Captain Benwick proposes to Louisa

Captain Benwick's proposal to Louisa Musgrove arrives as a complete surprise to Anne Elliot, who receives the news in a letter from her sister Mary in early February 1814. The intelligence, which Mary communicates with evident satisfaction, reveals that the engagement was settled between Benwick and Louisa before she left Lyme, and that Benwick had written to Mr. Musgrove for his consent by Captain Harville. Mrs. Musgrove protests she knew nothing of the matter, and the family is well pleased, though Mary notes that it is not equal to Louisa marrying Captain Wentworth, it is infinitely better than Charles Hayter. Charles Musgrove wonders what Captain Wentworth will say, but Mary insists she never thought him attached to Louisa.

The Astonishment at Camden Place

Anne, reading the letter in her father's house in Camden Place, has never in her life been more astonished. The match between the high-spirited, joyous-talking Louisa Musgrove and the dejected, thinking, feeling, reading Captain Benwick seems to her almost too wonderful for belief. She must exert herself to remain in the room and preserve an air of calmness while answering the common questions of the moment. Sir Walter wants to know whether the Crofts travelled with four horses, and Elizabeth asks what brings them to Bath, but neither has much curiosity beyond. Only when Anne retreats to her own room can she begin to comprehend the news.

Anne's Analysis of the Engagement

Reflecting alone, Anne quickly supplies the answer to the puzzle: it had been in situation. Benwick and Louisa had been thrown together for several weeks, living in the same small family party at Lyme. Since Henrietta's departure, they must have depended almost entirely on each other. Louisa, just recovering from her severe concussion, had been in an interesting state, and Captain Benwick was not inconsolable. Anne had already suspected some dawning of tenderness toward herself from Benwick, but she now persuades herself that any tolerably pleasing young woman who had listened and seemed to feel for him would have received the same compliment. He had an affectionate heart; he must love somebody.

The Character of the Match

Anne sees no reason against their being happy. Louisa has fine naval fervour to begin with, and they will soon grow more alike: Benwick will gain cheerfulness, and Louisa will learn to be an enthusiast for Scott and Lord Byron. The idea of Louisa Musgrove turned into a person of literary taste and sentimental reflection is amusing, but Anne has no doubt of its being so. The day at Lyme, the fall from the Cobb, may influence Louisa's health, nerves, courage, and character to the end of her life, as thoroughly as it has influenced her fate. The conclusion of the whole is that if the woman who had been sensible of Captain Wentworth's merits could be allowed to prefer another man, there is nothing in the engagement to excite lasting wonder.

The Liberation of Captain Wentworth

Most significantly, Anne realizes that if Captain Wentworth loses no friend by this engagement, certainly nothing is to be regretted. It is not regret which makes her heart beat in spite of herself and brings the colour into her cheeks when she thinks of Captain Wentworth unshackled and free. She has some feelings which she is ashamed to investigate; they are too much like joy, senseless joy. The engagement between Benwick and Louisa removes the last obstacle to Wentworth's freedom, and Anne's own hopes begin to stir, though she dares not yet acknowledge them fully.