Page 132 - DENG404_FICTION

Fiction

Notes difficulties underscore Emma’s privileged nature. Mrs. Elton, like Emma, is independent and
imposes her will upon her friends, but her crudeness and vanity reinforce our sense of Emma’s
refinement and fundamentally good heart. Emma’s sister, Isabella, is stereo-typically feminine—
soft-hearted, completely devoted to her family, dependent, and not terribly bright.

Did u know? The novel implicitly prefers Emma’s independence and cleverness to her
sister’s more traditional deportment, although we are still faced with the
paradox that though Emma is clever, she is almost always mistaken.

Mr. Knightley

Mr. Knightley serves as the novel’s model of good sense. From his very first conversation with
Emma and her father in Chapter 1, his purpose—to correct the excesses and missteps of those
around him—is clear. He is unfailingly honest but tempers his honesty with tact and kindheartedness.
Almost always, we can depend upon him to provide the correct evaluation of the other characters’
behavior and personal worth. He intuitively understands and kindly makes allowances for
Mr. Woodhouse’s whims; he is sympathetic and protective of the women in the community,
including Jane, Harriet, and Miss Bates; and, most of all, even though he frequently disapproves
of her behavior, he dotes on Emma.

Knightley’s love for Emma—the one emotion he cannot govern fully—leads to his only lapses
of judgment and self-control. Before even meeting Frank, Knightley decides that he does not
like him. It gradually becomes clear that Knightley feels jealous—he does not welcome a rival.
When Knightley believes Emma has become too attached to Frank, he acts with uncharacteristic
impulsiveness in running away to London. His declaration of love on his return bursts out
uncontrollably, unlike most of his prudent, well-planned actions. Yet Knightley’s loss of control
humanizes him rather than making him seem like a failure.
Like Emma, Knightley stands out in comparison to his peers. His brother, Mr. John Knightley,
shares his clear-sightedness but lacks his unfailing kindness and tact. Both Frank and Knightley
are perceptive, warm-hearted, and dynamic; but whereas Frank uses his intelligence to conceal
his real feelings and invent clever compliments to please those around him, Knightley uses his
intelligence to discern right moral conduct. Knightley has little use for cleverness for its own
sake; he rates propriety and concern for others more highly.

Frank Churchill

Frank epitomizes attractiveness in speech, manner, and appearance. He goes out of his way
to please everyone, and, while the more perceptive characters question his seriousness, everyone
except Knightley is charmed enough to be willing to indulge him. Frank is the character that
most resembles Emma, a connection she points out at the novel’s close when she states that
“destiny … connect[s] us with two characters so much superior to our own.” Like Emma,
Frank develops over the course of the novel by trading a somewhat vain and superficial
perspective on the world for the seriousness brought on by the experience of genuine suffering
and love. He is a complex character because though we know we should judge him harshly
in moral terms, we cannot help but like him more than he deserves to be liked.

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