Reading 1001 discussion

Buddy Read, hosted by Kelly

1. “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” It has been said that great novelists introduce the main themes of a book in the first sentence. What themes are suggested in the first sentence of Emma? What does it tell us about Emma Woodhouse? Discuss the use of the word “seemed,” which implies that all is not as it appears. Are the rich without cares? Is Emma as happy and clever as the first sentence states? Examine Austen’s choice of other words and phrases in this sentence.

2. Describe Highbury and its social classes and ranks. Does its size hamper Emma’s growth? In what way is the setting important to the novel?

3. Mr. Woodhouse says, “Emma never thinks of herself if she can do good to others.” Is this a positive or negative attribute? What is significant in Austen’s word choice here?

4. “Altogether, she was quite convinced of Harriet Smith’s being exactly the young friend she wanted--exactly the something which her home required.” Discuss Emma’s choice of friends.
Why does she befriend Harriet? Does Harriet benefit from
Emma’s friendship? Why isn’t Harriet a good companion for Emma? Why doesn’t Emma befriend Jane Fairfax?

5. What is the importance of Mr. Knightley asking Harriet Smith to dance? How does this dance
change the relationship between Mr. Knightley and Emma?

6. Why does Miss Bates talk so much? Compare and contrast two compulsive talkers—Miss Bates and Mrs. Elton.

7. What revelations or lessons does Emma experience that contribute to her growing selfawareness? To “thoroughly understand, her own heart” becomes Emma’s “first endeavor.” How has she changed since the beginning of the novel? Compare and contrast her views on marriage at various points in the novel with attitudes of the time.

8. Marriage is a central device in Emma, but not all of the marriages are necessarily good. Discuss the matches between Mr. Weston and Miss Taylor, Mr. Elton and Mrs. Elton, Emma and Mr. Knightley, Harriet and Mr. Martin, and Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill. What traits do the characters in each couple possess that make them suited or unsuited for each other?

9. What does the novel say about the options of women of different classes in Highbury?

10. According to her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh, Jane Austen said when she started to write Emma, “I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” Do you like Emma? Is it necessary to like the heroine to appreciate the character or the novel?

1) It is a clear opening to the key theme that the book pivots around; that the handsome clever and especially rich upper classes just "were" and did not need to evolve. It also gives us the overriding tone of the book, which is a light touch with an underlying irony and sarcasm. Emma is a story of the key character's learning some personal insight into her own nature and the first sentence gives us a sarcastic hint at what this nature may be. Four paragraphs later we get the true core of the matter: "the real evils...." As to whether Emma is clever, we learn that at times she is much too clever for her own good and also has had no opportunity to have her cleverness tested in any concrete way other than parlor games so she makes these opportunities for herself. Someone who had to find their own way in the world would have had their cleverness tested repeatedly in real world circumstances. Emma has only the opportunities to navigate class social conventions to test herself.

2) Highgate is not only small but isolated. There are very few people to interact with and almost all those interactions must fall within some fairly strict conventions. Emma loves her sister and Mrs. Weston, her governess and surrogate mother, but really has no one else to identify with or learn from. She is expected to run the household and does, but it does not appear to take up any time at all and there is nothing in the book about the interactions with the "help" other than with James, who takes care of the horses. Highgate gives her her place in the world but confines her to being a big fish in a tiny pond.

3) Emma desires to be seen as good by others. She also believes it is her social responsibility to be good but she seems to rarely actually feel for the situation of others.

4) Emma makes up a whole history for Harriet that allows her to adopt Harriet into her own social rank. She picks Harriet precisely because she can make up this history. Most people come with a history. Harriet makes Emma stand out as someone who is doing good, while actually she is being totally manipulated. Jane is someone who is fully formed and as clever, at least at music, as Emma herself is. There is nothing to manipulate there and Emma also seems to be a bit jealous of Jane's complexion and musical abilities and also how well she is thought of by others. Ultimately, Harriet does learn some social graces from Emma and is allowed to be part of the interactions of a higher class which no doubt will have benefits in her life. Being a friend to the Woodhouse's must bring some power with it. However, in general, Harriet was not well served by Emma's manipulations.

5) Mr. Knightly asks Harriet to dance because it is the right thing to do, and the fact that he can see this necessity and act on it when, in general, he does not dance, is a revelation to Emma. She is moved by his stepping out of himself to do the right thing even if for a social class point of view, he did not have to as Harriet from a class perspective, was beneath him.

6) Miss Bates sees the best in the world and wants to share it with the world. If Emma lives in an isolated bubble, Miss Bates is even more constrained in having to take care of her mother and having no prospect of any other kind of life. Yet instead of this causing her despair, she fills all vacuums with twinkling reflections and exclamations of delight. In this way, she allows nothing bad into her world. She would drive me crazy in real life.
Mrs. Elton is the closest we have to a villain in that, like Emma, she crafts the world around her through her own imagination and talks constantly to make the real world conform to that vision but unlike Emma, Mrs. Elton is trashy and tacky and in this society that is much worse than being poor.

