What makes Lucy Steele an "Anti-Heroine"?

Lucy Steele is a perfect example of an Austen anti-heroine. After first meeting Lucy, Elinor’s opinion of her is not favorable: Lucy is “ignorant and illiterate,” a flatterer, and a woman without personal integrity (118). Soon after meeting Elinor, Lucy shares that she is secretly engaged to Mr. Edward Farrars, not knowing that Elinor is in love with Edward as well, and he with her.

"We have been engaged these four years." (source)

 

While there is nothing inherently wrong with Lucy’s having a prior claim on Edward or the fact that she is “ignorant and illiterate,” the real reason as to why Lucy emerges as an anti-heroine is for the spiteful way she treats Elinor and because she ultimately chooses money over love when she marries.

"She could have no doubt of it being Edward's face" (source).

 Although Austen does not explicitly write this into the plot, it can easily be deduced that Lucy breaks her engagement with Edward when his mother disinherits him (for continuing his engagement to her, no less!). Lucy’s “affection” is quickly transferred to Edward’s younger brother, Robert, who is now the heir of the Farrars’ fortune.

"She introduced him to her as Mrs. Robert Ferrars" (source)

Her love for Edward was contingent upon his fortune; Elinor, on the other hand, truly loves Edward for who he is, not for the money he has. This attitude is seen in all of Austen heroines, and reflects Austen’s own opinions regarding marrying for money.

Austen often gave advice to her niece, Fanny, on these issues. As a wise aunt, she was practical enough to remark to Fanny that “[s]ingle Women have a dreadful propensity for being poor—which is one very strong argument in favour of Matrimony” (Letters 483), yet Austen never advised her niece to marry for money, and likewise, none of her heroines marry out of financial desperation, or even worse, greed.

Marriage should be built on a foundation of love, Austen believed, and charged her niece to remember that “[a]nything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without Affection” (Austen-Leigh 197). Many of Austen’s leading ladies marry wealthy men, but they would never many a man simply because he is rich (Delman, 5 June 2010), nor break an engagement because he becomes suddenly poor.

A tell-tale sign of an anti-heroine is a girl who desires to make a mercenary marriage: With a heart fixed on money instead of love, the inner character of such a girl is usually morally astray, as clearly seen in Lucy Steele.