The central conflict of the novel has to do with Anne Elliott's decision to reject the marriage proposal of Captain Wentworth, despite being in love with him. She is persuaded to do so because marrying a man in military service might not allow her to achieve a higher social class (hence the title, but "persuasion" also refers to Anne's attempts to get the Captain to realize she still has strong feelings for him).
Anne is a sensible young woman who does not particularly care about social mobility, and as she grows more mature she realizes allowing herself to be talked out of marrying the man she loved for reasons of social propriety was a huge mistake. She is kind-hearted and values peoples' integrity over their wealth or position. One excellent example of this is when Anne's father (a foolish man who is obsessed with social class) gets very angry at her over her refusal to break an engagement with an old friend (Mrs. Smith) to meet with a wealthy socialite (Lady Dalrymple) with whom Anne has no relationship, but whom her father idolizes. Mrs. Smith was once wealthy but has been left poor due to unlucky circumstances, and Anne still values her friendship and shows her kindness. She stands her ground and insists to her father that she will not disappoint her old friend in order to placate her father's rather shallow emotions.
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