Emma

Title: Emma

Author: Jane Austen

Date of Publication: December 1815

Genre: Romance; Comedy



Author Biographical Information
Jane Austen was an English author who was born on December 16, 1775. Her main education came from her father, brothers, and she also taught herself. Within five years, Austen released four books, the first being Sense and Sensibility in 1811. Her other famous novels are Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma. In the middle of writing her last novel, Sanditon, Austen died on July 18, 1817.

Setting: Historical Information
The novel takes place in the early 19th century in Highbury, England. During this time, the Industrial Revolution was taking over England. The majority of people were urban and new technology was being developed. Medical advancements and lack of disease caused the population of England to double by the middle of the century.

Genre
Romance novels usually have two characteristics: a main love story and a happy or at least satisfying ending.

A comedy novel is usually light and has humorous moments, also with a happy ending.

Plot Summary
The main character of the novel, Emma Woodhouse decides herself that she is a gifted match-maker. She meets a new friend, Harriet Smith, and tries to set her up with the village vicar, Mr. Elton, even though she is obviously in love with someone else, Robert Martin. Emma doesn’t think he is suitable for Harriet though. This set up goes completely wrong because Mr. Elton is not interested in Harriet at all, he is interested in Emma. There is so much drama between the two and Harriet that Mr. Elton decides to leave town and marry a different girl. After that, a new man comes to town named Frank Churchill. Emma is almost immediately attracted to him and he gives little hints that he likes her. Jane Fairfax also enters the Highbury, but Emma is not very nice to her and keeps her distance ultimately because she is jealous of Jane. Mr. Knightley tries to defend Jane and it seems like he is doing this because of his romantic feelings toward her. At the same time, people are assuming that Emma and Frank are dating but Emma claims that she is going to try to get Frank and Harriet together. Later we find out that Frank was just pretending to be interested in Emma to cover up that he and Jane are secretly engaged. Emma worries that Harriet will be upset, but then she finds out that Harriet didn’t really like Frank, she liked Mr. Knightley. This crushed Emma. She realizes that she, too, is in love with Mr. Knightley. He surprises both the girls by proclaiming his love for Emma. Harriet then accepts another proposal from Robert Martin and the novels closes with the weddings of the two couples.

Characters

 * Emma Woodhouse
 * Heroine of the novel
 * She is responsible for most of the action in the novel even though her main role is being the companion of her father’s wife
 * Willful, accomplished, perseverant


 * Henry Woodhouse
 * Emma’s father
 * He is very resistant to change.
 * Selfish, traditional, routinely


 * George Knightley
 * One of Emma’s best friends
 * He is always there for Emma and she turns to him for advice on many things.
 * Calm, rational, caring


 * Miss Anne Taylor
 * Emma’s governess and friend
 * She has just married Mr. Weston at the beginning of the novel.
 * Devoted, caring, friendly


 * Mr. Weston
 * Emma’s neighbor
 * Mr. Weston is Frank Churchill’s father
 * Friendly, fatherly


 * Harriet Smith
 * Emma’s best friend
 * Emma is always trying to find her someone to marry.
 * Easy-going, young


 * Phillip Elton
 * Clergyman of Highbury
 * Mr. Elton wants to marry Harriet and proposes to her
 * Respected, persistant


 * Augusta Hawkins
 * Lives in Bath, nobody really knows who she is
 * Augusta quickly gets engaged to Mr. Elton when they meet on his trip to Bath.
 * Talkative, vain


 * Mr. Perry
 * Village apothecary
 * Mr. Woodhouse is constantly referencing to him concerning health matters
 * Wise, intelligent

Author's Style
Jane Austen’s style is very ambiguous and her sentences are very short and choppy. She also uses a lot of dashes and sentence fragments to create arguments or confusion within the characters. Broken dialogue like Austen uses helps show the reader what the characters are thinking.

"As a friend!"—repeated Mr. Knightley.—"Emma, that I fear is a word—No, I have no wish—Stay, yes, why should I hesitate?— I have gone too far already for concealment.—Emma, I accept your offer— Extraordinary as it may seem, I accept it, and refer myself to you as a friend.—Tell me, then, have I no chance of ever succeeding?"

Setting
The novel is set in Highbury, England, which the author says is about sixteen miles away from London. That’s the only clear geographical location it gives. Highbury is a close-knit, upscale community. The time period is the early ninteenth century.

Themes

 * Marriage and social status are important even though one may not always realize it.
 * Women are stronger and capable of more than men give them credit for.
 * Sometimes your imagination can blind you.

Symbols

 * The Riddle
 * Riddles throughout the novel have a lot to do with how the story is told and what happens in the story. Mr. Elton gives a riddle to Harriet and Emma in chapter nine, and they automatically decode it incorrectly which gives the story a twist.


 * The Word Game
 * Frank uses building blocks to make words for Emma and Frank to decode in chapter forty-one. Neither of them have quite enough information to know what is going on, but they each interpret the words in a different way.


 * Tokens of Affection
 * There are very many examples of objects in the novel which have meanings of affection, between Mr. Elton, Emma, Harriet and even Jane and Frank.

Significance of the Opening/Closing Scenes
The opening scene is very important because it introduces the main character and protagonist, Emma. It also introduces her desire for match-making and shows how it can be very problematic for her, which foreshadows later events in the novel. The closing scene is very significant in that it is very ironic. Emma and Harriet are both happily married, without the help of Emma’s match making. It is also ironic because Mr. Elton is the person who marries the couples.

Memorable Quotes
“ Seldom, very seldom does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken; but where, as in this case, though the conduct is mistaken, the feelings are not, it may not be very material.” Chapter 49
 * This quote states that almost all humans hold something back, and they never tell the complete truth, but that isn’t a big deal. There are many instances in this novel where the whole truth has not been spoken. According to this quote, the solution for imperfection communication is the true feelings in one’s heart.

“Why was it so much worse that Harriet should be in love with Mr. Knightley than with Frank Churchill? Why was the evil so dreadfully increased by Harriet’s having some hope of a return? It darted through her with the speed of an arrow that Mr. Knightley must marry no one but herself!” Chapter 47
 * This is the point in the novel where Emma realizes that she is in love with Mr. Knightley. This is a major turning point in the novel because Knightley is who Emma ultimately ends up with.

“The real evils, indeed, of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself: these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments. The danger, however, was at present so unperceived, that they did not by any means rank as misfortunes with her.” Chapter 1
 * This quote foreshadows how Emma will act and feel throughout the entire novel. She learns that it is possible to be too prideful whch results in getting your way all the time. When Emma discovers this, it shapes her into the character she is at the end of the novel.