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Elizabeth is the eldest of Sir Walter Elliot’s daughters. She is his favorite because she shares his beauty and his self-centered appreciation for the finer things. For Elizabeth and Sir Walter, the most important thing they can protect and promote is their image. Elizabeth cares deeply about her reputation and takes pride in her physical appearance. Because Sir Walter is a widower and has not remarried since his wife’s death, Elizabeth acts as the mistress of the Elliot household. When she was younger, it was socially assumed that the Elliot heir, Mr. William Elliot, would propose to Elizabeth and that she would continue to be the mistress of Kellynch Hall. Instead, Mr. Elliot snubbed Elizabeth and married a richer woman. Therefore, Elizabeth’s station as the head of her household can last only until her father either remarries or dies, leaving the estate to pass to Mr. Elliot. Although she is beautiful, Elizabeth is not agreeable and hence does not make a particularly desirable prospective bride.
Anne and the narrator view Elizabeth as vain and vapid, but Elizabeth thinks of herself as observant and calculating. When Anne tells Elizabeth she suspects Mrs. Clay is trying to get in with their family to marry Sir Walter, Elizabeth brushes off the accusation. She says she knows Mrs. Clay, and that Mrs. Clay knows her place. Elizabeth repeatedly tells Mrs. Clay she is more important to her than Anne, but she emphasizes Mrs. Clay’s social inferiority when she needs to justify Mrs. Clay’s place in their house. Whatever skill she may lack in seeing the intentions of people she considers beneath her, Elizabeth is savvy at trying to advance her own station. She latches on to her connection with Lady Dalrymple and makes a point to hide her family’s financial difficulties. Overall, Elizabeth may not be very astute or kind, but she is adept at maintaining her social image, no matter the cost.
