I taught this novel many times, though I am not sure I ever completely conveyed how funny Mr Woodhouse is as a revolt against the Manners that governed the society which Austen depicts with such precision and amusement. At his grand table at Hartfield, Emma's dad offers valued guests his most valued supper of thin gruel. As I descend into a certain age, I tend to value gruel more, instead of steak. Also like Mr Woodhouse, I would certainly see marriage of my remaining daughter as an assault on my home, if I still had a daughter at home. But Mr Woodhouse's lack of seeing beyond his immediate kin insulates him from this terror:
"Happily he was not farther from approving matrimony than from foreseeing it"(XXIII).
Austen sums up in a sentence that may well have sent her chuckling, as her sister's letter records, to her small hexagonal writing table before the south-facing street window at Chawton:
"Human nature is so well disposed towards those who are in interesting situations, that a young person, who either marries or dies, is sure of being kindly spoken of…" (Ch XXII).
I told my classes that Austen generated her greatest comedy out of what would have been seen by her neighbors as her greatest defeat--not marrying.

Mr Woodhouse's hypochondria extends to art. Emma's drawing of her protege Harriet sitting outside, in summer, raises her dad's fears: "It is never safe to sit out-of-doors, my dear"(40). Mr W's dietary fears include wedding cake, which he endeavors to discourage guests from eating, with the approbation of his apothecary, whose children are rumored to have partaken, but Mr Woodhouse cannot believe it. In fact, the spectacle of dueling apothecaries--between hypochondriacs père et fille (Isabella, elder than Emma).

Perhaps her third-greatest subject of humor is parsons (presumably unlike her father). Emma the manor-born declines the assiduous Rev Elton, who goes on to marry the proud Miss Hawkins,
"Mrs Elton conceived Miss Hawkins to have held such a place in society as Mrs Elton's consequence only could surpass." (XXXIII)
Her second-greatest subject of comic irony is, as here, vanity of social position. (And the 19C English novel, unlike the American, mostly concerns social position.)

Austen writes a domestic epic, with the dangers being those of conversation*, as in a discussion of Isabella's trying to get thin gruel, "Here was a dangerous opening"(86). Consider heroism in conversation: Emma "could not be complying; she dreaded being quarrelsome: her heroism reached only to silence"(93).
Here British culture enhances the epic of the everyday. England values appearance, from grand houses to meticulous clothes, even facial appearance from class remoteness to engaged feelings, but most: disguise of feelings--say, anger--under social politeness. Emma achieves this when Mr Elton courts her rather than Harriet, "Mr Elton's civilities were dreadfully ill-timed; but she had the comfort of appearing very polite while feeling very cross"(97).

Emma's self-deception is one of the great spectacles of English literature, like Othello's jealousy, or Argan's hypochondria in Moliere. (Ah, that would make a good essay assignment, to compare Mr Woodhouse and Argan as hypochondriacs.) We readers spend half the novel observing the spectacle of Emma's growing self-deception, her raising her protege to reject Martin of Abbey Brook Farm, and to fall for the gentleman Mr Knightley, who is a prospective beau for Emma herself could she but see beyond her rational and social pretensions, and her attachment to the rogue named for Sir Winston. Emma comes to self-knowledge, not a common achievement: "How to understand the deceptions she had been thus practising on herself, and living under…" "…with unpardonable arrogance she had proposed to arrange everybody's destiny. She was proved to have been universally mistaken"(XLVII).
Austen very clearly resolves this building drama at a point almost beyond repair. JA withdraws from the intimate exchange, noting Emma's last proposal, "What did she say? Just what she ought, of course. A lady always does" (Ch 49). My, what it takes for these smart Englishmen, under the pressure of social constraints, to see what is before their very eyes.

* Mr Woodhouse runs hilariously opposite, not valuing what the novel clearly does: "To be sitting long after dinner was a confinement that he could not endure. Neither wine nor conversation was anything to him"(99) [Pagination from Signet, 1980]

Oh my goodness, did I love. At one point, toward the end, when the thing that Austen was working toward happened, I literally fell down from the couch to the rug. Emma herself is a unique creation, a headstrong, misguided, self-confident girl who we can't help but love, because she is honest. The love complications are innumerable, the humor is excellent, and the writing is spectacular. Without the intensely crafted plot of Pride and Prejudice, say, Austen's sentences are left to carry the book, something that they are more than capable of. It was interesting to read this in concert with Dostoyevsky's THE IDIOT, because they have much in common, and because there is as much truth and insight here, with additional pleasures. Austen is habitually underrated for the usual reasons, and also because the adaptations of her work showcase her facility with plot more than language. On the page, one wants to read her fast, but one also wants to linger in the prose.

Actual Rating 2.5

It feels sacrilegious to give a Jane Austen book an average rating, but here we are. This is my third time reading Emma, and having just reread Mansfield Park and Pride and Prejudice, my opinions on this book were reinforced. I do like that the character of Emma is so easy to dislike, which means that she is written well. I also like her relationship with Mr. Knightley throughout the book, that there’s someone who’s trying to make her see sense.

