In the Austen canon, lesser-known characters can play pivotal roles in her stories, affecting outcomes or creating diversions; some by taking an advisory role and others by exerting pressure to achieve an outcome they believe will be beneficial. Some are simply benign creatures who appear to have the best interests of others in mind and unintentionally become a catalyst for change.
In Persuasion, consider the influence Lady Russell had in Anne Elliot’s life. She stepped in as a motherly figure when her dearest friend, Lady Elliot, died leaving behind three young daughters, but she was fondest of Anne because her temperament and behavior most resembled that of her late mother. As a friend and adviser anxious to see Anne prosper through an advantageous marriage, Lady Russell interfered with her engagement to Captain Wentworth, considering her to be too young and his prospects and future to be too uncertain. Convinced it would be an imprudent match, she aligned herself with Sir Walter who had already deemed it a degrading alliance and the engagement was broken off. Fast forward eight years when Anne and Wentworth meet again and he is wealthy, established, and in want of a wife. Still angry over her rejection, he began courting the sisters of Anne’s brother-in-law while she pined for their lost love. Later, Lady Russell pressured Anne to accept the attentions of William Elliot, the heir to her father’s estate, as the most propitious choice for a husband because she aspired to see Anne become the next Lady Elliot. She was oblivious to Anne’s renewed feelings and hopes for a reconciliation with Captain Wentworth. True love never runs smooth, but Anne and Wentworth finally reunited, and Lady Russell had to accept that her influence had been misguided, embrace the long-delayed marriage, and begin to mend the relationship between herself and Captain Wentworth.
Another influencer in Anne’s life was her former schoolmate, Mrs. Smith, who was aware of rumors that Mr. Elliot was courting Anne and that it appeared to be the perfect alliance, but she held important intelligence about his past behavior that she eventually shared and it corroborated Anne’s own mistrust of his character. However, I don’t believe Anne was ever at risk of an attachment to Mr. Elliot because her constant heart was set on Captain Wentworth.
Some characters have a more genial influence over our heroines. They have everyone’s best interests at heart and desire to improve the lives of the young people they know by identifying and encouraging matches.
In Sense and Sensibility, we meet Mrs. Jennings who, having married off her own two daughters, “she had now therefore nothing to do but to marry all the rest of the world.” She was well meaning but an irritant to Elinor and Marianne when they first met her. The jokes and teasing shared between Mrs. Jennings and her son-in-law, Sir John Middleton, at the expense of the newly arrived inhabitants at Barton Cottage, were particularly vexing to the sisters, but the good-hearted woman redeemed herself when she invited them to travel with her to London. Marianne was grateful and eager to go because her dearest hope was to re-connect with John Willoughby, who had left her with a broken heart when he returned to London, at the behest of his aunt. While Elinor was happy for Marianne, she was beset with concerns about meeting Edward Ferrers again, since she had learned of his secret engagement to Lucy Steele and pledged to tell no one including her sister. Throughout the turmoil in London, Mrs. Jennings remained resolutely cheerful and hopeful for the happiness of the young ladies in her charge, treating them kindly and sympathetically during their visit to London. What transpired there was pivotal to the story.
Mrs. Grant in Mansfield Park was another devoted matchmaker convinced she could influence the young people around her to marry. When her well-to-do half siblings, Mary and Henry Crawford arrived, they were introduced to Sir Thomas Bertram’s four eligible offspring, Tom, Edmund, Maria, and Julia, plus one, their timid, overlooked, and under-appreciated cousin, Fanny Price. Early on, the warm-hearted, unreserved Mrs. Grant was determined to see an attachment formed between Mary and the heir to the family estate, Tom Bertram. She was ready to pair Henry with the younger Bertram sister, Julia, although both sisters were enamored with him. It was made clear by Mary that he was “the most horrible flirt that can be imagined” and quite resistant to marrying, but Mrs. Grant was not to be dissuaded and established an open-door policy encouraging increased intimacy between the families. This provided greater exposure in society for Fanny, who became a frequent guest along with her cousins, and eventually captured the admiration of Henry who pressed her to marry him. Mrs. Grant’s schemes were well intentioned, but her influence was unproductive considering the eventual outcome, when Maria scandalized the family by having an open affair with Henry which ended in her divorce, and Fanny won the love of Edmund.
Mrs. Allen in Northanger Abbey was a “good-humoured” woman who was fond of her young neighbor, Catherine Moreland and even more fond of her fashionable wardrobe since “Dress was her passion.” While not an active matchmaker, she was very aware of propriety and guided Catherine accordingly, especially when it came to the plans of Isabella and John Thorpe, who along with her brother James, pressed her to join them for excursions so that James and Isabella could spend time together. Their efforts were a distraction from her true interest to get further acquainted with Henry Tilney and his sister, Eleanor. After Mrs. Allen offered some sage advice regarding riding around in open carriages stating it “has an odd appearance, if young ladies, are frequently driven about in them by young men, to whom they are not even related.” Armed with this advice, Catherine was free to decline an invitation for an outing and instead meet with the Tilneys. Thanks to Mrs. Allen’s influence and concern for Catherine’s reputation, she was invited to visit Northanger Abbey and pursued her attachment to Henry Tilney, and we all know how well that turned out.
Emma is the most determined influencer of the Austen canon. If she lived in our time, she would probably have been a Tic Toc star. When her former governess, Miss Taylor, married Mr. Weston, she developed a new avocation, grooming her recent acquaintance, Harriet Smith, whose “natural graces should not be wasted on the inferior society of Highbury.” The list for improvements for Harriet was long and Emma was determined “she would introduce her into good society; she would inform her opinions and her manners” which Emma felt would be “highly becoming her own situation in life, her leisure, and powers.” These conceits were so imprudent that Emma required an influencer of her own in the form of Mr. Knightly to set her straight and make her realize how misguided she was. The novel, Emma, is the namesake of a truly dedicated influencer in need of an influencer to reign in the worst of her misapprehensions about friends and acquaintances and allow her to finally recognize the person who was dearest to her own heart, Mr. Knightly.
Unlike Emma, Aunt Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice brings together all the best qualities of a valuable influencer. She’s intelligent, observant, loving, and wise. After observing them together, she worried about Lizzie’s “warm recommendation” of Mr. Wickham and cautions her about her family obligations saying, “You must not let your fancy run away with you.” Lizzy, after a lively defense of herself, in turn promises, “upon my honour, I will try to do what I think to be wisest; and now I hope you are satisfied.” When they parted it is described as “a wonderful instance of advice being given on such a point, without being resented.” Best of all, Aunt Gardiner makes the very sensible suggestion to acquire a cart and ponies to better to see the grounds of Pemberley, to which Lizzy replies, “Your idea of the ponies is delightful. We will go round the Park every day. I am the happiest creature in the world.”
And indeed, so are we, the readers, as Jane Austen’s novels reach their happy conclusions, and we can be thankful for all the delightful influencers who guide and support our heroines in their journey to find true love.