Emma Book Summary, it was written by Jane Austen. It is set in the fictional country village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls and Donwell Abbey, and involves the relationships among people from a small number of families.
The novel was first published in December 1815, with its title page listing a publication date of 1816. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian–Regency England. Emma is a comedy of manners, In this article, you will read Summary of Emma Novrel and some questions about .
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Emma Novel Summary
Emma begins by asserting that the eponymous protagonist has every advantage that an early 19th-century young lady could wish for. Emma Woodhouse, who lives in the fictional town of Highbury in Southern England has good looks, intelligence, and a 30,000-pound fortune which means she never has to leave Hartfield, the home where she lives with her doting father Mr. Woodhouse.When her governess Miss Taylor leaves Hartfield to marry Mr. Weston, Emma is left with ample leisure time.
As she has no inducement to marry, she decides that she will occupy herself by making a match for her new friend, the unsophisticated but beautiful Harriet Smith. She urges Harriet to reject the proposal of young farmer Robert Martin in favor of pursuing Highbury’s handsome vicar, Mr. Elton.
When Emma’s longstanding family friend and brother-in-law Mr. Knightley learns of her interference in Harriet’s love-life, he criticizes her, warning that she is so deluded by Harriet’s beauty that she overlooks the stigma of her lower social status, which will deter higher-born suitors such as Mr. Elton.
When Emma sees that Mr. Elton is a willing participant in her schemes to get him close to Harriet, she thinks that Mr. Knightley will be proven wrong. However, when she learns that she is the true object of Mr. Elton’s intentions, Emma is humbled and resolves to do no more matchmaking.
The New Year brings some new arrivals to Highbury. These include Mr. Elton’s new wife, the overbearing Mrs. Elton; Jane Fairfax, the accomplished, attractive niece of Emma’s tiresome neighbors; and Frank Churchill, Mr. Weston’s son from his first marriage to the high-born Miss Churchill.
Frank claims that he had to keep putting off his visit to Highbury owing to the interventions of his aunt Mrs. Churchill, who disapproved of his parents’ marriage. For Emma, Frank is the most eagerly anticipated of these arrivals, as he is reportedly a handsome young man of about her age and she is eager to be romantically attached to him, even if she does not wish to marry.
While Frank’s is undoubtedly attractiveness, he and Emma fall into an easy friendship, as he entertains her unfounded notion that cold, reserved Jane Fairfax is passionately in love with her brother-in-law Mr. Dixon. Although Emma understands that she ought to pity Jane Fairfax, who will have to leave her comfortable life with the family who raised her to become a governess.
she cannot help disliking Jane because the latter’s talents make her feel inferior. Guided by her dislike of Jane and by Frank’s affirmations that he finds Jane unattractive, Emma overlooks the clues which indicate a secret attachment between Frank and Jane.
Meanwhile, tensions rise between the Eltons and Emma as Mr. Elton resents that Emma judged him only worthy of marrying her lower status friend. Moreover, Mrs. Elton covets Emma’s centrality in Highbury’s social scene.
The Eltons take out their frustrations with Emma on Harriet, especially when Mr. Elton publicly snubs her at a ball by refusing to dance with her. Mr. Knightley comes to Harriet’s rescue, and soon after Harriet confesses to Emma that she has an anonymous new love interest.
Emma, who has just witnessed the romantic incident of Harriet’s rescue by Frank from a band of itinerant individuals who threaten her, imagines that Frank is the new love interest. Later, when Emma learns that Frank and Jane have been secretly engaged and breaks this news to an indifferent Harriet, Harriet delivers the blow that the object of her affections is Mr. Knightley.
A horrified Emma realizes that she does not want Mr. Knightley to marry anyone but herself. She puts purposeful distance between herself and Harriet, fearing that she has lost Mr. Knightley forever. However, Mr. Knightley confesses his love for Emma, and they get married.
Harriet, meanwhile, through a chance encounter, finds her way back to Robert Martin. As they have married into different social classes, Emma and Harriet must be more acquaintances than friends.
Questions about Emma Novel Plot
Emma novel characters
Emma Woodhouse, Mr. George Knightley, Mr. Woodhouse,Harriet Smith, Frank Churchill, Jane Fairfax, Mrs. Weston, Mr. Weston, Mr. Elton, Mr. Robert Martin, Miss Bates, Isabella Knightley, Mr. John Knightley, Mrs. Elton, Mrs. Churchill, Colonel Campbell, Mrs. Dixon, Mr. Dixon, Mrs. Goddard, Mrs. Bates, Mr. Perry, Elizabeth Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Cole,
What is the story of Emma about?
Emma, fourth novel by Jane Austen, published in three volumes in 1815. Set in Highbury, England, in the early 19th century, the novel centres on Emma Woodhouse, a precocious young woman whose misplaced confidence in her matchmaking abilities occasions several romantic misadventures.
Is Emma a hard book to read?
This book could be difficult to comprehend due to the language used. It may be harder for younger children to understand but an older child could be able to infer what Austen is portraying. All in all, this book was delightful and kept me intrigued until the final page.
What is the main theme of Emma?
The Confined Nature of Women's Existencem Emma possesses a great deal of intelligence and energy, but the best use she can make of these is to attempt to guide the marital destinies of her friends, a project that gets her into trouble.
Is there romance in Emma?
Jane Austen's beloved 1815 classic Emma is saddled with some serious 19th-century baggage: namely, that the romance at its heart pairs the fresh-faced, 21-year-old titular protagonist with a gentleman 16 years her senior, with all the power imbalances attendant to both their age gap and the gender norms of the era .
What is the moral lesson in Emma?
Emma has to learn that everyone matters, that she is not more important than anyone else, and that moments with her family and friends are precious. She has to learn to stop interfering. Emma does not listen to Harriet Smith who loves Robert Martin. She tries to part them, but luckily they get together in the end.
What type of characters Emma is?
Emma is indeed beautiful, wealthy, and smart. However, she is also spoiled, meddlesome, and self-deluded. Although she is convinced she will never marry, Emma believes she is an excellent matchmaker.
What is the main themes in novel Emma?
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.
Why does Emma marry Mr. Knightley?
He decided to return to Hartfield to offer support to Emma, whom he believes to be in love with Mr. Churchill. On the spur of the moment, after finding this to be untrue, he declares his love to Emma and asks her to marry him, and she accepts.
How did Mr. Knightley fall in love with Emma?
He is so proud of her and also gratified that she took his advice to heart that he cannot but show his affection for her. He then leaves for London. It is when he returns that he finally makes his feelings known. We are finally able to see his feelings perfectly as he confesses his love to Emma.