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

S: Ah, finally! Here is a bit of good sense from Emma: she sees she does not have a tender heart. My only question is why she does not work on disciplining herself to have one. I suppose acknowledging the problem is the first step, so hopefully we will see her continue to change for the better!

R: Chapter 31 continues my confusion with Emma’s reaction to Frank Churchill, though I’m glad that she has some sense at least in not talking herself into more affection than she feels. Emma thinking that Harriet might be a good match for him strikes me as a similar error as she made with Mr. Elton, but an even more extreme mismatch of stations. 

S: It is really strange that Emma keeps trying to set up Harriet with men who are, as you say, a mismatch with her.

Chapter 32 is very interesting. I am not quite as convinced as Emma that Mrs. Elton was being rude, but I very well could yet be proved wrong. I think she’s giving Emma a sort of taste of her own medicine, especially if Mr. Elton has mentioned Emma. Her snobbery is something Emma doesn’t yet fully see in herself.

R: At the beginning of the chapter, I was almost certain that Emma was being overly critical of Mrs. Elton. By the end, I was still pretty confused. Mrs. Elton is either extremely earnest or extremely condescending. I agree that Emma was getting a little bit of a taste of her own medicine. If Mr. Elton told his wife about his feelings for Emma, she might be feeling protective.

S: As we begin reading Chapter 33 I see that I was wrong: Mrs. Elton is plainly and simply rude. I think this may also be a good representation of the ‘new money’ versus ‘old money’ that was happening in England at this time in history. Mrs. Elton comes in and assumes she knows best, better, than tradition. 

Emma is confused by Jane Fairfax’s decision to remain in England, but, I think, she doesn’t want to leave England because of Mr. Churchill (I haven’t yet given up my theory of there being an understanding between those two!). Emma really is quite young, and her imagination runs away with her quite often. I really think she needs to stop looking down her nose at Jane Fairfax and start being a friend to her. Her jealousy of her is blinding her to what might be good for both of them. 

Also, I think we just got a glimpse of the woman Mr. Knightley may love!

R: More confusion! I agree that Emma’s assessment of Mrs. Elton is essentially correct. What confused me is Mrs. Weston’s rather harsh words about her. My perception of Mrs. Weston is that she’s a more tempering influence on Emma. I wasn’t surprised by Mr. Knightley’s quiet castigation of Emma’s treatment of Jane Fairfax, but I was a little surprised by how easily he seemed to take Emma’s directly saying something about him maybe having feelings for Jane. 

S: Yes! Mrs. Weston’s reaction seemed to be very out of character.

Poor Jane! I am pleased that Emma is now behaving more appropriately and kindly. Both Messers. Knightley are so kind, as opposed to the rude and pushy Mrs. Elton, not at all becoming of a parson’s wife. I keep wondering why no one is standing up for Jane. I know she is trying to stand up for herself, but I suppose you can only say so much with someone who won’t listen.

R: Finally, Emma redeems herself somewhat, though she still has the inclination to be rude! Such is human nature, though. I enjoyed the little aside about handwriting and was a bit shocked to learn that boys received less education in that area than girls.

S: That was an interesting tidbit of information! I always think I want to work on my handwriting, but then I think, ‘Eh. It’s good enough!’. 

Pushy, rude busybodies annoy me, and Mrs. Elton is pushing every one of my buttons in Chapter 35. Mr. John Knightley’s reaction to Mr. Weston coming late to the party after a long day was absolutely hilarious! I needed that bit of a laugh after the annoyance of Mrs. Elton. 

Honestly, I don’t know how to feel about Frank Churchill coming back. I want to see if my guess is right, but I also don’t want more people hurt.

R: Mrs. Elton started reminding me of Mrs. Bates by the end of Chapter 35, which means she also reminded me strongly of Mrs. Jennings. She’s not only long-winded, but incredibly meddlesome. Actually worse than Emma’s meddling at this point. I concur about Mr. Knightley’s reaction to Mr. Weston’s arrival! And I feel the same as Mr. Knightley; I would much rather stay in with a book most of the time than go out after a long day! 

S: Agreed! Books and quiet after a long day are, in my opinion, necessities.