Rachel's Response to Emma

1. Jane Austen called Emma "A heroin whom nobody but myself will like much" Did you find Emma a likable character or not? 

Emma isn’t your typical heroin; she is vain, selfish and thinks she is above everyone else. However, I LOVE Emma! I found myself laughing out loud at some of the things she said and some of the situations she got herself into. She was definitely an enjoyable character to read. I always found myself rooting for her even when she was being clueless or snobby. I think Austen had it wrong when she said that, I think Emma is a very likable character in a weird train wreck can’t stop reading about her kind of way. J

2. What were your impressions of Mr. Knightley? 

I always viewed Mr. Knightley as Emma’s guiding light. He never played into her “cleverness” or vanity. He wasn’t afraid to tell her the truth and open up her eyes. Gals (and maybe some guy readers… hey guys!) I have a confession; Mr. Knightly gave Mr. Darcy a run for his money with being my literary boyfriend. Mr. Knightley was so sweet and kindhearted. He thought of others, and was so protective and sympathetic, especially over women. For example, he asked Harriet to dance when he saw she was ashamed and embarrassed when Mr. Elton snubbed her at the dance, he stood up for Miss Bates when Emma mortified/embarrassed her in front of all their friends, and he even stood up for Jane Fairfax when everyone was putting her down due to her social standings and said she deserves their compassion. How can you not love Mr. Knightley?! He is such a caring gentleman and a lovely man. He is just who Emma needs, someone to love her unconditionally and be the person to steer her in the right direction. Even though Mr. Knightley did come somewhat close, Mr. Darcy will forever be my literary boyfriend…*Swoon*…let’s read Pride and Prejudice again... yes?

3. Do you believe Emma is a truly good friend to Harriet? and Do you think Harriet benefits from her friendship with Emma? 


To simply answer this question, no, I do not believe Emma was a truly good friend to Harriet. I also don’t think Harriet benefited one bit from her friendship with Emma. Throughout the novel their friendship seemed to have gone around in a big circle. Emma took Harriet on as a protégé trying to marry her up and improve her social standing taking her away from someone who was well suited for her and who she liked as well. Emma was not taking Harriet’s feeling into consideration, in the end we all know that Harriet ends up with Mr. Martin and Emma is left thinking their friendship will be different with Harriet being in a lower class than her. So see full circle, at the end they end up in the same spot they started. Harriet never seemed to benefit from Emma’s friendship, she did get a glimpse into Emma’s world, but Emma’s world was never that friendly to her. I do think Emma’s intensions where in the right place but they were poorly followed through.  

4. Two characters, Mrs. Elton and Frank Churchill, come into Highbury from the outside and threaten the little community with change. Mr. Knightley likes neither of them. How do you feel about them? 

Frank Churchill: I never saw him as a bad or particularly good character. He was a bit sneaky and misguided Emma and us as the reader into thinking he had feelings for her. But it seemed like him and Emma were better off as friends, they would not have made a good match.
Mrs. Elton: She came in balls to the wall (pardon my vulgar expression haha) you could tell she was use to a certain life style and likes all attention on her. She wasn’t the most likable character. I don’t blame Mr. Knightley for not taking to her.    

5. What did you think of the different Love Stories in this novel? 

O man, there were so many misguided relationships throughout this novel (Emma’s and Mr. Elton; Harriet and Mr. Elton; Harriett and Mr. Knightley; Mr. Martin and Harriet; Mr. Knightley and Jane Fairfax; Emma and Frank). However, there were relationships that came out of all the misguided ones. These relationships were unique in their own way. Emma and Mr. Knightley were opposites that work and mesh well together. Mr. Martin and Harriet are a perfect fit that just took awhile to find and come together. Mr. Elton and Mrs. Elton are in a loveless marriage (I’m assuming) and just married for money and social standings (there is always one of these matches in Austen novels). Frank and Jane have a relationship that started off in secret but they seem to care about each other and are a good match. I noticed that compared to other Austen novels, you see more well matched up couples and more matches that revolve around love verse moving up in social standings or marrying for money, etc.  It was refreshing to read.

6. The theme of Emma seems to be misinterpretations. Emma is filled with characters misunderstanding each other. To what extent do we as the reader share in the misunderstandings? And how does it guide our interpretation of the characters? 