I think the main thing that keeps this book average for me is how meandering it is. Similar to Mansfield Park, much of the book is simply focused on the characters and their interactions. But I found the characters in Emma to be less compelling overall, and so found it much harder to care about their actions and relationships. This is one Jane Austen I won’t be rereading again.

Original Rating 3 Stars

Emma is an immature spoiled girl who needs to get a life.

Upon my word! After reading a couple of chapters of Emma I do declare—with all due respect—that Miss Emma Woodhouse is one silly cow. I have sought assurance from my dear friend—the very learned Mrs. Roberts from a nearby vicarage—regarding correct usage of the term “silly cow”, and she has given me her approbation with the greatest felicity.



Yes, Emma Woodhouse is clueless, so much so that the wonderful 1995 movie Clueless is entirely based on her story. Emma likes to make matches, and I don’t mean her hobby is to make short, thin pieces of wood with a bit of phosphorus that ignites. No, indeed, Miss Woodhouse fancies herself as some kind of cupid and does the job disastrously.

The first thing she does upon meeting young naïve 17 year old Harriet Smith is to make a project out of her:

“She would notice her; she would improve her; she would detach her from her bad acquaintance, and introduce her into good society; she would form her opinions and her manners. It would be an interesting, and certainly a very kind undertaking; highly becoming her own situation in life, her leisure, and powers.”

I was thinking “What the hell? You silly cow!”. Anyway, in the process, she dissuades poor Harriet from accepting a desirable marriage proposal and pursues the snobbish Mr. Elton instead. Possibly the funniest scene in the book is when “Mr. Elton actually making violent love to her”—to Emma that is—without anybody taking their clothes off. It’s more in the Eltonesque tradition of “Don’t go breaking my heart”.

Jane Austen was well aware of the flaw in Emma’s character, she even described the character as “a heroine whom no one but myself will much like”. Of course she is not quite correct, lots of people like Emma Woodhouse, even I warmed up to her toward the end of the book (as Austen undoubtedly intended). Unlike  Mansfield Park and  Sense and Sensibility which I enjoyed from the first chapter it took me more than half the book to appreciate Emma’s appeal. Her conceitedness and snobbery is almost unbearable in the early chapters. It is only when consecutive events start to confound her that I started to really enjoy the novel.

As usual Austen’s characters are very well drawn, from Emma herself, to the twittering Miss Bates, the ridiculous Mr. Elton and his even more ridiculous wife who appears later in the book. The novel’s love interest for Emma can be spotted a mile off. He is another Darcy clone: taciturn, with good looks, sensibility, kindness and wisdom to spare. He is called Mr. Knightley on this occasion. By the end of the book I was quite sold on Emma the novel and the character. In all fairness to the poor eponymous character I was of a similarly bovine intellect at her age, and I am not sure to be able to claim to have improved significantly since.

As with most of her books—on the surface—the novel seems to depict the small world and small concerns of her characters, but Austen has deeper observations to makes about the social mores and class system of her times. I believe she is also cautioning her readers against overconfidence in one’s abilities in spite of inexperience and lack of accomplishment.

It took a while but I eventually succumbed to Emma’s charms. Let’s see how long you can resist.
_________________

Notes
For better or for worse I have reviewed five out of six Jane Austen novels now. Only  Pride and Prejudice left to reread and review. I think I quite like her stuff.

I "read" this (mostly) on audiobook, thank you Ms. Elizabeth Klett for her reliably pleasant and melodious narration. If you are looking for free audiobooks with beautiful, professional level narration look for titles narrated by her at Librivox.org.
________________________________

A few quotes from Clueless, just because I can't even:
Cher Horowitz: “So okay, I don't want to be a traitor to my generation and all but I don't get how guys dress today. I mean, come on, it looks like they just fell out of bed and put on some baggy pants and take their greasy hair - ew - and cover it up with a backwards cap and like, we're expected to swoon? I don't think so.”

"Do you prefer "fashion victim" or "ensembly challenged"?"

Travis: “I would like to say this. Tardiness is not something you can do on your own. Many, many people contributed to my tardiness. I would like to thank my parents for never giving me a ride to school, the LA city bus driver who took a chance on an unknown kid and last but not least, the wonderful crew from McDonalds who spend hours making those egg McMuffins without which I might never be tardy.”

Murray: Your man Christian is a cake boy!
Cher, Dionne: A what?
Murray: He's a disco-dancing, Oscar Wilde-reading, Streisand ticket-holding friend of Dorothy, know what I'm saying?
Cher: Uh-uh, no way, not even!
Murray: Yes, even; he's gay!
Dionne: He does like to shop, Cher. And the boy can dress.

