Anne's statements on the subject of persuasion are endlessly debated.
Some critics have suggested that Mary's attitude results from Middle Child Syndrome and a belief that she can only get attention by complaining.
Anvilicious: Louisa's near-fatal fall from the Cobb breakwall is very obviously in service of the author's point re: strength of character needing to be tempered by prudence.
Common Knowledge: Numerous people have misremembered Wentworth as having been a lieutenant when he originally proposed to Anne. He was actually a commandernote commanders would have their own ship, but they commanded smaller vessels than post-captains who had recently been promoted from lieutenant, and had not yet been appointed to a ship.
Esoteric Happy Ending: Anne learns near the end of the book that Mr Elliot is rather an unpleasant person, and is trying to ensure his inheritance of Sir Walter's title by any means necessary. By the end of the story, he... is closer to his goal, since Sir Walter and Mrs Clay are no longer a couple and thus won't produce an heir. Anne and her friends get their happy endings, but the inheritance is still destined for someone rather awful.
She was correct to yield to (what she sees as parental) persuasion, regardless of the value of the counsel, decides Anne towards the end. Although modern sensibilities towards marriage have changed, at the time women had considerably fewer rights, therefore Anne being told to find someone with better prospects in order to protect herself and livelihood seems wholly practical if misguided.
"I must believe that I was right, much as I suffered from it, that I was perfectly right in being guided by the friend whom you will love better than you do now. To me, she was in the place of a parent. Do not mistake me, however. I am not saying that she did not err in her advice. ... But I mean, that I was right in submitting to her, ... and if I mistake not, a strong sense of duty is no bad part of a woman's portion."
Anne finds several reasons to mistrust Mr. Elliot's current pretensions of familial loyalty and propriety. One of them is that he's known to travel freely on Sundays. Back in those extremely Christian days, it was highly improper for a gentleman to flout the Sabbath like that.
