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Unit 10: Emma Characterization and all Major and Minor Themes

be a detriment to the relationship (as with Mr. Weston’s first marriage). An individual must Notes
first consider social position, fortune, and other logical qualities when determining an appropriate
match. However, because of Emma’s financial independence, these logical considerations are
superfluous: she is in the unique position to be able to marry solely for love. Ironically, while
Emma’s ultimate choice is made out of love, Mr. Knightley also combines all of the logical
qualities of wealth, social status, and breeding that make a good husband. In the end, Austen
also ensures that Harriet Smith and Jane Fairfax are able to marry for love, though their
marriages also serve the important purpose of providing them with financial and social security.

Social conduct
Because “Emma” focuses so much on social interaction and society, conduct plays an extremely
important role. Austen uses it as a way to measure worth in her characters, as well as establish
which characters have behaved inappropriately. Although Emma is oblivious about her own
faults for much of the novel, she is always very aware of appropriate conduct and manners
in herself. She is also quick to recognize bad conduct in those around her, such as Mr. Elton,
Mrs. Elton, Frank Churchill, and her own brother-in-law. Significantly, it is Emma’s realization
of her bad conduct in insulting Miss Bates at the picnic at Box Hill that serves as a catalyst
to her self-improvement toward the end of the novel. As a result of Frank Churchill’s influence,
Emma had abandoned proper social conduct and symbolically lowered her status. She is
forced to make amends to Miss Bates directly and, even then, is overcome with guilt. By the
end of the novel, however, Emma is able to regain her sense of appropriate conduct and
marries the only other character with equal awareness of manners and breeding: Mr. Knightley.

Money, Marriage, and the Women of “Emma”

Emma is the first of Jane Austen’s novels to feature a heroine who is free from financial
concerns. While other Austen heroines view marriage as a financial necessity, Emma expresses
no interest or desire to marry for the majority of the novel. Her fortune assures her of independence
and security. In fact, her chief concern is that marriage will prevent her from maintaining that
independence. Emma is also a unique Austen heroine because of her lack of romantic sensibilities.
While Marianne Dashwood of “Sense and Sensibility,” Anne Elliot of “Persuasion,” and Jane
Bennet of “Pride and Prejudice” have each of their actions qualified by their love, Emma is
remarkable self-possessed and views love only from a detached and almost masculine standpoint.
It is only after Emma discovers her true feelings for Mr. Knightley near the end of the novel
that Emma transforms into a standard “romantic” heroine. The reader discovers that Emma’s
detached view of love was nothing more than a naïve misconception. She was proud to play
matchmaker in Highbury but served only to give proof of her poor understanding of the
emotion. Significantly, once Emma discovers the meaning of love, she is more than happy to
abandon her rule against marriage. Yet, even then, Austen assures the readers that Emma’s
newfound love will not interfere with her independence: Mr. Knightley already has a fortune
of his own and even agrees to move into Hartfield after the marriage.
Although Emma is clearly a departure from typical Austen heroines, the supporting female
characters in the novel still highlight the difficulties facing women without financial independence.
Miss Bates, Jane Fairfax, and Harriet Smith exemplify three possible scenarios for women who
lack Emma’s high social status. Miss Bates never married and is dependent on her mother’s
minimal income. With each passing year, her poverty increases, as does the amount of derision
that she must endure from those around her. Harriet is equally poor and dependent on those
around her. The daughter of a tradesman, she has few prospects until Robert Martin, and,
thanks to Emma’s influence, is always in danger of stretching beyond her social capabilities.
Jane Fairfax serves as a foil to Emma, and, in many ways, seems to be more appropriate as

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