Thank you Kathryn Ann;-). On thinking about Anne's ability for compassion, probably which came out of her caring role in the family in spite of their lack of value for her, she seemed to see more to the Captain that was at first apparent.

JA seems to be talking about constancy a lot, and it's ironic that the Captain saw her as weak because she had to refuse him, but she is actually the most constant of the whole cast here. She has loved him long and desperately at times, even when he wasn't loveable. I think this says more about her ability to be constant and loving, than his.

I don't think she held a grudge because she understood him so fully. I must stress that the times he was cold to her must've taken some getting over. This is to Anne's credit, that she didn't lose hope. She was never deliberately cruel to him. I found it interesting to note JA often has Anne contemplating after being in his company, or learning new things, which suggests she thinks a lot and consults her heart, as a matter of course.

When the Captain does this, too, retreats after the Lyme drama to contemplate all that happened, he benefits from it too and it makes him stronger. Anne is pleased when she hears he has thought about things and is also pleased she was right to have faith in him. She has a lot of tenuous moments when she has no idea if he will return her feelings.

I don't know how she loved this long, with very little to go on. Thank goodness she was rewarded for it, but she is rare, and is possibly heroic in her quest to love the Captain. It's hard for us to imagine an eight year stint of waiting, because our laws are so different from JA's time, and it is pretty heroic! ;-))