Misunderstandings are definitely the theme throughout Emma. Austen cleverly wrote some of the misunderstandings which also brought us, the reader, into it them too. The twists Austen wrote throughout the novel made it for an interesting and at times laugh out loud read. Some of the misunderstandings we read about are Frank and Emma seem to be starting a romance but then we find out Frank and Jane are secretly engaged, Mr. Knightley is misguided into disliking Frank because he is in love with Emma and he believes Frank and Emma are in love, and also Emma believes Mr. Elton is falling for Harriet but really he is in love with her and even proposes! O man I must confess I laughed so hard at Emma’s reaction to Mr. Elton’s proposal... haha good stuff Jane Austen… Good stuff.  I think the misunderstandings made this novel very relatable to our everyday lives. We are always confronted with misunderstanding about events or someone’s intensions so it is easy to picture some of the things we read about happening in our lives. Most of the misinterpretations came from characters not fully being able to express how they truly feel due to various situations mostly revolving around approval from their fellow peers/social circle, which is how most misunderstandings come about.

7. How does Humor play a role in this novel? 

O man this book was awesome and by far the funniest Austen novel we have read so far. I think the misunderstanding throughout the novel created for the most humor. The comedy comes from the error in judgment made by the characters, and boy was there a lot of that. One example, of them many throughout the novel, was Emma’s attempts at match making. That created for some awkward and fun situations throughout the novel. But this baby is packed with comedic material. …. seriously readers of this blog if you haven’t read Emma yet go out right now buy it and start reading, you can thank me later.   

8. What is the role of class in this novel? How does it change throughout the novel? And is the class system in this novel rigid or flexible?


The class system seemed to be both rigid and flexible depending on the circumstance. It seemed flexible when Emma was trying to move Harriet up in her social standing and people seemed to be somewhat accepting of her when she would accompany Emma. Then at the end of the novel it seemed very rigid when Emma was reflecting on her and Harriet’s friendship and how they couldn’t be as close due to her being married to Mr. Martin which was a lower social standing than her. When I read this I didn’t understand why Emma would think that, I don’t see how her marrying Mr. Martin would change anything between them. Class and moving up in social standings always seems to play a role in Austen novels. That why it’s fun to read all of an authors work at once because you pick up on themes and characteristics that they use throughout all their novels. I know my mom and I have talked about this, but it’s fun because you get a peek into the authors mind and what must have been important or big events during the time period the author lived in. 

9. Did you like the ending of this story? Why or why not? 

Yes and no. Yes, because I am happy everyone who ended up together seemed to have been meant for each other. Austen did a good job of wrapping up the end of the novel nicely compared to other novels she wrote.
No, because it seemed like Emma was settling by having only option of marrying Mr. Knightley is to come and live with her father and take care of him. Which is fine, but after a buildup romance between them I think I was just hoping for a more romantic ending for those two. It was also disappointing to see Harriet and Emma’s friendship end, or get downgraded, the way it did at the end. I guess Emma still has some more growing up to do.

10. How does Emma Compare to the other Jane Austen novels we've read? 


I think out of all the Austen novels we have read, this one by far made me laugh out loud the most and cringe, but in a good way! When Emma would do something embarrassing I found myself not wanting to put the book down, just like I felt with Pride and Prejudice. I felt like Austen told a more complete story with Emma compared to other novels that felt rushed or incomplete in the end. For example, you read about Mr. Knightley and Emma’s relationship grow throughout the novel verse Sense and Sensibility when all of a sudden Marianne and Colonel Brandon are getting married and they never felt romantic feelings for one another at the end of the novel. Another thing that makes Emma different than her other novels is with this novel I felt like we weren’t reading about the same story, like I felt with all the others. This was about a girl who was already of the higher class and who wasn’t looking for love but ends up finding it along the way. It was refreshing and fun to read an Austen novel that was so funny and different than the others. I would say Emma is definitely one of her better novels.

11. Were you able to personally relate to any of these characters? If so who and how? 

I guess out of all the characters I was able to relate to Harriet the most. Harriet is basically a sweet and caring girl trying to find her place in this big world. She is trying new things and just seeing where and how she fits in. I can relate to that at this point in my life. However, I would like to think I am not as gullible as Harriet is. J  Still no characters in this novel can even come close to my bond with Elizabeth Bennet...hahah.. Have you noticed most of my answers seem to come back to Pride and Prejudice in some way.

12. Did you enjoy Emma? Would you recommend this novel to a friend? 

I really enjoyed Emma; Austen redeemed herself after reading Mansfield Park. Emma is my second favorite Jane Austen novel so far (first is Pride and Prejudice …duh!!).  I would without a doubt recommend Emma to a friend who is looking for a fun romantic comedy read.


I am so glad we read Emma; it was such a fun and different book to read! I know I’ve said it before, but it’s still true, I Love this book club!! After reading the novel, my mom and I watched the movie Emma, the version with Gwyneth Paltrow, I must say it was pretty good and close to the novel except a few parts towards the end. The movie had the most breathtaking scenery and costumes, it was so beautiful.
I started reading our next book club novel Northanger Abbey and so far I’m enjoying it, but I’ll save the rest until next posting session.  I can’t wait to read about what everyone thought of Emma.
Till then, Happy Reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!