Note, Sept. 26, 2023: I've edited this review slightly just now to correct a typo.

My initial experience of this novel was through the medium of film adaptation, via the 1996 movie version starring Gwyneth Paltrow (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116191/ ), which I've seen twice. (Earlier, I'd watched part of the 1972 BBC miniseries on DVD, but couldn't get the technology to cooperate for the second half.) I'd highly recommend the former; and wrote this about it in a comment in one of my Goodreads groups "...like all of Austen's work, this has much more depth than what the dismissals of it as "romance" or a "chick flick" might suggest. It has a perceptive critique of class snobbery; and it's also about the importance of character, about self-improvement and learning lessons, about how devastatingly we can hurt people by one thoughtless flip comment, but also about the value of penitence and forgiveness, about friendship (and love). And while I wouldn't call it a comedy --it's too serious for that-- Austen's sense of dry humor leavens it throughout." Although that referred, in the first instance, to the movie, what I said there applies to the book as well.

There are, to be sure, differences between the two, mostly occasioned by the different demands and possibilities of the respective art forms, though the film reproduces the characterizations and essential plot (part of which I'd forgotten by the time I read it, so the read did have some genuine suspense!) of the book. Some of my favorite scenes aren't actually in the book; the "flip comment" and its emotional effect is highlighted much more strongly in the movie, and my impression is that the film version treats the denouement in less rushed fashion, but takes less time with the wind-up. On the plus side for the book, Austen's wonderful prose provides a special part of the Austen experience that only the written format can.

Having now read the original, I would say that it merits the "romance" designation less than the other Austen works I've read so far. True, Emma's (misguided) attempts at matchmaking are a central focus of the plot. But although some readers who dislike Austen complain that her heroines are always over-interested in finding a husband, that's not the case here. Most 19th-century gentlewomen expected to marry, partly because a male provider was usually an economic necessity in their culture, and partly because they generally had a interest in the opposite sex that they expected to satisfy in committed marriage, and wanted to form a family (rather than regarding romantic commitment as a horrible bane that threatens absolute autonomy, and children as an expensive nuisance at best and at worst a curse). Emma, though, does not. She's quite open about having no intention of ever marrying herself (though she's energetic in trying to marry off other people!), and her financial circumstances are such that she doesn't really have to. So husband-hunting isn't an interest of hers, at least for much of the book. That doesn't mean she might not "form [or come to recognize] an attachment" eventually --but no spoilers here!

In a very real sense, rather than a romance, this is more of a character study; and to a significant degree, a coming of age story. Our heroine here is only 20 years old --a grown woman, certainly, and of an age when people in her era were expected to be adults, rather than entering the next phase of their adolescence; but a grown woman who's been somewhat indulged and spoiled, who has more vanity than is good for her and less perception than she imagines, and has some significant lessons to learn. (She's a more flawed protagonist in that sense than her sisters in the Austen sorority, Lizzie Bennett and Elinor Dashwood, both of whom have it much more together as responsible people than she does. But she has an essential good heart that allows you to like her and root for her to grow, rather than dislike her as you do some other characters who lack any essential goodness.) Some of her lessons will be social, because at the outset of the book she can definitely be a first-class snob at times, and a couple of parts here can be eye-rolling. (In the book, she also doesn't come as far as, IMO, she needs to --maybe because Austen's own class attitudes weren't completely enlightened-- but she does come a long way; so, credit where credit is due!)

I rated this at five stars; if I could deduct half-stars, I would have, partly for the above-mentioned eye-rolling moments. But in my estimation, it fully deserves to be rounded up rather than down!

Emma is the last novel Jane Austen published before dying, and (along with Mansfield Park) one of her longest. For Emma, she upgraded publishers; this was published by the more prestigious John Murray, who also had Byron. She was treated as a respected writer by Murray, and Emma got more attention than her previous books, including a review from famous boring guy Walter Scott, who called her "a gifted creature." (Not to give the wrong impression: Austen wasn't widely recognized as a genius until much later. During her lifetime she was a mildly successful, mildly respected author whose pen name was "A Lady.")

How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!

Emma is a terrific protagonist: complicated, carefully drawn, fully human. Not everyone cares for her; I do.

Where there is a wish to please, one ought to overlook, and one does overlook a great deal.

I was struck by how utterly in command of her writing Austen is throughout the book; how carefully she's able to present information, making it clear who knows what and who's guessing incorrectly about what else and why everything is going down. Austen doesn't always tell you everything - she trusts you to pick up much of what's happening on your own - but it's all there for you. It's flawless, in that it does exactly what it sets out to do.

