(bookish & car thoughts)

Anne Elliot.
Dorthea Brooks.

These fictional women are both written by strong female authors in the Victorian era. Jane Austen (1775-1817) and George Eliot (1819-1880) had no overlap in their earthly lives, yet their legacies live on in harmony with one another.

Both of these novels are mature pieces of literary art by long-standing professionals. These authors brought humor, satire, empathy, and depth to their work, which has benefitted readers for over 200 years. Persuasion was the last published book by Jane Austen (posthumous); it was released in December 1817. Middlemarch was released in eight installments by George Eliot between 1871-1872 and was one of her last published works (Daniel Deronda was published four years later, which ended her published novels).

Upon completing Middlemarch, I promptly jumped into Persuasion for a re-read due to a strong sense of the similarities between Anne Eliot and Dorthea Brooks. These are women of substance, cut from similar cloth. While reading about Dorthea’s life, the manner in which she made decisions and took ownership of her opinions and friendships was admirable. My mind wandered gently to Anne during the final chapters of Middlemarch. Anne was a woman greatly influenced by others in the course of her life and she was consulted about little; her family largely overlooked her presence. Quite contrary to Dorthea, who held fast to her assessment and decision despite what others may say. We see Dorthea grow in her convictions to the point where later in the book, she is often consulted about plans she would like to implement. Anne remains at the whims of others, whereas Dorthea creates the change she wants to see.

While readers are allowed into the minds of Dorthea and Anne, what we know about the other cast members are vastly different. Anne is isolated in her own mind, which results in the reader being isolated with her. We see nothing and know nothing apart from her experience in life. The reader wonders and longs alongside her. This character-driven story facilitates deep connection to the plight of Anne. Much of the driving factors in the book would change if we saw from the mind of Captain Wentworth.

Dorthea, on the other hand, is well-integrated into the community and is conscious of her interactions with others. We are allowed into her mind to see how she experiences situations. After, the reader gets a well-rounded view of the actual situation through an assessment of those around her. If we could only see through Dorthea’s mind, the story would be vastly different – her plight is largely the way she misunderstands situations or walks forward of her own volition and incidentally creates movement in still water. The romance of her life, not just intimate but the vague sense of how she sees beauty in the world, grips the reader and we need others to understand this.

Up until this point, I have largely spoken about the differences between these two women – why would I think they are similar?

Patient perseverance: Both women exemplify the virtue of patience through the midst of difficult circumstances. Anne and Dorthea do not “grow weary of doing good”. They continue forward believing in the ideal and persevering in the waiting periods of life. They waited actively, in the means available to them at the time, and continued to show up in the relationships around them to the best of their ability.

Faithfulness: Both women were faithful in spite of many reasons they could have given up due to circumstances. Another woman in Middlemarch lacks faithfulness in it’s true form… but that would be another rant all together. Anne and Dorthea both exhibit faithfulness towards their ultimate love – Dorthea’s idealism and Anne’s true love are reason enough to continue showing up even when the results are different than imagined. True to romantic form, both are rewarded, yet throughout the novel it was never a guarantee. Anne had no guarantee anyone would wait for her, yet she stayed true to her convictions and walked according to her values. Dorthea continued to show up, even though she was lonely in her marriage. After many things happened, Dorthea continued to be faithful to those she felt responsible for and responsible to.

Goodness: Neither woman I have spoken about was perfect by any means. Each were flawed, made mistakes, and chose a difficult path for themselves. However, goodness does not require perfection. Many moral questions are thrown about and teased through in these novels. For the sake of the length of this essay already, I will choose not to expound on the moral discussions. Yet, Anne and Dorthea are both contrasted by others who choose vanity or pride (I speak of Anne’s sister, Persuasion, and Rosamond, Middlemarch). Choosing the moral path as God has set out for us to walk is not easy, it takes intention and restraint to live a moral life. These women may manifest goodness differently, yet the seed is from the same stock. It takes courage to choose goodness; this choice opens up a beautiful world which both Anne and Dorthea ultimately were able to see/experience.

Anne and Dorthea are both women I can identify in myself. There is a desire to be decisive, move forward in confidence of my opinions, and lead. Yet, there is also the desire to allow others to speak into my life and bend where I need to, to move forward quietly while minding my own business. The heroines in these stories still have a lot to teach me about living in the fullness of femininity 200 years after the intended audience. To me, the eternal nature of their words is the mark of great literature.