I find it very interesting to see these references to Anne learning, teaching herself and submitting to life's lessons pulled together like this.

They show us how she deals with sadness and loss, with loneliness and with the narrow constraints of her circumstances. She does not whine and complain or blame others for her troubles. Nor does she boost her ego by putting others down or lapping up flattery. Instead she thinks and she learns, and is open to personal growth as she matures.

What a contrast this is to the narrow and repetitive thinking of Sir Walter, Elizabeth and Mary, all of whom seem to be endlessly stuck on the same page in their outlook on life.

I have to admire the subtlety of JA's technique here. Sir Walter is defined with brutal brevity:
”Vanity was the beginning and of Sir Walter Elliot's character;”
No nuances here – JA is saying “don't bother looking for hidden depths in this character – there aren't any”, and the statement she uses to tell us so is as closed as Sir Walter's mental outlook..

In contrast, the richness of Anne's character emerges into the reader's consciousness almost without our noticing. Instead of telling us directly, JA employs a few well chosen words dotted here and there in the text, yet they contribute to the reader's growing sense that this quiet, unassuming woman is utterly different from the people around her, a woman with intellectual and emotional depth. The delicate manner in which JA reveals Anne to us is very like Anne herself. Our sense of who and what Anne is emerges gently, almost without our being aware of it.