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

R: This was a great chapter! I loved Mr. Knightley’s comments as he read Frank Churchill’s letter. I tend to agree with him in his assessment of Frank’s character. I think Mr. Knightley moving to Hartford in order to marry Emma is a good solution.

S: The way that Mr. Knightley reads Frank’s letter is highly amusing. It makes complete sense to me that he (Knightley) is willing to move to Hartfield while Mr. Woodhouse is still living; it keeps with his character we see in the rest of the story. 

What a change in Chapter 52 in people’s attitudes! I feel very sad for Emma’s and Harriet’s relationship and hope it can be resolved amicably, but I am happy that Jane and Emma are becoming friends. Sadly, Mr. and Mrs. Elton really are not quite a good example of a pastoral family. I was rather surprised at the way Mr. Knightley snubbed Mr. Elton, but then again I don’t think he cares much for people who are rude. 

R: I appreciate that Emma is attempting to make things right with Harriet while keeping her distance as well. I’m not quite sure if I’m clear on whether Harriet is already aware of the understanding between Mr. Knightley and Emma or not. My impression is that they haven’t told anyone yet and Emma is trying to avoid having to conceal it from Harriet while not encouraging Harriet’s interest in Mr. Knightley, or if she’s afraid of having to tell Harriet directly to turn her interest from the gentleman.

Mrs. Elton is infuriating, but I’m glad that Emma is able to reconcile with Jane. I hope that they’ll be able to remain friends from now on. I feel like Mr. Knightley didn’t so much snub Mr. Elton, but forgot him because of being distracted by Emma.

S: I do hope that the Weston’s little girl will grow up to be the best of Emma and Jane. 

The flirting between Mr. Knightley and Emma is very funny. (It is a bit strange to think that he had started falling in love with her when she was thirteen and he twenty-nine, although I suppose he could just be teasing her about that.) I’m honestly shocked that so many people in the village were surprised by the match between Emma and Mr. Knightley – I would have thought most would have assumed it would happen. Sometimes when you’re close to something, though, it is strangely difficult to see what’s happening. Emma did protest quite a bit that she would never marry and Mr. Knightley appears to have never courted anyone, so perhaps everyone’s surprise is not as surprising.

R: This was a fun chapter! They were so sweet and careful in how they told Mr. Woodhouse about their engagement, and I loved the support the Westons gave in cajoling Mr. Woodhouse into approval. I thought everyone’s surprise was a little surprising too, because people always seem to match up others who are in close proximity with one another.

S: Finally – Mr. Martin tells Harriet yet again that he loves her! I knew his feelings hadn’t changed and that his family was so sad and hurt when she turned him down. I’m very pleased.

R: I’m really happy that Emma has reconciled herself to Harriet marrying Mr. Martin! Not just reconciled, Emma truly seems happy for her friend. I’m glad that Mr. Knightley encourages her to get to know Mr. Martin.

S: I am, too.

The final chapter is so very funny. Mr. Woodhouse changing his mind about the wedding makes me smile. Time changes relationships and that’s okay; sometimes they need to change. 

R: I can’t decide whether I found the ending amusing or am annoyed that Mrs. Elton got the last words in the book. Otherwise, it was a very sweet ending. I’m glad all of the relationships turned out happily!

S: This book is so very different from the other three we’ve read! We get a much clearer picture of what is inside the head of the protagonist, which I think is the main reason it is the longest of her works. 

R: I agree. This one had many characters and elements reminiscent of Austen’s other works, but at the same time enough differences to keep the story fresh. Emma, so far, has been the most flawed of Austen’s protagonist ladies, and Mr. Knightley the most involved protagonist gentleman. I think he’s the only one who is present and an important part of the lady’s life from the beginning of the story. It made for a unique and engaging dynamic as Emma grew and changed throughout.

S: If you have read Emma we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! Our last post for this book with be a comparison between it and the 1996 movie adaptation of Emma, which stars Gwyneth Paltrow.

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

S: I knew it! I am a bit astonished at Jane, but also her secrecy doesn’t surprise me. It’s Frank’s actions that annoy me most – his behaviour toward her really is appalling and very wrong, despite all the misunderstandings. 

R: YOU WERE RIGHT! Good guess there. I was only a little surprised by the revelation. I agree completely about Frank, though. He behaved wretchedly both in how he, apparently, led Emma on and how he spoke about Jane to Emma. 

S: At long last, in Chapter 47, Emma sees her folly with Harriet and her own folly of pride. Thankfully, she does realise that she loves Mr. Knightley, but I hope it’s not too late!

