Get Hooked on Austen: Emma

As the story opens in the Woodhouse parlor, we read of sorrow mixed with joy as Emma, a young lady almost 21 yrs old, tries to console her father. Miss Taylor, Emma’s governess, has recently married and Mr. Woodhouse laments that it is a dreadful event. Emma, though she will miss her governess and best friend, comforts her father with the thought that they will still see her quite often. Her father, not liking change, cannot be consoled because “Miss Taylor” is now “Mrs. Weston.” Skillfully interweaving many characters into her novels, Jane Austen keeps the reader engaged. Emma is no exception.

Copious characters, in Emma, are promptly placed so the reader must be keenly aware to keep them all straight. I have to admit that I needed a “cheat sheet” to help me when I first read Emma. I was at first confused because “Emma” was sometimes called by her first name, and at other times by her last name, “Miss Woodhouse.” This was done with some of the other people too. It helped me to write down characters as they were added and I kept the list in the book so I could refer to it. Consequently, toward the middle of the narrative I no longer needed my cheat sheet. So keep that in mind, if you are easily confused like me.

At the beginning of the story, the “handsome” Emma is self assured, claiming that she is the one who is responsible for Miss Taylor and Mr. Weston meeting and encouraging the commitment. Having this accomplishment in mind, she states that other couples might need her help in matchmaking also. Fervently, Mr. Knightley, a close family friend, warns her against interfering and her father adamantly counsels her that matches “are silly things, and break up one’s family circle grievously.” With Austen’s wit and sometimes humor, the reader is drawn into the various struggles in which Emma finds herself. At the novel’s conclusion, she has flourished into a wiser more mature woman.

One of my favorite characters is Emma’s father. Although he is a friendly, hospitable man, he has a propensity of fretting about a variety of things such as: drafts in the house, the food people eat, or the weather. Emma, having a bright, happy personality, adores her dear papa and respectfully tries to cheer him when he starts to worry. I can picture Mr. Woodhouse sitting in an overstuffed chair with a blanket over his spindly legs exclaiming, “…But surely, Mr. Churchill, nobody would think of opening the windows at Randalls. Nobody could be so imprudent! I never heard of such a thing. Dancing with open windows! I am sure neither your father nor Mrs. Weston would suffer it.” I couldn’t help but smile as I read Mr. Woodhouse’s concerns.

The reader will certainly learn some valuable lessons from Emma. In Peter Leithart’s book, Miniatures & Morals he states, “Perhaps the most Christian novel Austen wrote, Emma is concerned with the relation of charity and truth; it is about ‘speaking the truth in love,’ or more precisely, about truth-speaking as the path to love.” Remarkably, one noble character, no matter how difficult, does speak the truth in love; while in contrast, the society all around is habitually trying to play its part, which is often a lie. I highly recommend Emma. There is so much to take in and enjoy. Read it and get hooked on Austen!