The Oddball Out...

Anne Elliot is the black sheep in her family, which is quite strange considering she is the "normal" one. All of her siblings are opposites and even her father is included. In fact, I believe that Anne is the complete opposite of her father. I found this deliciously wonderful because every protagonist needs an opposing force and with closer studies, it will reveal the character of Anne Elliot.

Sir Walter Elliot is a vain man that cares more about his looks and rank than anyone in the book. In fact, the first chapter introduces him as,

"Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, . . . he could read his own history with an interest which never failed. This was the page at which the favorite volume always opened:

`ELLIOT OF KELLYNCH HALL.`

Walter Elliot, born March 1, 1760, married, July 15, 1784,
Elizabeth, daughter of James Stevenson, Esq. of South Park,
in the county of Gloucester, by which lady (who died 1800)
he has issue Elizabeth, born June 1, 1785; Anne, born
August 9, 1787; a still-born son, November 5, 1789; Mary,
born November 20, 1791.' " (p. 598)

From the introduction, the reader (or more specifically me) can obviously see the true character of Sir Walter Elliot. This man spends his free time reading about his family history and gloating about his superior rank. When Austen described his favorite past time and how "he found occupation for an idle hour, . . . he could read his own history with an interest which never failed. ", the reader (once again, obviously me) can draw the conclusion that Sir Elliot's values rank and social standing above everything else. Not to mention that he is a horribly vain man, as Austen depicted him obsessed with, "His good looks and his rank had one fair claim on his attachment... "

Therefore, Kellynch Hall had survived under the gentle guidance of Lady Elliot who, "had been an excellent woman, sensible and amiable; whose judgement and conduct, if they might be pardoned the youthful infatuation which made her Lady Elliot, had never required indulgence afterwards ... " However, only one child had been taken with her character and that "was only in Anne that... [she could see] the mother to revive again"

As gathered from the reading, Anne is someone that is kind and caring and most importantly, (clearly unlike her father) places everyone else's needs before her. And it should come to no surprise that her family doesn't place much value on her, in fact "her word had no weight, her convenience was always to give way - she was only Anne..."

In conclusion, Anne Elliot, when compared to her father, is notably completely different from her father. She is a classic Austen heroine because of her archetypal personality-dependable, witty, strong, and caring of others.

And...
Note to my reader:
Although I readily admit that my grammar skills in the last blog were less than admirable, and I will be on the look out to improve that aspect of my blogging. However, I wanted to let you know that I've spoken to Ms. Foley and I have opted to keep the blog informal, so I hope that you can keep the comments informal too. I look forward to hearing your comments about my analysis of the stories and helping me to expand my knowledge of this genre, but let's skip over the little details.