has moved to her sister Mary's home in Uppercross to keep her company.

Bibliography

Austen, Jane. Persuasion. The Novels of Jane Austen in Ten Volumes. Ed. R. Brimley Johnson. Illustrated by William Cubitt Cooke. London: J. M. Dent, & Co., 1894.

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Created 28 August 2025