Due to Jane's situation in life, Emma should realise that Jane is in a very unstable situation with the only possibile futre ahead of her being a governess. Therefore Emma should take into account her own superior position and respect Jane's more difficult choices and be more encourageing and friendly to Jane whilst she is still has some 'upperclass' respectabilty.
- Why is calling Mr Knightley ‘Knightley’ a sign of Mrs Elton’s bad breeding?
Mr Knightley is one of the ‘top dogs’ in Highbury. He owns a great deal of land, is financially well off and is of high social status. Therefore, almost every resident of Highbury, even his close friends call his Mr Knightley out of respect and curtousey. Mrs Elton however is the exception and calls Mr Knightley ‘Knightley’ even though she has only met him on few occasions and is not his superior. This highlights Mrs Elton’s bad breeding and shows that she thinks herself to be of a greater situation and character than she actually is.
What kind of actions do you think are considered ‘good manners’ in the novel?
Good manners evolve from respect. One should respect others and be aware of your own and the people surrounding’s status and not disrespect them according to their status, or act superior to your own status. Mrs Elton in an example of a character with bad manners. By treating everyone around her as though they were inferior to herself when she is not in a position to do so, renders her rude and bad mannered. Mrs Elton’s husband is also bad mannered and this is apparent in his proposal to Emma. He ‘makes violent love to her’ in the process of asking her to marry him by bombarding her with rushed suggestions and inappropriate proposals. When Elton is refused by Miss Woodhouse, he asks in a very rude and embarassed way towards her and only a month later is married to another woman. Mr Robert Martin however showed to be of good manners when he wrote an extremely polite and flattering letter to Miss Smith asking for her hand of marriage. When, due to Emma’s influence Harriet rejects his offer, Robert Martin, although upset acts politely and aimiabley towards her. He does not go looking for another wife, he stays true to her which prooves to be the better choice as he ends up marrying her.
Examples of good manners:
- Emma visiting the poor
- Knightley asking Harriet to dance
- Weston asking Emma’s and other residents’ opinion on his ballroom
- The Bates keeping Mr Woodhouse company
Examples of bad manners:
- Mr Elton refusing to dance with Harriet
- Mrs Elton offering to introduce Emma to her society (dubbing her a country girl with no real social connections)
- Frank delaying his visit
- Emma refusing to get involved with the Martins
- Make a list of things that women did to occupy themselves other than working.
Match-making ( Emma in particular)
Painting
Going for walks
Socialising with neighbours/ other residents
Dances
Going shopping in town
Presenting/ Practising musical talents (such as playing the piano or singing)
Reading
- Make a list of jobs men do in the novel
Robert Martin – farmer
Mr Perry – apocery
Mr Elton – Parish priest
Mr Weston – ex-military man to commerce
Col. Campbell – military
- What was the difference between the way inherited money is seen, as compared to money which is earned?
If one inherited a substantial amount of money, you were garanteed a succesful life, rich in social ties and stability. However if on was to earn money, you did not gain social superiority. Working for money instead of inheriting money was seen as a bad thing, especially if you were a woman as it denied you social rank and suggested that your parentage was not an appropriate one.
- How do people get to know each other? Look at a character like Frank – how does Frank get to known people in Highbury society ? Think about balance between public and private – how many oppertunities are people given to talk intimately to each other?
People get acquianted with each other through mutal friends. For example Frank get’s introduced to Emma and Mr Woodhouse through Mr and Mrs Weston. Once Frank has establish links with a few residents, he is then invited to dinners and balls at which he meets more residents of Highbury. Therefore it is through private connections that one emerges in to the public society of a place such as Highbury. However, it is rather difficult to get acquainted intimately with someone if they are of the opposite sex as it was not socially respectably for men and women to be left alone together unless they are going to get married. The chances of talking intimately to someone else was therefore slim as the only socially acceptable place to talk to someone else would be in the company of others.
Good and Bad characteristics in Emma:
Good
Handsome/ Pretty: Personal appearance is very important in Austen’s opinion. She often talks of characters being ‘very plain’ or of boasting no beauty which suggests that being handsome is a great advantage. Frank is an example of a character which is described as ‘very good looking’ which through Emma’s and Austen’s eyes is a great asset. Harriet is also describes as being pretty and it is her beauty that intriges Emma and is really the original basis of their friendship.
