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Unit 9: Emma Plot Construction

and he attempts to warn Emma. Emma laughs at Knightley’s suggestion and loses Knightley’s Notes
approval when she flirts with Frank and insults Miss Bates, a kindhearted spinster and Jane’s
aunt, at a picnic. When Knightley reprimands Emma, she weeps.
News comes that Frank’s aunt has died, and this event paves the way for an unexpected
revelation that slowly solves the mysteries. Frank and Jane have been secretly engaged; his
attentions to Emma have been a screen to hide his true preference. With his aunt’s death and
his uncle’s approval, Frank can now marry Jane, the woman he loves. Emma worries that
Harriet will be crushed, but she soon discovers that it is Knightley, not Frank, who is the
object of Harriet’s affection. Harriet believes that Knightley shares her feelings. Emma finds
herself upset by Harriet’s revelation, and her distress forces her to realize that she is in love
with Knightley. Emma expects Knightley to tell her he loves Harriet, but, to her delight,
Knightley declares his love for Emma. Harriet is soon comforted by a second proposal from
Robert Martin, which she accepts.

Notes The novel ends with the marriage of Harriet and Mr. Martin and that of Emma and
Mr. Knightley, resolving the question of who loves whom after all.

9.1.1 Summary of Plot Construction
Emma is a novel of courtship and social manners. The majority of the book focuses on the
question of marriage: who will marry whom and for what reasons will they marry: love,
practicality, or necessity? At the center of the narration is the title character, Emma Woodhouse,
a heiress who lives with her widowed father at their estate, Hartfield. Noted for her beauty
and cleverness, Emma is somewhat wasted in the small village of Highbury but takes a great
deal of pride in her matchmaking skills. Unique among other women her age, she has no
particular need to marry: she is in the unique situation of not needing a husband to supply
her fortune.
At the beginning of the novel, Emma’s governess, Miss Taylor, has just married Mr. Weston,
a wealthy ma who owns Randalls, a nearby estate. Without Miss Taylor as a companion,
Emma feels suddenly lonely and decides to adopt the orphan Harriet Smith as a protege.
Harriet lives at a nearby boarding school and knows nothing of her parents. Emma concludes
that Harriet’s father must have been a gentleman and advises the innocent Harriet in virtually
all things, including her choice of society. She suggests that Harriet does not spend any more
time with the Martins, a local family of farmers whose son, Robert, has paid Harriet much
attention. Instead, Emma plans to play matchmaker for Harriet and Mr. Elton, the vicar of the
church in Highbury.

The friendship between Emma and Harriet does little good for either of them, a fact which
Mr. Knightley, a neighbor and old friend, immediately notices. Harriet indulges Emma’s worst
qualities, giving her opportunity to meddle and serving only to flatter her. Emma in turn fills
Harriet Smith with grand pretensions that do not suit her low situation in society. When
Robert Martin proposes to Harriet, she rejects him based on Emma’s advice, thinking that he
is too common. Mr. Knightley criticizes Emma’s matchmaking because he views Robert Martin
to be superior to Harriet; while he is respectable, she is from uncertain origins. Emma’s sister,
Isabella, and her husband, Mr. John Knightley, visit Highbury, and Emma uses their visit as
an opportunity to reconcile with Mr. Knightley after their argument over Harriet. Yet, she still
believes that Mr. Elton is a far more suitable prospect than Robert Martin.
At first Emma seems to have some success in her attempts to bring Harriet and Mr. Elton
together. The three spend a good deal of leisure time together, and he seems receptive to all

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