I agree with some of this. Fanny definitely does need to learn how to assert herself a little more, and she needs to let the inner confidence she has in her own opinions work its way to the outside. Her position as a dependent relative really was a difficult one, and when you combine that with her naturally diffident nature it's not surprising she is the way she is, but certainly, as mistress of her own home and as the parson's wife, she will need to speak up more, to be willing to express preferences and opinions, and to say no when she's not able to do something. It's just that no one other than Edmund has ever encouraged her, or even allowed her, to think about what she wants, or to express an opinion without being told that she has no right to it. It shows that she does, after all, have a lot of inner strength, that she actually has clear opinions, and holds them no matter what--even if she is not bold enough to express them.
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