R: I feel so bad for Harriet! Another misunderstanding has led her to believe that Emma was encouraging her to kindle feelings for Mr. Knightley. Of course, now that Mr. Knightley’s bachelorhood is in danger from another woman, Emma finally realises that she actually loves him. What a mess. And I do wonder what had Mr. Knightley hurrying off to his brother’s house a couple of chapters ago. That seemed mysterious.

S: I know we’ve mentioned this before, but I really am glad that Emma continues to mature. Her conversation with Mrs. Weston, her care for her father, her reflections on her actions all point toward maturity.

R: Another chapter that continues to guide us through Emma’s self-reflection and growth. Austen wrote, ‘…what could be increasing Emma’s wretchedness but the reflection never far distant from her mind, that it had been all her own work?’ Isn’t that often the case? We often get ourselves into fixes that we come to later regret.

S: How very true, and how very sobering. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons we are taught to be slow to speak and quick to listen. 

I’m so glad that Mr. Knightley and Emma are in love and have expressed it! Now if only Harriet will also get a happy ending and end up with Mr. Martin will I be really happy!

R: Such a good chapter! Very reminiscent of Darcy’s second proposal to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. I was a little surprised to see it with several more chapters still to go! I also hope that Harriet gets her happy ending. Emma has some work to do there after leading Harriet so astray.

S: Frank’s letter, while not fully excusing his actions, does explain them, but he still really is rather selfish.

R: Frank finally confesses all! I’m impressed. I agree, though, that he’s still selfish. His behaviour with Emma, both in giving her attentions that he shouldn’t have and in the way they both behaved about Jane Fairfax, was abominable. Jane must be incredibly forgiving to take him back after all that.

S: It’s difficult to believe that we’ll have finished the book in the next discussion! I’m glad we are able to stay with these characters a bit longer.

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

S: Chapter 41 is so very amusing! Emma thinks that Mr. Churchill and Harriet like each other and Jane Fairfax loves Mr. Dixon; Mr. Knightley thinks that Emma likes Mr. Churchill, but Mr. Churchill and Jane really like each other; we’re not sure who Harriet actually likes, although I’m pretty sure we know who Mr. Knightley likes. I would hazard a guess that Mr. Knightley’s, well I suppose both the Messers. Knightley, powers of observance are by far the best.

R: Well, I was surprised! I feel bad for Jane. Both Frank and Emma were rude to her. I’m glad Mr. Knightley sort of called Emma out on her behaviour. I’m still not sure exactly which of the things brought forth in this chapter are true. 

S: It’s chapters like these that are making me like this book so much because they just make me laugh at the absurdity of it all.

I am so happy the Westons are expecting! 

I cannot stand Mrs. Elton’s arrogance when talking with Mr. Knightley, but he manages the conversation so well: ‘…there is but one married woman in the world whom I can ever allow to invite what guests she pleases to Donwell, and that one is…Mrs. Knightley; and till she is in being, I will manage such matters myself.’ This is absolutely hilarious and I think I read that exchange two or three times because I enjoyed his answer so much. 

Again, I feel for Jane; I hate it when people won’t hear what I’m trying to tell them. It makes you feel very powerless. And, like Jane, sometimes you just want to have some time to yourself where no one is pushing you. 

Also, I think that Harriet is falling for Mr. Knightley. 

R: Happy news for the Westons! I, too, enjoyed Knightley’s responses to Mrs. Elton. Very much putting her in her place, though she certainly didn’t see it for what it was. I’m curious about why Jane ran off early. So much happened in this chapter!

S: Chapter 43 was very difficult to read. I was so embarrassed by Emma’s and Mr. Churchill’s displays of pride and wit at the expense of others. Poor Miss Bates. Emma is caught in the middle, I fear, as she has been, unwittingly, since Frank came into the picture. And Jane! If Mr. Knightley’s observations prove true, I think she might have been speaking of herself and Frank, which may explain why he’s so annoyed. 

R: I agree that this chapter was difficult! It was uncomfortable right from the start, and Emma and Frank Churchill’s antics were horrible. That Emma took Mr. Knightley’s castigation so well, though she didn’t work up the courage to respond quickly enough, shows that her character is perhaps not so bad, or may be improving. She seems too easily influenced by those around her. She may act badly in the moment, but she can see where she was wrong when it’s pointed out.

S: Agreed! 

Jane is once again being bullied into going to teach, but will she actually go? Perhaps Frank can’t make up his mind about her so she is choosing to do something about it to spite him or get him to react. Emma’s growth as a character is really rather beautiful – she is trying to be very friendly toward the Bateses and Miss Fairfax.