Likeable: Miss Bates is a likeable character. Although she is ugly,poor and unmarried she only thinks of other people’s well being and it is down to this that she get’s on so well with the characters
Straight-talking: A straight talking character is Mr Knightley. He says exactly what he means and feels and does not falsely flatter others like characters such as Frank Churchill and Mr Elton do. This shows Knightley to be an honest character.
Well-bred: Frank Churchill is well-bred. Being well-bred instantly means you are of high social rank and have the public respect of others, even if you have a disagreeing character
Polite: Being polite, although not essential to those of the higher social status, it allows a character to be more favourable. The Coles, acquire a good reputation after their dinner party at which they are polite to all their guests. One of these polite traits is when the Coles order a wind shield so that Mr Woodhouse would not worry about the cold drafts
Sensible: Mr Knightley is very sensible and it is clear that he uses his logical nature to approach situations in the most efficient way possible. For example when it starts to snow when they are all at Randalls, whilst other characters are fussing and jumping to conclusions, Mr Knightley goes outside, observes the depth of snow further down the road and concludes that it would do the party no harm to travel in the snow.
Sociable: Being sociable in Austen’s eyes is an important characteristic. Emma is very sociable and is always organising visits or visiting others. If you had many social connections, your social rank is greatened.
Sweet-natured: Robert Martin is a sweet-natured character. In persuing Harriet’s love, he goes to out of his way to ensure her happiness. When she rejects his proposal of marriage, Harriet expects him to be bitter and rude but he is the opposite. When they next meet, he is polite and kind, suggesting an alternate route to her usual one so that she avoids the mud
Talented: Being talented means that you are able to show off your talents such as when Jane and Emma play the piano and sing for their company. They are rewarded with much praise as they entertained their guests
Bad
Boastful: Mrs Elton often boasts of her family’s status, her spouse and her taste. This makes her extremely unfavourable with the others as through boasting she is suggesting that she is better off than the other residents.
Pompous/ Conceited: Mrs Elton is very pompous as she constantly exhibits her self-importance. The effect is the same as her boastfulness, it makes other characters feel that she treats them as her inferior when she is not and this results in her being an unfavourable character
Silly: Harriet is perhaps the silliest character in Emma. She is not clever at all and it is her lack of intellect that get’s her in trouble. For example, when she is approached by gypsies, Harriet instead of acting sensibley, starts screaming and pannicking, making her more appealing for the gypsies. Another example is through her idolosing of Emma which results in Emma’s thoughts filling the ‘many vacancies of Harriet’s mind’
Taciturn: Not saying much in the company of others makes conversation quite awkuard and difficult for those in a taciturnal peron’s company. Jane Fairfax is very reserved and Emma picks up on this and exposes it as a very bad characterisitic.
Conceited
Uncritical : Isabella Woodhouse is a very uncritical character, especially of her husband. Being uncritical of her husband results in him doing and saying whatever he pleases which can results in offending situations to other members of her family. Mr Woodhouse is also uncritical of his daughter Emma which results in her thinking very highly, perhaps too highly of herself which is shown in her snobbery.
Talkative: Being as talkative as Miss Bates is seen as a bad characteristic as although she means well and she is always flattering and complimenting others, she does not let others speak and that makes other characters feel uncomfortable
Proud: Emma is a very proud character which can make her quite snobbish and insulting to other characters.
Others
A Gossip – Light gossip in Austen’s eyes is seen as being safe and Miss Bates is an example of a character who enlightens others with light gossip. However characters such as Emma use gossip to insult and harm others. Such as when her and Frank’s gossiping session results in the decision that Jane is in love with Mr Dixon. Janes becomes aware of their joke and gets very upset
Judgemental – If one has good judgement such as Mr Knightley, who does not rush to form judgements, being judgmental is a good characteristic as it helps one avoid uncomfortable situations and be aware of the nature of certain characters. However Emma is very judgemental and always jumps to conclusions. Her being judgemental leads her into bad situations such as Harriet and Mr Martin’s temporary yet great unhappiness.
