Persuasion
Captain Frederick Wentworth
The hero
A naval officer who left Anne eight years ago with nothing, and has come back with a fortune and a good deal of wounded pride.
Frederick Wentworth was a bright, hopeful commander when he fell in love with Anne eight years ago. He had no fortune then. When she broke the engagement he left believing she was weak and easily swayed. He has since made his name and money at sea, and he returns to Somerset as the brother of Mrs. Croft, the new tenant of Kellynch Hall.
He is confident, warm with friends and proud to a fault. He charms the Musgrove sisters, admires resolute characters, and treats Anne with polite distance. Under that stiffness lies old resentment, and the fact that he has never really stopped loving her. He can be generous to a fault, as when he quietly sees that Anne gets a ride home.
“I have never loved any woman but you, Anne. My heart has always been entirely yours.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
Wentworth spends the autumn at Uppercross, flirting with Louisa and Henrietta. At Lyme he realizes how badly he misjudged Louisa’s headstrong nature when she falls from the Cobb, and he relies on Anne’s calm. When Louisa becomes engaged to Captain Benwick he is free, and in Bath his jealousy of Mr. Elliot becomes plain.
After overhearing Anne’s conversation with Harville, he writes her a letter offering his heart again and leaves it on the table. He finds her on the gravel walk, they clear up everything, and he wins Sir Walter’s approval with his twenty-five thousand pounds. They marry, and he tells Anne that wherever duty takes him his home is with her.
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