None of that changes the fact that Fredrick attributes Anne’s breaking the engagement to a character flaw and therefore doesn’t write to her when he’s in a position to answer some of her concerns.
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In other words, she was a romantic and because of this, possibly turned a blind eye to any life beyond the one she knew.
I don’t agree. IMO she wrote what she knew which is what people always tell writers to do.
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Not really the best time to be taking a wife in truth.
I don’t think he actually planned to marry her until he had the means to do so. Even when he speaks of writing to her in the year eight he asks if she would have renewed the
engagement. The issue, IMO, was that there was no knowing if/when he
would be able to marry her. (Otherwise there would be no reason for his and Anne’s interest in the conversation about long engagements. It would have been a conversation about marrying with nothing to live on instead.)
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In Frederick's case, the war, changing ships, sea battles, sailing the continent in all weathers and constantly in action might be offered as taking up his time.
But we know from Frederick that he did consider writing to Anne.
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Anne a girl who now needs someone who can support her financially and provide the toasted marchmallows because her family prospects are not the best through her father's and elder sisters foolishness and lazy lifestyles. In effect, honest hard work and endeavour on Frederick's part overcome the false frivolity of Anne's family. What price a Baronet with no money?
IMO, that is an inaccurate. Her family has gone into dept but they are still able to afford a high style of living and the dept will be paid off. Lady Russell speaks of it being paid off in seven years and that’s
before they decide to rent out Kellynch.
Frederick has twenty five thousand pounds and Anne will eventually get ten thousand (but only has a small portion of it when they marry) plus whatever his salary is. This gives them a nice income but it’s not like she is going from rags to riches. Mary is jealous that Anne has a landaulette but is consoled by the fact that her husband will inherit an estate (a property described as second in that Country only to Sir Walters).
Plus Anne had the option of Mr. Elliott who could have offered her both financial support
and, eventually, the status of a Baronet’s wife (assuming he was successful in blocking Sir Walter from producing a son)
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These facts are why I find it somewhat hard to accept that Frederick should berate himself for something that, outside of supposition, he had no control over.
He didn’t have control over her ending the engagement in the first place but he
did have control over his refusal to understand her and whether or not he tried again when his circumstances changed.
This is what he berates himself for. For the six years of unhappiness that he could have eliminated. If he had tried and failed it would be fair to say he had not control but he now knows that
if he had tried he would have succeeded.
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Just like in Pride and Prejudice, it ends up with both parties gallantly taking the blame for their failings
But Anne doesn’t blame herself,
“...must believe that I was right, much as I suffered from it, that I was perfectly right in being guided by the friend whom you will love better than you do now….But I mean that I was right in submitting to her, and that if I had done otherwise, I should have suffered more in continuing the engagement than I did even in giving it up, because I should have suffered in my conscience. I have now, as far as such a sentiment is allowable in human nature, nothing to reproach myself with; and, if I mistake not, a strong sense of duty is no bad part of a woman's portion.”Unless you mean Lady Russell admits she was wrong.
