‘She would notice her; she would improve her; she would detach her from her bad acquaintance and introduce her into good society; she would inform her opinions and her manners. It would be an interesting and, certainly a very kind undertaking.’
Emma also prides herself that there is no necessity for her to marry as she has a comfortable fortune in her family to fall back on. Harriet likens Emma to Miss Bates, a poor “middle-aged spinster” to which Emma indignantly retaliates:
“Never mind, Harriet, I shall not be a poor old maid; and it is only poverty which makes celibacy contemptible to a generous public! A single woman with a very narrow income must be a ridiculous disagreeable old maid (referring to someone in the same situation as Miss Bates)”
The very man Emma has in mind to match Harriet with is Mr Elton, who, unbeknown to both women, is in love with Emma. When he confronts her to admit his deep feelings and make a proposal of marriage, Emma refuses him, later angrily reflecting:
‘That he should suppose himself her equal in connection or mind! Be so blind to what rose above (Emma), as to fancy himself showing no presumption in addressing her!’
Emma is a character who has proven herself a snob through dialogue with and about other characters and in her personal thoughts, which illustrate how high she sees herself in the social hierarchy, candidly insulting the financial state others are in.
Later in the novel, we are introduced to Augusta Hawkins, who becomes Mrs Elton once married. Emma resolves not to be the last in Highbury to meet her and so both Mr and Mrs Elton are invited to Hartfield. During the meeting, the narrator illustrates Emma’s views on Mrs Elton:
‘…the quarter of an hour quite convinced her that Mrs Elton was a vain woman, extremely well satisfied with herself, and thinking much of her own importance; that she meant to shine and be very superior’
Despite Emma’s flaws and bias, we are encouraged to share her opinions on other characters in the text, thus we form the same judgement.
Mrs Elton explains in their first conversation that it did not matter to her how much Mr Elton owned or could supply her with as her own qualities were sufficient:
“Blessed with so many resources within myself, the world was not necessary to me… to those who had no resources it was a different thing; but my resources made me quite independent.”
To deem oneself complete without materials or the company of others, is to be vain and snobbish.
Mr Woodhouse, Emma’s father, is shown to be overcautious, unconfident and wimpish. He regularly frets that anyone who is outdoors or near a breeze should catch a cold even if the weather is fine. The idea of someone standing a likelihood of becoming the slightest bit ill is enough to make Mr Woodhouse feel quite uneasy. This is observed when Emma paints a portrait of Harriet standing outside in the garden:
“The only thing that I do not thoroughly like is, that she seems to be sitting out of doors, with only a little shawl over her shoulders-and it makes one think she must catch a cold.”
Mr Woodhouse similarly shows a great concern over the nutritional health of others. When he entertains guests, out of tradition and courtesy he has sweet pastries on the table, although he strongly discourages anyone from having very much of it, should it be unhealthy:
“Miss Bates let Emma help you to a little bit of tart-a very little bit…I do not advise the custard. Mrs Goddard, what say you to half a glass of wine? A small half glass-put into a tumbler of water?”
Finally, Mr Woodhouse’s dependability on his doctor, Mr Perry, demonstrates that he insecurely values a specific medical opinion and is wary to stray from it. Thus when his daughter claims her doctor recommended the sea air for Bella’s (Mr Woodhouse’s granddaughter) throat, Mr Woodhouse protests otherwise:
“Ah! My dear, but Perry had many doubts about the sea doing her any good; and as to myself, I have been long perfectly convinced, though perhaps I never told you so before, that the sea is very rarely of use to any body. I am sure it almost killed me once.”
Frank Churchill enters late into the novel as Mr Weston’s son and establishes a flirtatious yet insincere relationship with Emma. Emma, falsely presuming they are in love with one another is momentarily swept up. It is later revealed that all the while, he has had a secret engagement with Jane Fairfax, a woman he has often criticized. He agrees with Emma that Jane is a reserved girl, before blatantly saying how unlovable a reserved person is:
“It is a most repulsive quality, indeed. There is safety in reserve, but no attraction. One cannot love a reserved person.”
Frank openly flirts with Emma, particularly at the Box Hill picnic, later claiming it was a decoy to keep his engagement confidential:
‘Frank Churchill grew talkative and gay, making her (Emma) his first object…in the judgement of most people looking on it must have had such an appearance as no English word but flirtation could very well describe. “Mr Frank Churchill and Miss Woodhouse flirted together excessively.” They were laying themselves open to that very phrase.’
In a letter to Mrs Weston towards the end of the novel, Frank says that his playfulness with Emma was unacceptable:
“In order to assist a concealment so essential to me, I was led on to make more than an allowable use of the sort of intimacy into which we were immediately thrown.”
Frank’s actions lead me to see him a coward. That he would not admit to his aunt his love or engagement to Jane, let alone flirt with another woman (Emma) in front of his fiancée, claiming it to be a “concealment”, demonstrates not the slightest strength of character or masculinity. Frank Churchill is a wimp to hide behind a red herring, only injuring another’s (Jane) feelings in the process.
In the world of Emma the male characters defy their racial stereotype, demonstrating less than masculine attributes while the female characters are openly overconfident about their importance in society.
Word Count: 1 290