And as always, she's endlessly quotable.

Certainly silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. Wickedness is always wickedness, but folly is not always folly. - It depends upon the character of those who handle it.

Message-wise, there are some squidgy moments. Unless I'm mistaken, there's a message about the dangers of trying to look above one's station that doesn't sit well with modern readers, right? Which isn't completely in line with the message of the time; Austen loved Samuel Richardson, who thought that class movement was entirely possible as long as there was a hot poor lady. But it is what it is, and it's just about perfect at being what it is.

n  "With insufferable vanity had she believed herself in the secret of everybody's feelings; with unpardonable arrogance proposed everybody's destiny. She was proved to have been universally mistaken. She had brought evil on Harriet, on herself, and she too much feared, on Mr. Knightley."n

Regarded as one of Jane Austen's most important works, Emma is a novel about a handsome, clever and rich young woman - Miss Woodhouse - who lives on the fictional estate of Hartfield, in the Surrey village of Highbury with her hypochondriac father. The story begins when Miss Taylor, her former governess and the mother figure who raised her (Emma's real mother is dead) marries a neighbor - Mr. Weston - and leaves Hartfield. Emma is now left alone with her father, whom she adores and is devoted to.

Seen as society's best, Emma seems to have everything she needs to be happy and satisfied: beauty, money, intelligence, class and talent. Everyone admires her and it seems she can do no wrong: except for Mr. Knightley, the brother of her sister Isabel's husband, and who also lives near Hartfield. He's known Emma since she was a little girl and is the only one who feels free to tell her the truth, sincerely give her his opinions and advise her against her selfishness and arrogance.

Austen was bold to write and name a book after a character that's not really likable - which happens in Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary (see my review) as well, who coincidentally was also named Emma - or at least is not instantly likable. We're presented to an immature and spoiled person who takes on intents of pairing up couples - perhaps even with good intentions - but ultimately playing with other people's lives.

Harriet Smith, a "project" she chooses for herself is her biggest victim. Led to believe by Emma that she's better than suitor Robert Martin, Harriet turns down his marriage proposal that she was initially inclined to accept. This is the first of a series of disservices that Emma does to Miss Smith. Believing the clergyman Mr. Elton was more suited as a husband for her friend, Miss Woodhouse embarks on schemes and manipulations to play the role of a matchmaker. Blindsided by her snobbery, she never realizes that Mr. Elton has his eyes set on her instead of her good and willing pupil.

Decided to never get married herself, Emma is appalled when Mr. Elton declares his love to her and turns him down. Here, it's important to note that Austen never uses narration as means to indisputably lay out all of her character's inner feelings. Instead, she wonders about their reasons and has us trying to guess what lies beneath their actions. Why would the most prominent household in Highbury wish to never get married? Does she believe she's too good for every man she knows or is there a fear of rejection in the mix somewhere? Could it be a fear of change?

Things are shaken up and change does seem to be on its way to the village's trite life when Frank Churchill - Mr. Weston's son by his first marriage who was raised by his aunt - comes to visit his father and is introduced to Emma. Instantly drawn to each other, they bond and it seems a marriage between the two is all the Westons can hope for the near future. Intimately confabulating at all social events, Emma and Frank seem to have no scruples on conjecturing about Jane Fairfax – Jane, the young niece of Miss Bates, is seen by everyone to be Emma’s equal and Emma has some rivalry feelings towards her –, who is believed to be involved in a love triangle back at London, where she was brought up and raised by the Campbells.

We learn later, however, that this union the Westons longed for was never among Frank's designs and that he has been playing everyone all along. Austen masterfully uses Frank's duplicity and actions as a parallel to Emma's schemes and manipulations as her own intentions were never completely out in the open as well. But it isn't with satisfaction we become aware that Emma's been toyed with for we're already warming up to her ways and witnessing the beginning of her redemption at this point: it all starts with a strong reprimand from Mr. Knightley after a malicious remark she makes to and about Miss Bates; this brings Emma to tears and she realizes not only that her line was unpleasant, but that she's been unfair to Jane Fairfax and to her good friend Harriet as well.

In the end, Emma played with fire. Fortunately for her, consequences weren't as harmful as they could have been and she ended up actually growing as a person and learning from her faults. Could she have avoided mostly everything she and her friends went through? Probably yes. Would she be the person she is by the end of the book? Probably not. Would she be mature enough to realize what was right in front of her and to make the right decision she did that ultimately changed her life? Definitely not.

