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

R: Emma’s sister Isabella and family arrive, and we learn that Mr. John Knightley, Isabella’s husband, doesn’t always tolerate his father-in-law’s idiosyncrasies very well, which puts him somewhat at odds with Emma.

S: Although very short, Chapter 11 gives a lot of insights into Emma’s extended family – her sister, Isabella, and husband and brother of Mr. Knightley, Mr. John Knightley. It’s obvious that Isabella is very missed as is Mrs. Weston (Miss Taylor). I’m beginning to think that Emma’s spoiledness comes from her father’s side of the family! Or it could just be that he’s ageing and, like a child, doesn’t want those around him to leave him.

R: That’s a good point. Mr. Woodhouse feels abandoned by family and close friends and probably doesn’t like change. When the other Mr. Knightley comes for dinner, Emma is able to make up with him from their earlier argument. They at least both agree that their nephews and nieces are quite the thing! While Emma acknowledges his ‘superior judgement’ and Mr. Knightley agrees to be friends again, he gets in a couple more digs at Emma first: ‘I have still the advantage of you by sixteen years’ experience, and by not being a pretty young woman and a spoiled child.’ Emma also learns that Mr. Martin is quite disappointed by Miss Smith’s refusal of his proposal. 

S: The exchange between Emma and Mr. Knightley is interesting on many counts: not only do we learn that he is sixteen years her senior, the reader also learns that they both appear to like children and neither of them want to be arguing with the other. Still, it’s very telling that Emma is young with much less life experience than Mr. Knightley when she insists to herself, ‘She certainly had not been in the wrong, and he would never own that he had. Concession must be out of the question…’. One of the ways to know one is ‘growing up’ is when one can admit when one has made a wrong choice. Also, I feel very sorry for Mr. Martin.

R: How very true. It’s difficult to have mature, meaningful relationships unless one can admit fault and wrongdoing, even if accidental. I think it’s important that admitting fault must both be external and internal. Saying you’re wrong while continuing to believe you were right only breeds resentment.

S: Mr. John Knightley is an interesting character and makes Mr. Knightley’s character, I think his first name is George according to the brotherly greeting read in Chapter 12, make more sense. He reminds me of Mr. Palmer from Sense and Sensibility. Although Emma tries to stay the flow of conversation that will put her father into one of his moods she is unable to single handedly, and it’s a good thing that both the Mr. Knightleys sense where Mr. Woodhouse is heading and help end the conversation. I like that Mr. John Knightley stands up for his decisions and for his wife, since it appears she has a difficult time standing up for herself.

R: What follows is quite a lot of blathering between Isabella and her father, and the decision that the whole family would be going to the Westons’ for dinner on Christmas Eve, along with Harriet Smith and Mr. Elton. At the last minute, Harriet becomes ill and isn’t able to come. Emma tries to encourage Mr. Elton to visit her and further fan the flames of love, but he is not moved nearly as much as Emma thinks he should be. 

S: Oh, Chapter 13 is so telling! Austen has dropped so many hints about Mr. Elton’s feelings and Emma’s inability to ‘…see him with clear vision…’! Austen also mentions how people who are quick to judge rarely see the whole picture and oftentimes make mistakes; how very, very true. I’m anxious to see how this plays out.

I agree with Mr. John Knightley: home is rather more pleasant, especially when one has to travel through the cold to get to one’s destination!

R: Amen! While I do enjoy going out and spending time with people in small doses, my absolute favourite thing to do is spend the day reading at home. 

S: I could feel Emma’s annoyance toward Mr. Elton after they arrive at the Weston’s! She is so, for lack of a better word, clueless about so many things it just makes me roll my eyes and shake my head. No wonder Mr. Knightley occasionally becomes frustrated with her and sees she can be more than she is.

R: This is when it starts becoming obvious to me that Mr. Elton has no romantic feelings toward Harriet. While he did visit Harriet, he seemed to do so out of duty at Emma’s request simply to report back to her the invalid’s condition right before the dinner party.

S: It’s astonishing to me how unrealistic Emma is being regarding Mr. Weston’s son, Mr. Frank Churchill. For all that she prides herself on good ideas and feeling like she knows a lot she seems very childish in her wish to meet him and, at some point, to hopefully marry him. She doesn’t even seem to understand what that would entail – he is rather under the thumb of Mrs. Churchill of Enscombe. As free spirited as she is, Emma hasn’t thought through what her life would probably be like with a husband who has no real say in where he goes or what he does. (This reminds me of the relationship between Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Pride and Prejudice!).

R: They keep mentioning Frank Churchill, and I feel sure that we’re going to be seeing him soon. It is odd that Emma has fixated on him as a potential mate when she’s never met him and knows absolutely nothing about him of substance. Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine are a very good parallel! 

S: It’s also funny to realise Emma actually knows very little of Mrs. Weston and her hopes for who Emma will marry. As we read about in Chapter 5, Mr. and Mrs. Weston seem to think that Emma and Mr. Knightley would make a good match! Further, we see that even though Mrs. Weston attempts to give Emma advice and to stay her from thinking too ill of Mrs. Churchill, Emma refuses to listen and stubbornly decides that Frank is the one being wronged and Mrs. Churchill is no good. (Also, does Emma have a ‘…sweet temper…’ as Mrs. Weston says? I have yet to see much of it.)

R: That was a funny moment! Of everyone in Emma’s life you’d think that her former governess would have the best perspective of Emma’s personality, but perhaps Mrs. Weston didn’t have much occasion to see Emma’s machinations and manipulations before.

S: I thought it was also amusing that Isabella talks about how horrible it would be to live under the roof of someone so picky and ‘ill-tempered’ because Mr. Woodhouse is essentially the same. This, of course, is seen very clearly again when he becomes agitated about the snow and the possible drive home through it or the possibility of not being able to get home. Thankfully, Mr. Knightley saves the day, despite his brother’s ‘poking the bear’ so to speak and agitating Mr. Woodhouse even more. Once they’re safe at home, it’s nice that Mr. John Knightley attends to his father-in-law and has the decency to be ashamed of his temper at the Weston’s.

R: This made me like Mr. John Knightley a bit where I was mostly annoyed with him before. He seems to sometimes pick on his wife and is often irritated by his father-in-law, but that he put himself out to then help manage Mr. Woodhouse showed some good in his character.

S: And oh, Mr. Elton! What an awkward and frustrating carriage ride home for him and Emma! Suspicions on the part of the reader are confirmed. I wonder how Harriet will react – having been persuaded by Emma to reject Mr. Martin and now without the attentions of Mr. Elton, she has really been treated unkindly. I hope she gets a happy ending.

R: I feel so sorry for Mr. Elton here! And for Harriet. Emma gets precisely what she deserves. Mr. Elton shows himself to be like Mr. Collins again in his misapprehension of Emma’s behaviours. He thinks that she’s known of his feelings the whole time and that her protestations are empty. The scene is both amusing and embarrassing for all. I feel like we won’t be seeing much of Mr. Elton in the rest of the book.