1. Is Emma a unified novel? If so, where does the unity lie — in the plot, the characters, the setting, the theme, the style, the mood? 2. How does the fact that Jane Austen stretches out her climaxes relate to her concentrating her interest on exploring the effects of […]

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Perhaps the best description of style in Emma is that it is quietly subtle. The tone of the book is one of absolute ease and surety on the part of the author, who handles her material with such deft touches that an unperceptive reader may conclude that the story and […]

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The theme is man’s absurdities — not the high-minded and exceptional absurdities of tragedy or the grim ones of Swiftean satire, but those common, frequent, and more laughable ones of society, its code of manners, and its fabricated engagement of man’s time, thought, and energy. Beneath Austen’s satiric comedy is […]

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With the exception of Emma, the characters are generally static ones. They do not change. Rather, they are likely to be simply confirmed in their views, for they live in and accept a stable if static society. Nonetheless, the type of characters portrayed is varied and so is the degree […]

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By and large the point of view is that of Emma, a necessary one if Austen is to explore the character of a willful and somewhat snobbish young lady and at the same time keep the reader’s sympathy for her. Only thus can we be convinced that Emma’s character really […]

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Austen’s setting is that of a provincial community, particularly as it involves the gentry of the region. One is hardly aware of the geography of the locale. The closeness of the town of Highbury and the estates of Hartfield, Donwell Abbey, and Randalls is made clear, as is the fact […]

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Some generalization should be kept in mind when one considers the plot of Emma. Perhaps first should be a reminder of the seeming leisureliness with which Miss Austen puts her story together. Practically none of the material is, in the usual sense, exciting — that is, there is little external […]

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While Pride and Prejudice is doubtless Jane Austen’s most widely read and popular novel, many critics aver that her fullest achievement, the masterpiece of her six completed novels, is Emma. One cogent reason put forward is that at the time of its writing (January 21, 1814, to March 29, 1815) […]

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Summary The party comes from London, and an hour alone with Harriet proves to Emma that “Robert Martin had thoroughly supplanted Mr. Knightley.” Harriet’s father is learned to be a well-to-do tradesman, who treats Robert liberally; and in becoming acquainted with Robert, Emma finds him a man of sense and […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Volume 3: Chapter XIX

Summary The visit of the John Knightleys is drawing close and Emma is dreading meeting Harriet when one morning George comes in with the news that Harriet is going to marry Robert Martin. Emma is amazed and hides her delight with difficulty. Robert has been to London, where, in seeing […]

Read more Summary and Analysis Volume 3: Chapter XVIII