Rating: for Austen's ever present wit and irony and for her magistral account of Emma's inner development, 4 stars.

My interpretation of the first 60+ pages of Emma:

"Oh, my dear, you musn't think of falling for him. He's too crude and crass."
"Oh, my dear Emma, you are perfectly correct. I shan't give him another thought."
"Oh, my dear, that's good because I would have to knock you flat on your arse if you were considering someone of such low birth."

Yawn. I tried, but life's too short. Plus, I like 'em crude and crass.

Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder

Dear Goodreads Friends and Acquaintances,
Thanks to Jane Austen I enjoyed my virtual (alas!) three-week visit to Highbury and its surroundings. As a result, I categorically refuse to leave. I decided to ignore the word FIN on the last page of Emma. I can always pretend I don’t understand French, can’t I? Let’s hope Emma, Harriet, Mr Woodhouse, Miss Fairfax, Mr Churchill, Mr Knightley, the Westons and all the rest won’t mind if I overstay their welcome just a little bit. Truth be told, I’m considering lingering here until strawberries in Donwell Abbey ripen again…
Regards,
Jola


Edmund Blair Leighton, A Favour

PS
The thing which impressed me most in Emma (1815) by Jane Austen is the subtle consistency with which relativity of people’s motives and desires was depicted. It is so easy to misinterpret them, even with the best intentions. This novel is a delicate warning: guessing with a know-it-all attitude what people feel and want is a risky business because oftentimes human nature is full of contradictions.

I also enjoyed the individualisation of language in Emma. The author’s sense of humour is another treasure which I was very happy to discover again and wish there had been more of it. But all this is nothing compared to the pleasure I felt indulging in the safety of the world Jane Austen depicts, basking in its simple cosiness. Let us discreetly put down the curtain of silence on the fact that Emma's world without serious problems, conflicts and wars, the world in which the theft of a few turkeys is the most blood-curdling crime in the neighbourhood, is quite far from reality. Nevertheless, it attracted me like a magnet. Emma makes a perfect read for gloomy and grey winter days and not only. I guess two or three years ago I might have found this novel slightly boring but in the times of pandemic Emma is like a healing poultice. Little wonder, then, that I am already looking forward to reading more novels by Jane Austen.

However, some things felt amiss in Emma, for example, the way the author depicts servants. Basically, they are an invisible crowd without individuality, not worth describing. I also found awkward the way Austen portrays ‘gipsies’: even their children are violent and terrifying. I was not thrilled by the way Austen sees women either although I guess the female characters in Emma are more independent and self-confident anyway than real women at the time. In 2021 (almost 2022, actually) these issues sound repelling but let us bear in mind that the book was published in 1815.


Charles Haigh-Wood, The Song

There were a few other things I did not enjoy, for instance, an element of creepiness in the secret love of a twenty-nine-year-old man to a thirteen-year-old girl. Besides, I guess Emma would have impressed me more if I felt more enthusiastic about the protagonist but let us face it: she kept getting on my nerves. Austen was aware that Miss Woodhouse will not win readers’ hearts easily: I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.

Some of Emma’s interferences in other people’s lives did not seem genuine to me. The family situation was explained clearly at the very beginning thus the roots of her behaviour should be obvious but sometimes I found her irritable anyway and kept wondering if she is a selfish manipulator in velvet gloves who treats people like counters in her board game or just immature, naïve and spoiled child in a body of a twenty-year-old girl. Of course, it is an indisputable strength of this novel that we do not know for sure and keep wondering afterwards.

Speaking of a game, the whole novel seems to be an invitation to one, as readers have a few conundrums to solve, not only the one told expressis verbis during the Box Hill trip, but deciphering mysteries concerning a few characters is included too. I liked the concept of a reader as a psychological sleuth dealing with often misleading evidence.

I wish Jane Austen had devoted more time to Jane Fairfax. I found her much more intriguing than Emma. Maybe the fact that she is the author’s namesake suggests that she was Austen’s favourite too? I found out that there is a companion novel, n  Jane Fairfax: The Secret Story of the Second Heroine in Jane Austen's Emman by Joan Aiken which means that I am not the only one intrigued by this character.

I was delighted to discover that some writers I would rather not suspect to be Jane Austen's devoted fans actually were her admirers. Virginia Woolf called her the most perfect artist among women, the writer whose books are immortal. Henry James appreciated her genius – of the extraordinary vividness with which she saw what she did see and praised her unconscious perfection of form. After having read three novels by Austen: Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and Emma I can confess that - at least at the moment - I do not share such enormous enthusiasm but I definitely feel tempted to return to the warmth, tranquillity and comfort of her world.


