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Unit 10: Emma Characterization and all Major and Minor Themes

Jane Fairfax Notes
Jane’s beauty and accomplishment immediately make her stand out, but we are likely to
follow Emma’s lead at first and judge Jane uninteresting on account of her reserve. As Jane
gradually betrays more personality and emotion, she indicates that she harbors some secret
sorrow. Eventually, she and Emma push the cloudy confusion behind and become friends. The
contrast between Jane’s delicate sense of propriety and morality and the passionate nature of
her feelings is much more dramatic than any of the conflicts that Emma experiences. Jane’s
situation too is much more dire than Emma’s: if Jane does not wed, she must become a
governess, because she lacks any money of her own. The revelation of Jane’s secret engagement
to Frank makes Jane seem more human, just as Knightley’s humanity is brought out by his
love for Emma.

10.2 Emma: All Major and Minor Themes

Courtship and marriage
As in all of Austen’s novels, courtship and marriage play major roles in “Emma.” The entire
novel is structured around various courtships and romantic connections, from Harriet and
Robert Martin to Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill to Emma and Mr. Knightley. All of the
conflicts in the novel also revolve around this topic, particularly in terms of characters striving
to find appropriate matches. In this way, Austen presents marriage as a fundamental aspect
of society during the time period. While marriage promotes families and serves romantic
purposes, it also upholds the class structure of the community by ensuring that individuals
marry appropriately (such as Harriet and Robert Martin, who are in the same class). At the
same time, Austen also uses marriage to highlight the social limitations faced by Emma and
other characters: in their small village, marriage and courtship are the sole catalysts of excitement
or conflict.

Social class

Austen highlights the theme of social class throughout the novel, particularly in terms of
Emma’s relationship with Harriet Smith. As a member of the wealthiest family in Highbury,
Emma holds the highest social position in the community. While she interacts with other
characters at an equal level (such as Mr. Knightley), she also has social responsibilities to less
fortunate individuals, such as Miss Bates, Harriet Smith, and the poor families who live on her
estate. Yes, while Austen encourages compassion and charity in members of the higher classes,
she also maintains the importance of class distinctions. One of Emma’s biggest mistakes is
taking the lower-class Harriet Smith and bringing her to an almost equal social level. While
Harriet is a benevolent character, Austen asserts that she is not an appropriate member of high
society and, in fact, would never be accepted if it were not for Emma’s influence. As a result
of this confusion of classes, Harriet develops inappropriate expectations for marriage and her
future and thus risks being rejected from her own peers, such as the Martin family. Austen
also uses Mr. Weston’s first marriage as an example of this: because Mr. Weston’s first wife
was from a higher social class, she was unable to adjust to his lower standard of living, and
the marriage was ultimately an unhappy one.

Oppression of women

As a heroine, Emma possesses beauty, wealth, intelligence, high social standing, and financial
independence. However, Austen makes it clear that Emma is unique in her position; most of
the women in the novel lack Emma’s financial independence and, as a result, have much more
limited options for their futures. This speaks to the ingrained oppression of women in British

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