Tai: Do you think she's pretty?
Cher: No, she's a full-on Monet.
Tai: What's a monet?
Cher: It's like a painting, see? From far away, it's OK, but up close, it's a big old mess. Let's ask a guy. Christian, what do you think of Amber?
Christian: Hagsville.
Cher: See?

official member of the Emma Woodhouse fan club

Austen's comedy of manners, which depicts interactions within an elite community that raises the issues of courting and marriage, expected gender roles, age and social status within the world of Victorian values and sees Austen deliberately create an unlikable protagonist in the super privileged and at times maddeningly narrow minded in how she sees others, Emma; a work that doesn't quite do it of me, despite smatterings of great wit.

Austen is so good at creating the unlikeable character that I completely buy into it, and struggle to care about her or indeed anyone; it feels like the original romantic comedy, a masterpiece of its age and providing so many of the rom-com staples, it just isn't that interesting. 5 out of 12

2022 read, 2008 read

Book 5 of 6 completed of my accidental Austen binge. I have to say that Emma is enormously entertaining. But as I was reading this book a strange realization came over me. At this point I think I'm becoming deeply acquainted with Austen's wit and tricks, and there is one quality that I find the most incredible.

Jane Austen is amazing at writing about annoying people. There are the annoying neighbors, the annoying suitors, the annoying relatives. She recreates the inane way in which these annoying people prattle on with such humor. Austen's so clever with her writing that this is not annoying for the reader and somehow becomes wickedly funny. You share in the joke with a raised eyebrow. And, Austen manages to do all this without being mean or nasty.

Emma could be called annoying at times. She's not a particularly likable heroine. She assumes much, is spoiled and a bit unaware. But Austen also shows how she learns from her mistakes and Emma is always endeavoring to improve which makes her more interesting and charming over time. I've seen so many movie versions of Emma, and various remakes, but for some reason Clueless came to my mind the most while reading this book.

For me, this book more enjoyable than the films because I found it deeply satisfying to get a much clearer picture of of the satellite characters. For example, SPOILER ALERT, the attraction between Mr. Churchill and Jane Fairfax is explained in detail. It was a side story that always rang a little false to me in the films. But here Frank emerges as less of a serious rake than some of the other Austen bad boys: he's as thoughtless and selfish, he wants to have his cake and eat it too, but he's much less offensive than Willoughby or that odious Mr. Fairfax from Mansfield Park who's downright sinister. And Frank and Emma's faux love reminded me of a pair of popular kids at high school who play a game with no real tenderness behind it.

Jane Fairfax is also very interesting. Now having read five of her books, you begin to see the Austen patterns here. Austen has a fixation with women with "low prospects." The heroine of Mansfield Park is a cousin of unimpressive birth, Anne in Persuasion is past her prime. Here Austen presents not one, but two women with tough futures ahead of them. Jane who is going to be a governess and Harriet Smith who seems to be caught in some sort of unmarried woman limbo-land.

I like how Austen balances the qualities of these two women, who are beautiful and full of noble qualities against an unpleasant future. Jane keeps her dignity while being bossed about by Mrs. Elton and sweet-tempered Harriet is pushed around by Emma. You feel Austen's sympathy for the underdog. She's rooting for these women to triumph. They are trapped in a glass jar of limitations must do their best to navigate their constraints, even if that means marrying wonky Frank Churchill. But ultimately all of Austen's characters, including Emma, are in a box of limitations.

I love Jane Austen, but sometimes I get bit tired of reading about the device of marriage as a strategic move.

***First time I've ever used the word annoying seven times in a review! But in the best sense.

Emma is about a young girl who feels that she could never marry and she could not leave her father alone. Instead, she decides to meddle in the love life of her friends which ends up having disastrous results.

This is my favourite Jane Austen novel. It is funny and light hearted.

5 stars

I’ve felt the need to wallow in nostalgia these last few weeks, and in between my more recent reads, I’ve been trying to fit in some of the ones that I’ve loved in the past - and so it was that I found myself rereading Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’.

I’d forgotten how good Austen is at detailing the minutiae of her characters lives, and making them irresistible. Loved it all over again!

Emma is the second Manga Classic I read. This Manga is based on Jane Austen's classic novel Emma.

I did not enjoy reading Emma as much as I anticipated. The story was ok. Emma is a delusional girl and a match-maker. She assumes two people are in love and tries to set them up for marriage. Even though she was the protagonist but I didn't like her much in the start. At the end, she gets better when she realizes her mistakes.

Mr. Knightly was my favorite. Tall and handsome. Not to forget, he is sensible and a gentleman - always talking some sense into Emma.

I have given two stars to the story but I would love to add two more stars just for how beautifully this Manga Classic was created. The detailing is absolutely beautiful. I loved looking at them closely and took my time to read each page.


I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Second revived review to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen. Sorry Jane, this is rather a feeble review.

*****


The only thing I can remember about this beloved novel is that I read it on the bus to work. That's it. On the bus. Sorry.

The three stars is because I like reading on buses.