George Goodwin Kilburne, The Next Dance

emma woodhouse vc: im blonde, im skinny, im rich, and I'm a little bit of a bitch








genuinely funny in parts, loved the set up of the different awkward situations. loved loved emma as the protagonist. but it was definitely boring in parts

3.5*. Liked it more than S&S but less than P&P

‘Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised or a little mistaken.’

Emma Woodhouse, the heroine and namesake of Jane Austen’s last novel to be published within her lifetime, spends her days of leisure playing matchmaker and offering the reader her keen eye for the character of the locals of Highbury. However, this keen eye may not be as accurate as she would wish it to be. Through her inaccurate impressions of those around her, and of her own feelings, the reader is able to construct a strikingly accurate and detailed portrait of the events and players at hand. Emma is a comedy of social errors that displays Austen as an expert novelist exercising her careful control over the ironies and implications of ambiguous observations and Emma Woodhouse is one of my favorite characters in all of literature.

Austen has a charming method of careful show and tell at work in Emma, and stands back from any authorial instruction to allow the reader to piece the evidence together through the deductions revealed by Emma. She is able to place events out in the open, yet lead the reader astray down a path of thinking that will turn out to be hilariously false and embarrassing for all those involved. Emma, who fancies herself quick witted and wise – which she truly is, although prone to a gross misdiagnosis of events – sets many of her friends and family up for failure and blunder by trying to position their hearts in the direction she sees best. However, these goals of hers rarely work out and, as usually explained by Mr. Knightly, are wholly unrealistic. Take her first blunder for instance, when she tries to place a match between Harriet, a pretty yet not...necessarily known for being particularly sharp woman of unknown parentage, with Mr. Elton, a handsome and handsomely wealthy bachelor with an eye for business. Emma, living a life in high society with no concern with finances or needs, is blind to the notion that matches of the time must be ‘smart’ and that a man of his stature couldn’t fathom marrying a girl such as Harriet. Austen uses these mistaken beliefs and faults to highlight the truths of her society, truths that are never fully expressed or detailed other than as the negation of these misdirected observations.

Throughout the course of the novel, Austen paints a portrait of perfection strictly through brushstrokes of imperfection. Characters are revealed primarily through their annoying faults, and often come across as exceptionally irritating at first. There is Mr. Woodhouse and his painfully narrow-minded opinions, who sees marriage as ‘dreadful business’ because it affects a change in the fabric of his society (the governess at Hartfield is married in the novels opening, which causes her to move from Mr. Woodhouse’s home to live with her husband. Although this is a happy match, he only speaks of her as ‘poor Ms. Taylor’ through the entire novel as if his burden of being left behind should blanket over anyone’s happiness and that she should be looked at as being a victim for having to leave his side), and views any aberration from spending a quiet night before his fire as an inconceivable offense. We also have Ms. Bates, who cannot stop talking to save her life, John Knightly who finds pretty much everything in poor taste, Harriet and her lovesick ways, the list goes on. Yet, despite the annoying habits of virtually every character in the book (Emma must also be included, but her flaws are so lovable and I like that she is just a messy character we love for that) the reader will learn to love them, especially when juxtaposed with characters whose faults are truly unbecoming and unforgivable. Mrs. Elton, who arrives in the second half of the novel, is pompous, arrogant, conceited and, worst of all, passive aggressive. All the faults of characters that initially aggravate the reader will melt away under the brute force of the truly annoying characters. Plus, as Emma learns, the reader will begin to see these characters as real people, who bleed when cut and grieve when offended. Much like the real people around us, we must learn to accept people for their good qualities, which added up, outweigh the bad ones, i.e. Ms. Bates may not be able to shut her mouth, but she has a good heart and cares for all those around her. Through only seeing faults, we are able to understand the goodness of others: ‘“Perhaps it is our imperfections that make us so perfect for one another!’ When Mr. Knightly scolds Emma for her insult to Ms. Bates, Austen is using him to directly scold the reader for their ill-feelings of such a kind hearted women (but also its a man telling the woman what to think perhaps?). We are asked to check ourselves and behave with proper respect that we expect from the characters. There is a very positive message about treating one another right that underlines this novel. We watch Emma falter and fall, but eventually the real satisfaction came from watching her get back up and carry on with dignity. Plus her mistakes remind us we are all human and all make errors in judgement and can rise above our own shortcomings.

