Somewhere there was an EXCELLENT comment posted to paraphrase Anne's journey from "It is only Anne" to "The one and only Anne." That pretty much sums it up.

As in other works of Jane Austen, the goodness and fine qualities of heroes and heroines are often extolled by other people while not directly eye-witnessed. So it is in Persuasion.

Anne begins the journey with such suppressed self-esteem and through being useful/considerate/affectionate to just about everybody throughout the story she gradually regains her confidence. Just about everyone she encounters reinforces her goodness even (gasp) Sir Walter in Bath.