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Mrs. Smith is Anne’s girlhood friend with whom Anne reconnects while staying in Bath. Mrs. Smith’s story is a sad one: she married soon after leaving school but her wealthy husband had a penchant for overspending. Mr. Smith died two years before the events of the novel take place, leaving the widowed Mrs. Smith deeply in debt. To make matters worse, Mrs. Smith contracted rheumatic fever and was left disabled by her illness. Mrs. Smith is “almost excluded from society” and selling her needlework to survive by the time that she and Anne rekindle their relationship.
Mrs. Smith serves as a foil—a literary technique in which two characters are contrasted in order to highlight key characteristics—to Mrs. Clay. Both are widows of limited means who have attached themselves to one of the Elliot daughters. However, this is where their comparison ends. Mrs. Clay is characterized as manipulative and conniving as she seeks to ingratiate herself to the Elliot family so that she can marry into it. Mrs. Smith, on the other hand, is a generous woman who gives some of the precious money that she makes from selling her needlework to families that are less fortunate than her. Though she hopes a marriage between Anne and Mr. Elliot might improve her own situation, she is chiefly concerned with Anne’s happiness, opting to slander Mr. Elliot only when Anne reveals she does not have any romantic feelings for him. This brings us to Mrs. Smith’s primary function within the text: revealing Mr. Elliot’s true character to Anne. She tells Anne of the many ways Mr. Elliot mistreated the Smiths and lead them into financial ruin, and produces proof that Mr. Elliot has no regard for his relations and only cares about taking control of the Elliots’ money and title. This is a crucial moment for Anne; it validates her suspicions and solidifies her decision to reject any potential proposal. This last point is especially crucial because Anne is self-aware enough to acknowledge that she might have given in to Lady Russell’s persuasions and married Mr. Elliot despite her reservations had she not received proof that she was right to mistrust him.
Mrs. Smith’s tragic situation illustrates the potential cruelty of a class-based society. Not only is Mrs. Smith poor and disabled, she is also relatively friendless as few will visit her in her meager lodgings. Sir Walter, for instance, is horrified that his daughter would associate with a woman who has fallen so far. Anne's commitment to their friendship is a testament to her own personal character, independence of mind, and willingness to look past social rank. Mrs. Smith’s character also highlights the unfair treatment of unmarried or widowed women in Regency society; she is essentially powerless to improve her situation on her own. Mrs. Smith is eventually able to get some of her money back by recovering her late husband’s property in the West Indies, but she is only able to do so with Captain Wentworth’s assistance.
