Volume II Chapter 4

Summary
Mrs. Clay offers to leave Bath, but Sir Walter will not let her, which leads Anne to believe that they may be romantically attached. Mr. Elliot leaves a good impression on Lady Russell, who finds him sensible and pleasant, and has no suspicions of why Mr. Elliot is suddenly reaquainting himself with the family. Anne believes that the reason of Mr. Elliot's attention to the family is because he plans on marrying Elizabeth.

Lady Dalrymaple and Miss Carteret, cousins of the Elliots, arrive in Bath. Sir Walter is excited to aquaint himself with them because of their high social status, but Anne is disappointed in her father for his awe of his cousins that she sees little merit in.

Analysis
When Mr. Elliot is talking with Sir Walter and Lady Russell about potentially building a relationship with their cousin, Lady Darlymple, he says, "Family connexions are always worth preserving" (139). This shows unconditional love because Mr. Elliot is saying that the only thing that matters about maintaining a relationship with Lady Darlymple is that she is family, although it does not hurt that she is of a high social class. Later in their conversation, he reiterates the importance of family when he states that, "Birth and good manners are essential; but a little learning is by no means a dangerous thing in good company, on the contrary it will do very well" (141). To Mr. Elliot a person's birthright, or family standing is an even more important quality than his or her ability to be interesting and well informed. To him, family is the most important thing in choosing good company.