Persuasion
Mrs. Smith
Anne’s school friend
A cheerful, ill and impoverished widow in Bath whose old friendship with Anne exposes Mr. Elliot’s true character.
Mrs. Smith was Anne’s schoolmate and is now widowed and living in Westgate Buildings in Bath, in reduced circumstances and poor health. She is resilient and cheerful, well-informed through Nurse Rooke, and a faithful friend.
Sir Walter and Elizabeth think her an unsuitable acquaintance, but Anne insists that she was her earliest friend and will not abandon her because she is unfortunate. She keeps her spirits up even when she is unwell.
“He is a man without heart or conscience.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
Mrs. Smith tells Anne what Mr. William Elliot did: he led her husband into debt and refused every plea for help when Charles died. She says his only purpose in Bath is to stop Sir Walter from marrying Mrs. Clay and having a male heir.
Anne thanks her for the truth, saying her heart was never Mr. Elliot’s. Later Anne and Wentworth help Mrs. Smith recover her late husband’s West Indies property, giving her independence.
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