We are presented with a very unique vision of perfection with this novel. Even the eventual happy wedding which closes this novel is described primarily by its shortcomings, and the ways it failed to meet any quality of standards in Mrs. Elton's eyes. This conclusion offers a perfect summation of the novel in two ways. First, that perfection is attainable despite flaws, and that if in the end we are left with a happy instance, or a character who's positive qualities outweigh their flaws, then we have achieved the sense of perfection allotted to humans beings, a flawed species by nature. Secondly, we see that this wedding was a failure based on Mrs. Elton's opinion, a character depicted as always insisting upon their opinions, style of dress, manners, acquaintances, vacation places, former homes, etc. as superior to anyone else's. This insistance of 'being perfect' of hers is her ultimate flaw, and for something to not meet her expectations makes it seem all the more amiable simply for irritating her (as she is sure to be a source of constant irritation to the reader as well as Emma). Austen shows us that we should aim for what makes us happy and is fitting with our character than for what is truly perfect, a utopian notion that if actually aimed to meet, as in the case of Mrs. Elton, will only appear as snobbery and faulty. All in all, Austen shows us to embrace our flaws as what makes us unique and endearing.

Misdirection is the name of the game in Emma, and it is quite funny to watch how so many different inferences can be deduced from the same set of observations. Austen exploits the double entendre quite masterfully here. The reader must be wary when setting foot out in Highbury, as things are not always what they seem (they must also have pockets full of gold as there is a bit of disdain for anyone not wealthy enough. The characters show a bit of snobbery. There is a scene when Harriet and a friend come across the Roma and it can more or less be understood as "oh no! Poor people!" And also Emma often puts forth the belief that farmers are trashy illiterates, though we see a lot of growth in Emma and this opinion is eventually overturned.) This is quite the novel to laugh along with, and I think I even liked it more than Pride and Prejudice. This book seems to still feel relevant and translate well to modern events. Check out the movie Clueless (well okay, 90's events), and you will find the plot cleverly satirized. One would do well to keep in mind that Austen meant much of this novel as satire, so when characters become too irritating or too high and mighty, it helps to realize Austen is poking for at these cliches in the world around her. It is quite fun to laugh at these events along with Austen. I would highly recommend this to anyone, and it would make a great introduction to this wonderful author.
5/5

'One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other'

Catching up…

Oh Emma, is it finally time for me to capture the essence of you after all this time? I, who have read so little of Austen in my past, and now re-visiting you in my present? Can I do you justice?

Once again, I have my generous neighbors to thank for this 200th Anniversary Annotated Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition that was recently donated to my Little Free Library Shed to remind me of a past that I once read when I was young(er).

I have sometimes declared in other reviews, that Jane Austen was not my go-to author. I for some reason avoided her, but then, when I started to review the pages of Emma, the familiarity was too real, and I knew it wasn’t because of the many Jane Austen-type movies that I have watched. I knew I had read this one before. I could not ignore our time together. So, for the past few weeks we sat together, in-between a few of my other novels, and walked/read down memory lane.

Emma was originally released in December 1815. Jane was 39 years old. It was her last novel.

What is beautiful about this edition is all that it includes. Historical background on Jane Austen, the book which is about 392 pages, the reactions to the original publication, spelling in Emma (1815 English can be quite different than present-day American), glossary, contextual essays, maps of Jane Austen’s England, illustrations from early editions, some suggestions for further exploration, some tips for reading Emma, like…

“Pace yourself. Read passages aloud. Try an audiobook.”

This truly is a stunning edition of Emma. With a lovely cover page. I can see why anyone would consider this a collector’s edition.

And now, my thoughts about the book.

Emma Woodhouse means well. She thinks highly of herself, which makes her a rather flawed but likable character who thinks herself a successful “matchmaker” and thus puts herself in other’s lives and doesn’t always read the room correctly.

Sometimes there are some rather laugh out loud moments because the characters are so beautifully visualized, like Mr. Woodhouse with his hypochondriac tendencies.

And yet what is noticed above all is the heart and soul that lives within Emma. Readers can’t help but witness her growth, throughout the novel. She takes good care of her father, and she does appear to learn from her “mistakes.”

But how does she fair with romance?

Will Emma get her perfect HEA with Mr. Knightly when she stops meddling and realize the limitations of her matchmaking role?

Austen is witty, thoughtful, introspective, and ahead of her time in recognizing a different kind of woman, through Emma’s character.

In many ways, this was a delightful, imperfect (it’s the English that will throw readers), yet entertaining read.

❀˖° "One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other." °˖❀

—Alexa, play You Are In Love by Taylor Swift