(This conversation will contain spoilers for the current chapters.)

R: Chapter 6 begins with Emma continuing to work on Mr. Elton’s feelings for Harriet Smith and vice versa by bringing them together and subtly convincing Mr. Elton to request that Emma do a painting of Miss Smith. As Emma works on the painting, Mrs. Weston shows that she can see Emma’s faults to an extent, noting that Emma hasn’t necessarily captured Harriet’s likeness faithfully. Mr. Elton has apparently fallen head over heels for Miss Smith and defends the portrait staunchly while Mr. Knightley also criticises. It’s a humorous scene, further detailing Emma’s character, for she’s not willing to admit that her painting has faults. 

S: I’ve a vague feeling that Mr. Elton is not at all interested in Harriet, but in Emma – he’s just a little too on board with her idea and a little too defending of a painting that is described as rather unlike the subject.

I feel frustrated for Harriet – it doesn’t seem as though she wants her picture drawn and Emma and Mr. Elton really bully her into it. It’s not a bad thing for her picture to be drawn per se, but the whole scene was a bit uncomfortable. 

I think the funniest line, and probably the most true in this chapter, is ‘She [Emma] was not much deceived as to her own skill…but she was not unwilling to have others deceived…’. This sums up Emma’s pride so succinctly! 

R: The next chapter makes me so angry at Emma! Blatant interference in the guise of ‘helping’ her friend leads Miss Smith to reject a proposal of marriage from Mr. Martin. Harriet had wanted to accept the proposal, but Emma slyly convinces her that to do so would lose Miss Smith Emma’s friendship because ‘It would have grieved me to lose your acquaintance, which must have been the consequence of your marrying Mr. Martin…it would have been the loss of a friend to me. I could not have visited Mrs. Robert Martin, of Abbey-Mill Farm. Now I am secure of you forever.’ It shows Emma’s selfishness and self-centeredness rather than any care for her ‘friend’.

S: I was really surprised that something of this magnitude happens so early in the story! I want to reach through the pages and pull Harriet out of them and tell her that Mr. Martin is a perfectly fine match. Despite Emma having had a bit of matchmaking success and things in life generally going her way, she has never been in love, has never really had to endure hardships. I think her pride and her entitlement are beginning to have an effect on the decisions she’s making. She is probably too afraid that things will not go her way and therefore encourages (manipulates) Harriet into rejecting Mr. Martin. I also feel badly for Mr. Martin and rather ashamed of Emma’s opinion of him. It is very rude and unkind and does not at all go along with the character many people paint of her.

R: Chapter 8 is intense. Mr. Knightley arrives at Hartfield to speak to Emma about Harriet Smith. It turns out that Mr. Martin had consulted Mr. Knightley before writing his proposal to Miss Smith and Mr. Knightley believes that they would suit each other very well. It’s interesting that Emma finds such a man beneath her station in life while Mr. Knightley, who is presumably of the same station as Emma, considers the same man his friend, or at least has a good deal of regard for him. Mr. Knightley is appalled at Emma’s interference and upbraids her quite harshly, which I believe was richly deserved. Emma remains unrepentant, however. 

S: This chapter really endears me to Mr. Knightley! Out of all Emma’s family and friends he is the only one who does not seem at all affected by her manipulations. He is very disappointed with her and frustrated at her pride. To me, Emma reads very much as a child and fancies she knows more about the world than she really does. As Proverbs 12:15 (NKJV) says, ‘The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a person who listens to advice is wise’. Emma is simply being foolish and refuses to listen to Mr. Knightley’s rebuke. She may tell herself and others that she is helping Harriet for Harriet’s benefit, but I think the truth is probably closer to what she tells Mr. Knightley about wanting to keep Harriet close – she doesn’t want to lose another close friend (or, rather, someone who takes her word as law).

As a side note, Mr. Woodhouse’s interaction with Mr. Knightley at the beginning of the chapter is just so ridiculous! I wonder if Mr. Woodhouse is trying a little matchmaking of his own.

R: Oh! I hadn’t considered that. I wonder if you might be right.

Emma and Harriet begin a project of collecting riddles and such and copying them down. Mr. Elton brings them one that he requests not be included, but Emma goes ahead and does so anyway, leaving out a portion of it. She believes that the charade, which from context seems to be a certain kind of riddle, is meant to refer to Miss Smith because the clues work out to be the word ‘courtship’. I’m having a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Elton’s attentions might not be focused on Miss Harriet Smith.

S: This chapter, from the outset, seems like a chapter that should bore me, but in reality it does the opposite. I was having trouble figuring out what a charade was so I’m glad Austen explains it. Emma’s assumptions regarding Mr. Elton’s affections for Harriet are just too much, despite how everything appears. Honestly I think the charade also describes Emma and her father: the first part (court) could mean her father’s high station in life and the second (ship) could mean herself because she is alone and above everyone else. As we know too well from Harriet’s interactions with Emma, and from what others, mainly Mr. Knightley has implied and said, Emma is the one who really has wit.

Again, I just shake my head at Mr. Woodhouse. He’s such a nervous person, and so gloomy!

R: Chapter 10 mostly consists of Emma trying to get Mr. Elton and Miss Smith on their own when she and Miss Smith are out and about on an errand of mercy, in which attempts she is mostly thwarted by the pair themselves. Emma also makes it known to Harriet that she has no real inclination nor intent to marry. Overall, I think we gain more understanding of Emma’s character. While she has good intentions, she goes about making things happen in an underhanded and selfish manner. Mr. Knightley seems to be just about the only person who has a clear understanding of Emma. I’ll be interested to see how things develop with Mr. Elton and wonder whether there is any chance that Mr. Martin will have another opportunity to seek Miss Smith’s hand. 

S: This chapter really doesn’t paint Emma in a kind light and honestly makes her seem rather clueless about love; I suppose having never had the opportunity to see it modelled that makes sense. Austen does point out that she does care about helping those who are poor and ill, but again, as you note, it is to her own advantage. I was also very sad about how she speaks of Miss Bates and how she assumes that being rich and unmarried will be so much better than being poor and unmarried. She doesn’t appear to take into consideration other things that Miss Bates has in abundance. She sounds jealous, actually, of Miss Bates’s niece, Jane Fairfax. I wonder, too, if when she told Mr. Knightly about her wanting Harriet to never leave her that in a way she may envision them both as old maids. I really hope that Harriet sees that Mr. Martin would be the better choice for her!