It’s the reason why I’ve re-read Emma more times than I can honestly say (and yes – many more times than Pride and Prejudice). 

Being an opinionated young lady, Emma Woodhouse is a very strong female lead, yet her headstrong attitude is not entirely her fault; her mother died when she was young and her father is a weak man, more interested in inflicting his health on those around him than actively parenting. All he does is declare that if Emma has done or said something then it must be correct. 

There is Miss Taylor, who starts as Emma’s governess before becoming her confidant and mother substitute but she is too kind and gentle, always looking for the best in Emma. The book opens with Miss Taylor’s marriage and therefore any check on Emma’s behaviour is removed. Emma is let loose on the village of Highbury.

This is exacerbated as Emma is at the top of the social pyramid. Therefore everyone in Highbury treats Emma the same way that her father does, supportive of all of her actions and words; regardless of whether they are actually worthy of this. Jane Austen has laid out the groundwork – we understand that Emma is going to do as Emma wants. 

And Emma gets it deliciously wrong.

The only person who is willing to point out her faults and try  to educate her in the ways of the world is Mr Knightly. Emma does eventually accept that he is right on many things. Yet what is so enjoyable is that we learn with Emma, we feel the knocks and embarrassments with her as we follow her realisations. Emma may not listen the first time, but ultimately she does listen, reflect and learn.

And she does this without losing her strong voice. She isn’t tempered or subdued. I can imagine her quite happily holding her own with Mr Knightly once they’re married. Correct he may be, but it wouldn’t mean that she’ll suddenly become his subordinate. 

It’s this journey of mistakes and reflection that makes Emma such an enjoyable read…

It all starts with Emma’s erroneous assumption that she is a successful matchmaker. She thinks that she was behind the marriage between Miss Taylor and Mr Weston – a couple who would have married regardless of Emma. 

Emma now turns her attention and avid imagination to Harriet Smith’s love life.

At seventeen Harriet is four years younger than Emma and is highly impressionable. She’s the daughter of a nobody who has been put in a lady’s school in the village with no idea of who her parents are. Harriet’s very open heart results in her falling in love very easily. To paraphrase Emma, even Harriet Smith cannot fall in love more than three times in one year…

This is played out quite deliciously when Emma is determined that that fickle Mr Elton is in love with Harriet, not perceiving that he is actually courting Emma. She doesn’t listen to the advice of her brother-in-law that maybe Mr Elton’s attentions aren’t what she thinks.

Instead Emma contrives situation after situation for Harriet and Mr Elton’s romance to bloom, only to result in Mr Elton proposing to Emma one night when they’re alone during a snowy carriage ride back to Highbury. We feel Emma’s horror as she realises how wrong she’s been and her unhappiness when she knows that she’s going to have to break Harriet’s heart. We also feel Emma’s disdain as Mr Elton has proposed to her because he’s convinced himself that he’s in love, whereas his motive is actually to raise his position in society. 

Determined not to make the same match making mistakes again Emma decides to change. Then charges headlong into several mistaken romantic deductions.

There is her deduction of feelings between Frank Churchill and Harriet – which is, of course,  wrong. Readers in Jane Austen’s time would have also been particularly aware of the mispairing of the couple as Frank Churchill and Harriet are from completely different classes, something which was felt more keenly then.   

Then there is Emma’s deduction of Mr Dixon’s illicit love of Jane Fairfax rather his wife. Which again, surprise, surprise is also wrong. Emma compounds this by confiding her suspicion about Mr Dixon to Frank Churchill, the very person who is actually in an illicit romance with Jane Fairfax.

And this is Emma trying to be a better person and learn from her mistakes!

Jane Austen also gives us moments where we really cannot condone Emma’s actions. As you read them you can feel how wrong Emma’s behaviour is. 

This is definitely the case when Emma prompts Harriet to refuse Mr Martin’s first proposal. It’s made even worse by the fact Emma keeps on claiming that it’s entirely up to Harriet what to write – while Emma practically pens the reply herself. We know that what she is doing is wrong and all we can do is watch… 

Jane Austen isn’t afraid to take this further by showing us an unpleasant side to Emma during the visit to Box Hill. Here Emma expects, due to her position in Highbury society, that this will automatically mean that  whatever she says must be seen as entertaining. Yet while playing word games Emma senses that the others are not charmed by her, in fact, if anything they find her rather dull. 

This develops into one of the most memorable moments of the whole book. Miss Bates may not have “beauty or cleverness”, may be a prattling old maid, but she is a kind woman who has brought up her orphaned niece as best as she can and now looks after her ancient mother. Her deceased father was a clergyman and thus she and her mother have lost the status and comparative comforts that his position would have given them.

Emma should therefore treat Miss Bates with respect, firstly, because it’s how we should all behave and secondly (due to the etiquette of the times) Miss Bates would have once mixed in the same social circles as the Woodhouse family. Yet Emma publicly puts the prattling Miss Bates down in front of everyone. Here Emma shows her superior attitude by declaring “Pardon me – but you will be limited as to number – only three at once.” Referring to how many things can be said in the word game they’re all playing and making a point of Miss Bates’s verbal diarrhoea.  It is such a painful moment that Emma regrets it as soon as she has said it. She acutely feels Miss Bates pain. 

Aside of whether you are a heroine or not, it takes a strength of quality in anyone, real or fictional to actually listen (a quality which many of us are poor at), to reflect on what’s been said and act on it. Most people just try to justify their actions. True strength of character is in understanding what you have done wrong and actually changing. 

You have to know your own worth. Something which Emma does.