Austen put across the point to the reader that Emma would never marry someone like Mr Elton, We know that he is of a lower social status and Emma thinks that he is perfect for Harriet but not for her. This shows the reader that Status was very important to Emma and that she would not be seen “degrading” herself.
Most of this chapter focuses on Frank Churchill coming to visit .Even though Emma has never met this man she is considering the possibility of marriage!
“There was something in his name, in the idea of Mr frank Churchill, which always interested her. She had frequently thought especially since his father’s marriage with Miss Taylor that if she were to marry, he was the very person to suit her age, character and condition”.
In this section Austen gives the reader the impression that marriage is a superficial affair, perhaps not just for Emma but for a number of women in her time. Austen “shocks” the reader in a way with what Emma is saying. Emma doesn’t need to marry but is considering marrying someone she doesn’t even know. Austen shows the reader that Emma is prepared to give up her situation at present just because she has heard of a man who is of the “suitable age” e.t.c.
“And though not meaning to be induced by him, or by anybody else , to give up a situation which she believed more replete with good than any she could change it for”.
Austen gives the reader the impression that most of the time Emma is very much in control but here we can see that she still is very naïve and she doesn’t think things through properly,she thinks she knows what is best for everyone including herself, but she cant see that what she needs in right in front of her.
Austen is the narrators voice throughout the novel, she wants the reader to know what she knows about the characters, mostly about Emma. As the reader we can see her mishaps and know where she is going wrong. Austen made up the character Mr Knightley to be the readers voice and her own in a way which guides Emma, He can see her faults and tries to put them right .
Emmas’ situation is constantly changing throughout the novel and in chapter 47 Emma realises that what she wanted had always been there.
Austen shows the reader that Emma is developing further as a character and she knows that what she has been trying to achieve with Harriet was completely the wrong thing to do. “but it was not so much his behaviour as her own which made her so angry with him.”
We as the reader feel some sympathy with Emma, we know that in her mind she has been trying to do nothing but good for Harriet but at the same time has not thought about the effects such meddling could cause.
The character Mr Knightley knew that what Emma was doing was wrong
“Mr Knightley had spoken prophetically, when he once said “Emma, you have been no friend to Harriet Smith” Emma is now realising that she has been wrong and should have listened to the people who cared about her .
In this chapter, Emma realises that it is Mr Knightley that she loves and wants him to marry her. “ It darted through her , with the speed of an arrow, that Mr Knightley must marry no one but herself!”
Austen as the narrator is trying to make the reader think on her level, we know that Emma and Mr Knightley were meant to be but again Emma is blind to the truth.
Austen uses direct and indirect conversation according to how much she wanted the reader to be involved.Therefore she wants the reader to think on the same level as her and to see things from an outside prospective. We see what she sees as being the narrator.
If we knew Emma we would probably be giving her the same advice as Mr Knightley has been giving her and I think that that is Mr Knightleys’ purpose as a character, to form a link and a similarity with the reader.
