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    Emma (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    Emma (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    Emma (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    Ebook246 pages1 hour

    Emma (MAXNotes Literature Guides)

    By Jean Hart

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    About this ebook

    REA's MAXnotes for Jane Austen's Emma MAXnotes offer a fresh look at masterpieces of literature, presented in a lively and interesting fashion. Written by literary experts who currently teach the subject, MAXnotes will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the work. MAXnotes are designed to stimulate independent thought about the literary work by raising various issues and thought-provoking ideas and questions. MAXnotes cover the essentials of what one should know about each work, including an overall summary, character lists, an explanation and discussion of the plot, the work's historical context, illustrations to convey the mood of the work, and a biography of the author. Each chapter is individually summarized and analyzed, and has study questions and answers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherResearch & Education Association
    Release dateJan 1, 2013
    ISBN9780738673202
    Emma (MAXNotes Literature Guides)

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      Emma (MAXNotes Literature Guides) - Jean Hart

      Bibliography

      SECTION ONE

      Introduction

      The Life and Work of Jane Austen

      Jane Austen was born in Steventon, England in 1775, the seventh child of Reverend and Mrs. George Austen. The rustic midland counties of England in which she grew up provided the setting for her novels. She began writing at the age of twelve but had to wait over twenty years to find a publisher. She was thirty-five when Sense and Sensibility appeared in 1811. After that, she published Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816). Two more novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published posthumously in 1818.

      Written in fifteen months, Emma marked the pinnacle of Jane Austen’s energy and craftsmanship. Though it earned her a great deal of attention, she chose to remain at her desk rather than take her place among a literary society that praised her work. She remained a sensible spinster bound to her country cottage, even though the Prince Regent (later to be crowned King George IV) was an open admirer and requested that she dedicate this book to him, which she did in short, unflattering prose. It seems that though she was a favorite of his, keeping a set of her novels in each of his houses, she detested him.

      An edition of 2,000 copies of Emma was published in 1816 and enjoyed immediate success among sophisticated readers and those who could afford its relatively high cost. The second printing was to come sixteen years later, then reprinted a number of times during the nineteenth century. Though well received by critics of the day Emma, like most of Jane Austen’s novels, was considered too subtle and lacking sensation to be widely popular.

      On July 18, 1817, Jane Austen died of the yet undiagnosed Addison’s disease and was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Her novels have grown in popularity ever since. A fragmentary work called Sandition was published in 1925, and a juvenile work, Love and Friendship, in 1922.

      Historical Background

      In 1801, the first official census was taken in Great Britain. By 1851, the population had doubled due to the decline in infectious diseases, an improved diet made possible by new techniques in farming—especially in cultivating the potato, earlier marriages and larger families.

      Though inventions such as James Watts’s steam engine in 1780 fueled the Industrial Revolution and made Britain the workshop of the world, the English countryside remained rustic, its inhabitants close-knit and suspicious of anyone outside their village. Cityfolk were watched with a wary eye for their customs were practically foreign to country dwellers.

      By 1811, King George III of England, having lost the American colonies, became mentally incapable of discharging his duties. His eldest son was named Prince Regent and succeeded him to the throne in 1820 as George IV Although a patron of the arts and architecture, the Prince Regent became unpopular as a result of his gluttony and drunkenness. He attempted to divorce his popular wife and became the target of scandal.

      The period, known as Regency (1800-1830), is distinctive for its art and architecture, which followed neo-classical (Greek) lines. Painters chose to break with traditional perspective and emulated the flat, silhouetted figures of Greek vase painting, such as John Flaxman’s simple line engravings for editions of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

      As with all Jane Austen’s novels, Emma is rooted far more in the customs and cultures of the nineteenth century than in its history. Scarcely a mention is made of the Abolitionist movement in England, though at the time the novel takes place, there was much agitation against the African slave trade-so much so that in 1833, Parliament abolished slavery as a result of pressure from the Abolitionists who began their movement in the 1780’s.

      The social context of Emma and the other Jane Austen novels features a rigid class structure with personages of royal blood eminently on top, followed closely by others of noble title. Officers of the militia and landed gentry—landowners—who employed servants, rented part of their property to farmers, owned horses and carriages, generally made up the second rung on this social ladder. They were joined by persons of esteemed professions, such as clergymen and doctors. Tradespeople came next. These included merchants (soon to make up the burgeoning middle class of the twentieth century), farmers who cultivated their own land (known as yeomen), governesses and teachers. At the bottom of the ladder, there were tenant farmers, servants, and the poor and unfortunate. Emma Woodhouse is landed gentry.

      Master List of Characters

      Emma Woodhouse—Protagonist of the novel; youngest daughter of Mr. Woodhouse and his deceased wife; sister of Isabella (Woodhouse) Knightley; mistress of Hartfield estate.

