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Lady Russell is a woman of considerable birth and wealth who was once the best friend of Anne’s now-deceased mother. In her friend’s absence, Lady Russell serves as advisor to the Elliot family. For example, she helps convince Sir Walter that he needs to cut back on his expenditures if he is to escape the large debt that he has accrued. She is characterized as a woman of “strict integrity” with a “delicate sense of honour.”
Unsurprisingly given the title, Persuasion is largely about the power of persuasion. While many characters persuade and are persuaded over the course of the novel, Lady Russell epitomizes the very concept; Austen says as much in Chapter 12 when Henrietta states,“I have always heard of Lady Russell as a woman of the greatest influence with everybody! I always look upon her as able to persuade a person to anything!” Early into the novel, the reader learns that Lady Russell convinced Anne to reject Captain Wentworth’s proposal eight years prior, causing Anne to spend the next eight years in a miasma of loneliness and regret. Persuasion asks whether it is better to be firm in one's convictions or to be open to the suggestions of others; Anne concludes it’s important to be of an independent mind, but that Lady Russell was correct to steer her toward a sense of obligation and duty, and Austen ultimately leaves this question up to the reader.
Lady Russell also introduces the class commentary prevalent throughout the novel. Like Sir Walter, Elizabeth, and Mary, Lady Russell is deeply class-conscious and does not believe in marrying below one’s station, as evidenced by the fact that she urged Anne to reject Captain Wentworth’s proposal purely because he had neither a title nor fortune. She is so dismissive of Captain Wentworth that she pretends not to see him when she and Anne pass him on the streets of Bath. Austen utilizes Lady Russell to criticize these prejudices, characterizing Lady Russell as someone well-intentioned but misguided. For instance, she dislikes the honorable Captain Wentworth because he doesn’t fit her idea of a gentleman, but she idealizes the wealthy Mr. Elliot (and reflects that he is most “deserving” of her beloved Anne) while being blind to his sinister nature. Lady Russell’s inaccurate assessments of both Captain Wentworth and Mr. Elliot, then, serve as a cautionary tale against confusing wealth with character.
