I admire Anne for this too. As you say, she is showing more self-confidence here by forming her own decision and sticking to it. It's a type of courage that's (rightly) applauded in this century.

But what I MEANT to ask was how her choice would have been seen by readers contemporary to JA. Until recently I assumed that most people two hundred years ago would have deplored her self-will in turning down a good catch like CM and losing her best opportunity of being a wife and mother. But there was a recent thread on the L&T board about the high value placed on fidelity in women, even to a relationship that was clearly over. So now I'm puzzling over it.