Elliot family

fictional characters

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Article History

Elliot family, fictional characters in the novel Persuasion (1817) by Jane Austen. The head of the family is Sir Walter Elliot of Kellynch Hall, who is immensely vain on account of his good looks and distinguished ancestry. His oldest daughter, Elizabeth, is a snob like her father; unable to find a worthy suitor, she remains unmarried. His youngest daughter, Mary, is also self-centred but has stooped to marry the son of the local squire. Anne, the middle daughter, is the novel’s heroine. She is decent but timid and neglected, but she has asserted her independence by the novel’s end.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.