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Unit 8: Jane Austen—Emma

told from Harriet’s point of view, therefore one can assume that some of the details of her Notes
assault have been exaggerated (she was accosted mainly by children, who could hardly prove
too great a threat). Also notable is that Frank Churchill’s destination is Mrs. Bates’ home. It
seems odd that, immediately after the ball, he would want to visit merely to borrow a pair of
scissors. This seems like a feeble excuse for his visit and yet more evidence that he has a secret
liaison with Jane Fairfax.
Chapter Forty: Harriet visits Emma several days later to make a confession. She has a parcel
with items that reminder of Mr. Elton, including a small box with a court plaster that was used
to cover a small cut that Mr. Elton had. Harriet claims that she is now done obsessing over
Mr. Elton and vows never to marry, for the person she prefers is too great her superior. Emma
gives Harriet some hope that she might be able to marry this unnamed man.
Analysis: Harriet Smith shows her more absurd and immature side in this scene, revealing a
childish obsession with Mr. Elton. The remnants that she keeps as mementos are foolish trifles:
a bit of a bandage, a small pencil, and such. This makes it quite clear that Harriet does not
have very good judgment, an appraisal that causes some concern when she vows never to
marry. Considering Harriet’s lowly rank, vowing never to marry is as foolish a choice as
keeping a bandage as a memento. In this declaration, Harriet continues to mirror and emulate
Emma, vowing never to marry just as Emma did. Yet while Emma refuses to marry because
she feels that she could never find someone who would measure up to her, Harriet refuses to
marry because she feels she will never measure up to the unnamed man she adores.
Harriet and Emma are deliberately ambiguous about the object of Harriet’s affection. The two
only establish that the man saved her the night of the Crown Inn ball and is someone of high
rank, so much so that it is unlikely that the match would ever be successfully made. Emma
assumes that Harriet is referring to Frank Churchill, who rescued her from the gypsies, but
both of these characteristics also apply to another respectable man of Highbury who showed
kindness to Harriet Smith.
Chapter Forty-one: Mr. Knightley only grows to dislike Frank Churchill more, as he suspects
double-dealing in Frank’s pursuit of Emma. It seemed indisputable that Emma was the object
of his affections, but Mr. Knightley suspects that he had an interest in Jane Fairfax the whole
time. Over tea at Hartfield, Emma, Frank, Harriet and Jane play word games in which they
must guess words. The word that Frank gives Jane to guess is “Dixon,” which greatly annoys
Jane, who promptly quits the game. Mr. Knightley tells Emma about his suspicions about
Frank and Jane, but she thinks that there is no romance between them. Mr. Knightley is
irritated by the entire situation.
Analysis: Even though Emma is convinced that Frank Churchill has no romantic interest in
her, Mr. Knightley is concerned that he is still pretending to have an feelings for her. He
believes that Frank and Jane are having an affair and, as Mr. Knightley has been consistently
correct in judging others’ actions, this suspicion is almost significant evidence of the affair.
Where he errs is in the idea that Frank Churchill will harm Emma through the deception.
Emma is perfectly clear that she does not love Frank, but Mr. Knightley still feels threatened
by him. This continues to build the possibility that Mr. Knightley is interested in Emma. His
greatest care in this situation is that Emma does not get hurt.

Still, although Emma will not be hurt by Frank Churchill, his behavior is still inappropriately
deceptive. He does have a manipulative nature, but does not direct it towards Emma. During
the game, Frank teases and taunts Jane Fairfax to the point that she must leave the game. The
purpose of Frank Churchill’s games seems to push Jane Fairfax into losing her sense of reserve
and to reveal her true emotions. This scene parallels the earlier incident in which Mr. Elton
uses the riddle “charade” to declare his feelings to Emma via Harriet Smith. Emma finds

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