7) As the mistress of her own household, much of what a woman needed at that time; "a situation", a secure place, an income, Emma already had and therefore was not driven by many of the motivations that other women of the time had to get married. Further, she is not driven by the need to be a mother. Her nieces and nephews seem to have filled that aspect of her character. Marriage to her became an additional constraint. She did not project the need to get married and travel for example, or even get married and spend a season in London, or get married and have more income to use for the betterment of the poor. Marriage as the possibility of true learning and companionship did not seem to occur to her and that is probably because that was not what marriage was about at that time. Mr. Elton needed a wife because his place in society demanded a wife. In general, marriage was often a way to build alliances between great households and combining incomes, rather than about Love.

8) Harriet and Mr. Martin are a match of good and sweet characters and the same social ranking. Mr. and Mrs. Elton was an attempt to step up the social ranking by adding income. Mr and Mrs. Weston are a loving match. He brings endless optimism and she brings the worry and fretting necessary but really they are not exactly of equal social rank but they become of equal social rank through good graces. Jane will turn Frank into a good person (or so we are told to hope).

9) The core social theme is that there are almost no options for woman outside of a very prescribed set. Marriage, hopefully to someone a half a step up in social ranking and if not at least equal is the role of 90%. One can teach girls to become young women, in a school supported by philanthropy. One can be a governess and hope to use that as a stepping stone to get married. Austen compares this situation to something akin to slavery. Independence, even of a very limited means, such as the Bates, gives them very little in which to maneuver in the world. Emma, as head of her own household is already far ahead of almost all the other women in the book by virtue of having been born to the right parents.

10) Austen makes it clear we are not to like Emma. She is so extreme in her flaws and manipulations. She is truly ugly in some of her inability to see herself and what she is doing to poor Harriet. Also, it is difficult to see her totally within the conventions of the times. She is just so isolated, and her world so very small that all the intrigue seems petty and ridiculous, which of course, Austen wanted to point out to us. However, I did want to see what happens to her and therefore, as a character I would have to say I liked Emma.

Finished yesterday, my second time to read Emma.
1. “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” It has been said that great novelists introduce the main themes of a book in the first sentence. What themes are suggested in the first sentence of Emma? the privilege of class.

What does it tell us about Emma Woodhouse? She has what appears to be a perfect life, pleasing personality and no anxiety.

Discuss the use of the word “seemed,” which implies that all is not as it appears. yes

Are the rich without cares? No

Is Emma as happy and clever as the first sentence states? Examine Austen’s choice of other words and phrases in this sentence. I remarked in this reading that Emma was a bit of a scattered person and because she had no expectations placed on her, she did not excel at any one thing but flitted from one thing to the next. Another thing I noted is that she was not like other females who thought about finding a man and marriage and that she cared deeply for her father and his happiness and well being which I think is a remarkable characteristic.

2. Describe Highbury and its social classes and ranks. Does its size hamper Emma’s growth? In what way is the setting important to the novel? I liked that Highbury was small and everyone knew everyone and I liked the people. I did not feel it was disadvantageous in anyway for Emma. But I am biased toward this life over "city" life.

3. Mr. Woodhouse says, “Emma never thinks of herself if she can do good to others.” Is this a positive or negative attribute? What is significant in Austen’s word choice here? To some extent, Emma is meddlesome in other's people's lives and assumes too much. My opinion.

4. Harriet: Emma has quite the imagination. Not to the best outcomes.

5.

Kristel wrote: "Finished yesterday, my second time to read Emma.
1. “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existen..."

Do you love all the Austen books? This is my second read of an Austen book and I have not liked either one. I don't know what it is. I feel like I am missing something because everyone loves these books so much. I would love to hear what it is you love.

Gail wrote: "1) It is a clear opening to the key theme that the book pivots around; that the handsome clever and especially rich upper classes just "were" and did not need to evolve. It also gives us the overri..."

I enjoyed reading your thoughts as always. I don't seem to get along with Austen for some reason. This is my second book and I hated P&P, and didn't much like this.

Kelly wrote: "Gail wrote: "1) It is a clear opening to the key theme that the book pivots around; that the handsome clever and especially rich upper classes just "were" and did not need to evolve. It also gives ..."

Oh, I would not say that I like Austen a whole much. I like some of her more sophisticated works than Emma and P & P and S & S. Namely Mansfield Park. You might like that one.

For me, reading Austen is a bit like reading a trashy romance, which to be honest I have not read since my teens, with an underlying foundation of really well written but subtle sarcasm added in. I don't find it to be really delightful, in particular I didn't feel Emma was delightful reading, but there is something about Austen that keeps me reading. I have not read P & P or Mansfield Park so I have more to go.

THANKS ladies. I feel a bit better now admitting that I don't like Austen. LOL. For me P&P was pure torture. And this one is almost the same. I don't know how I will get through the rest. But will put Mansfield Park as the next one.