      Mr. Woodhouse—Emma’s father; elderly, sedentary master of Hartfield.

      Mrs. Weston (Miss Taylor)—Emma’s former governess, now friend; wife of Mr. Weston; mistress of Randalls country house.

      Mr. Weston—(Captain Weston)—Retired militia; husband of Mrs. Weston; biological father of Frank Churchill; master of Randalls.

      Mr. Knightley (George)—Gentleman farmer and magistrate; master of Donwell Abbey; neighbor and friend of Emma and Mr. Woodhouse.

      Mr. Elton—Vicar of Highbury; young bachelor.

      Harriet Smith—Illegitimate daughter of unknown persons; placed in Mrs. Goddard’s Boarding School in Highbury; befriended by Emma.

      Mrs. and Miss Bates—Widow of former Vicar of Highbury and her spinster daughter; social friends of the Woodhouses; aunt and cousin of Jane Fairfax.

      Jane Fairfax—Orphaned niece of Mrs. Bates; taken in by Colonel and Mrs. Campbell who undertook her education; secret fiancée of Frank Churchill.

      Mr. and Mrs. Churchill—Aunt and uncle of Frank Weston Churchill whom they adopt; brother and sister-in-law to Miss Churchill, deceased first wife of Mr. Weston.

      Frank (Weston) Churchill—Son of Mr. Weston and the deceased Miss Churchill; adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Churchill; brought up in fashionable London society; secret fiancé of Jane Fairfax.

      Augusta (Hawkins) Elton—Social climbing wife of Mr. Elton; daughter of tradesman, eager to break into society at Highbury.

      John and Isabella (Woodhouse) Knightley—Lawyer brother-in-law and sister of Emma Woodhouse; residing in Brunswick Square in London.

      Robert Martin—Tenant of Abbey Mill farm, rented from Mr. (George) Knightley; fond of Harriet Smith.

      Elizabeth Martin—Sister of Robert; resident of Abbey Mill; schoolfriend of Harriet.

      Mr. and Mrs. Coles—Tradespeople of the village of Highbury, rising in fortune and rank to the upper middle class.

      Mrs. Goddard—Mistress of a boarding school.

      Mr. and Mrs. Cox—Lawyer family.

      Mrs. Ford—Shopkeeper.

      Mr. Perry—Pharmacist.

      Summary of the Novel

      Emma begins at Hartfield estate on the day Emma Woodhouse’s former governess, Miss Taylor, marries Mr. Weston. Emma claims she arranged the match and plans to continue her matchmaking because it amuses her. She befriends Harriet Smith in order to match her with Mr. Elton, though her father and Mr. Knightley advise against it.

      To Emma’s dismay, Harriet is on the brink of a love affair with Robert Martin—an affair Emma plans to curtail by forcing Harriet and Elton together at various social functions. Her plan backfires when Mr. Elton, alone in a carriage with Emma, grabs her hand and attempts to make violent love to her.

      Mr. Knightley chides Emma for her meddling and pronounces Mr. Martin perfectly suited for Harriet. Even as Emma resists his argument and plots the next step to get Harriet together with Mr. Elton, a note arrives that he has gone to Bath for a visit. Mrs. Bates introduces Emma to Jane Fairfax, whom Emma finds an accomplished young woman, but feels jealous because that is how she wants to be thought of. Her schemes are further derailed when she hears that Mr. Elton is to be married to Miss Hawkins of Bath. Though the news pains her, Emma resolves to take an even closer interest in Harriet, whom she sees as the rejected victim.

      At this time, Frank Churchill arrives to visit his new stepmother, Mrs. Weston, and he and Emma strike up a friendship based on gossip and mutual praise for the village of Highbury and its worthy inhabitants. When Frank is called away to attend the ailing Mrs. Churchill, Emma is convinced he is in love with her. Upon Frank’s return a ball is held and as Emma admires the non-dancer, Mr. Knightley, for his gentlemanly bearing. He surprises everyone by dancing with Harriet. He then berates Emma for the Harriet/Elton mismatch but dances with her anyway. A secret admiration is hinted at between Frank and Jane, but Emma dismisses it. She begins to groom Harriet for Frank’s affections.

      A letter arrives announcing the death of Mrs. Churchill, and Emma thinks the removal of this impediment will speed the union of Frank and Harriet. Mrs. Weston then announces that Frank and Jane Fairfax are secretly engaged. Emma thinks this is deceitful treachery. Emma expects Harriet to be destroyed by this news but hears instead that Harriet is in love with Mr. Knightley. Emma profoundly regrets manipulating Harriet because she wants Mr. Knightley for herself.

      Saddened at having lost Mr. Elton for Harriet, Frank for Harriet, any friendship she might have

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