Foil

Character Role Analysis

Louisa Musgrove, Captain Benwick, and Mrs. Croft to Anne Elliot

All three of these characters are similar to Anne in certain ways, but their choices differ sharply from hers in a way that eventually proves Anne right. Louisa's insistence on following her own way contrasts with Anne's giving in to persuasion, but in the end her fall vindicates Anne's past decisions. Captain Benwick has also lost his beloved, but the showiness of his grief makes Anne's quiet resignation look all the more appealing. And the happy Mrs. Croft is what Anne could have been, and still wants to be, by marrying Captain Wentworth.