R: This was an interesting interlude. It made me wonder if the reason Jane rushed off from the party was because Mrs. Elton told her that she’d found Jane a position. I appreciated Emma’s attempt to rectify her previous bad behaviour toward Miss Bates. 

S: It is very difficult when you try your best to befriend someone and the advances are spurned, but yet what could Emma have expected with how she had behaved previously? How important it is to be kind to others so that when they need help they can accept it. I wonder what the death of Mrs. Churchill will mean. 

Jane Austen offers us an interesting quote: ‘Goldsmith tells us, that when lovely woman stoops to folly, she has nothing to do but to die; and when she stoops to be disagreeable, it is equally to be recommended as a clearer of ill-fame’.

There has got to be more to Jane’s sickness than the sadness of leaving her family to become a governess. I’m still sticking by my idea that she and Churchill are in love!

R: I was pleased that Emma seemed to be able to reconcile with Mr. Knightley. I’m concerned that Emma might be reading too much into Mr. Knightley’s glances. I hope that he truly has forgiven her, just as I hope that Emma truly has repented of her misbehaviour. I really don’t know what to think about Jane’s supposed illness and spurning Emma’s attempts to help. It seems more like she’s overwrought about something. 

S: It certainly will be interesting to see what transpires in the following chapters!

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

S: I laughed to myself when Mrs. Elton announced her disgust of ‘upstarts’, for Emma feels just that way about her! I think it’s charming that Emma doesn’t realise she’s endearing herself to Mr. Knightley. 

R: Mrs. Elton…I’m not even sure what to say about her. She is almost certainly clueless, both about her own position and Emma’s feelings about her. I do wonder if she’s being deliberately irritating, though.

S: I hadn’t thought about that. I assumed she really does hold herself in too high of an opinion so she thinks she can say whatever she wants, regardless of whom she’s talking with. Maybe she is trying to push Emma’s buttons.

Chapter 37 also made me laugh, for yet again Emma is assuming so much about Frank Churchill’s attachment! Similar to the first time they tried to have a ball, it still seems like a bad idea.

R: This was a surprisingly short chapter! I feel like Frank really was going to declare himself to Emma before he left the first time. I’m glad Emma’s keeping her thoughts to herself, though. I was surprised by how short his first visit is; his excuses seem weak.

S: I agree. There is definitely something else going on with him. He doesn’t seem to be the type of person who should be so fickle. 

R: The long-awaited ball finally happens in Chapter 38! I thought it was very interesting that the Eltons were meant to have brought Jane Fairfax and Miss Bates, but they forgot them, or decided not to pick them up on their way. Not sure what’s going on there. 

S: My bet is that they chose not to pick them up and rationalised it to themselves. 

This chapter holds one of my favourite quotes in this book so far:

‘General benevolence, but not general friendship, made a man what he ought to be. She could fancy such a man.’

I laughed aloud when I read this, because this sounds just like Mr. Knightley! 

The Eltons’ slight against Harriet made my blood boil. It was just so…mean! I’m so glad that Mr. Knightley came to the rescue. It’s also interesting to me that Emma, while dancing with Mr. Churchill, is not thinking about her dance partner, but rather looking for Mr. Knightley. My heart was very happy once Emma and Mr. Knightley decided to dance; it feels like romance may be coming soon! The fact that Mr. Knightley is as angry at the Eltons’ slight toward Harriet as Emma is also made me happy. It really does seem as though Emma is growing in character.

R: I was pleased that Mr. Knightley danced with Harriet after Mr. Elton’s slight. I also appreciate that he acknowledged that Harriet would have been better for Mr. Elton in some ways than the woman he chose instead. I loved the little exchange between Emma and Mr. Knightley at the end of the chapter. His declaration seems a strong indication that Mr. Knightley might be seeing Emma in a new light.

S: Chapter 39 is an interesting interlude, entirely unexpected, for here is Emma’s imagination working overtime again. Still, at least she chooses to not attempt to matchmake!

R: Another short chapter! It seems that Emma is learning her lesson. Though her imagination runs a bit wild (who doesn’t do that occasionally?), she keeps those thoughts to herself.

S: I’m glad that in Chapter 40 we see Harriet has chosen to release the hold her heart has on Mr. Elton, but I do wonder: does she mean she has her heart set on Mr. Churchill as Emma suspects, or does she now hope for Mr. Knightley? They have both done her a great service recently.

R: Oh, poor Harriet! But it’s good that she’s stopped thinking about Mr. Elton. I strongly suspect that she’s now set her heart on Mr. Knightley and not Frank Churchill as Emma believes!