Persuasion Friendship Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #10

She had but two friends in the world to add to his list, Lady Russell and Mrs Smith. To those, however, he was very well disposed to attach himself. Lady Russell, in spite of all her former transgressions, he could now value from his heart. While he was not obliged to say that he believed her to have been right in originally dividing them, he was ready to say almost everything else in her favour, and as for Mrs Smith, she had claims of various kinds to recommend her quickly and permanently. (24.10)

Anne's friends almost take the place of her family, in terms of the desirable connections she brings to the marriage. By the end of the novel, her chosen connections have a much more important role in her life than the ones she was born with, further showing that birth isn't the be-all and end-all of who a person is.