(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!

(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.

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

S: Chapter 26 is rather interesting. Although I have little to base this off of, I think that Mr. Churchill sent the pianoforte for Jane Fairfax when he went to London for his haircut; that was all rather fishy. I think that Mr. Churchill is playing with Emma as a cover for something going on with Jane Fairfax.

Yet again, I just shake my head at Emma’s pride and her conviction that Mr. Churchill is really in love with her. I think she actually loves Mr. Knightley, although she wouldn’t admit it, and I think that Mrs. Weston is feeling her out, seeing if it bothers her that Mr. Knightley likes Jane Fairfax. I do also wonder, however, if the Westons would like Emma and Frank to fall in love. 

R: Chapter 26 made me really dislike Mr. Churchill, and Emma as well. They were so rude and gossipy about Jane Fairfax. If he does have an understanding with her, I wonder if he’s trying to cover for it. I thought Emma’s reaction to Mrs. Weston’s suggestion about Mr. Knightley and Jane Fairfax was amusing, but also, again, selfish and manipulative. Even though her desire for Mr. Knightley to remain single is supposedly on account of her nephew who is currently the heir, it certainly seemed that she had her own comfort in mind. If Mr. Knightley marries, she won’t be the most important woman in his life any longer. I’m realising this sounds extremely pessimistic and negative about Emma, but she seems to be Austen’s most flawed heroine thus far.

S: Oh, I agree! I think she is the most flawed we’ve yet seen. I know I’ve said it before, but she really does remind me of Miss Crawford from Mansfield Park.

R: In Chapter 27, I was a little annoyed by Harriet and her indecisiveness and then by Frank Churchill trying to weasel his way out of visiting the Bates’ house with Mrs. Weston.

S: I hate to think this, but my first thought when Miss Bates is explaining about Jane Fairfax’s eating habits is that she’s expecting; did Jane and Frank marry in secret? Based on Austen’s other works we’ve read through I don’t think so, it seems much more likely that it’s a lovesick pining, but I honestly don’t know.

R: That didn’t even occur to me, though I suppose it’s possible. When Miss Bates is asking Emma to join them, I felt like I had to read Miss Bates’ dialogue in one long breath!

S: Yes! That’s how I feel, and by Chapter 28 I’m beginning to see why Emma really does not like being around Miss Bates – she can be exhausting to listen to! She makes me think of Mrs. Palmer or her mother Mrs. Jennings from Sense and Sensibility. However, I do wonder if it’s just because she’s nervous or lonely and is just excited to be around people. She doesn’t mean any harm, even if she speaks out of turn sometimes and overshares. Also, I really think that both Mr. Churchill and Jane Fairfax are playing with Emma; their actions are suspicious to me.

R: See, I’m beginning to doubt that Jane and Frank have any sort of serious relationship with the way he speaks about the suspicions of where the pianoforte came from. I feel that the implication of impropriety would be too embarrassing to Jane for her to be in on the idea as a joke.

S: I’m excited to find out what’s going on with them! 

Oh dear. This proposed party at The Crown, I fear, is going to reveal a lot. It seems very strange and rushed; out of place in this little village.

R: The young people always wanting to do things in a hurry!

S: Right? Taking time to make decisions really is okay!

Reading Chapter 30 I’m rather surprised at Emma! Her imagination certainly runs away with her, and she supposes an awful lot about Mr. Churchill being in love with her. The fact that she feels sad he’s gone does not necessarily mean she is in love. I compare her actions with how Jane Fairfax acts after his departure, and am convinced Jane is pining for Frank.

R: I am confused by Emma’s reaction to Frank during his departure visit. He certainly seems to be considering making some sort of declaration. Based on Emma’s previous apparent interest in him, I’m surprised that she forestalls him. But perhaps his more recent actions, with the rushing about and lack of control over his own comings and goings has cooled her interest.

S: These chapters make me want to hurry through the book, but I don’t really want it to end yet!

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

S: Oh dear. I have a feeling Emma’s pride is going to get the better of her.

R: Indeed, and Mr. Knightley again calls Emma out on her behaviour, though he seems to do so almost gently in this case. Perhaps because Mr. Woodhouse is present.

Mr. Elton seems to have recovered from his disappointment over Emma rather quickly. The Bates bring the news that he is to be married to a Miss Hawkins. 

S: Yes, the whole thing is just ridiculous. I hope the woman he is marrying will end up being as sweet as Charlotte from Pride and Prejudice, because the quick engagement between her and Mr. Collins is exactly what this reminds me of.

I love what Miss Bates says: ‘One takes up a notion and runs away with it’. This is exactly what Emma is doing regarding the elusive Frank Churchill and what she’s done with Harriet and Mr. Elton!

R: That she does! On the one hand I was impressed with Emma in not pressing her objections to Mr. Martin when she and Harriet encounter him and one of his sisters, but at the same time, Austen reveals that Emma still thinks poorly of the man and his attachment to Harriet Smith. 

S: In Chapter 22 I just shake my head at Emma, for she has fully made a mess of things and there are still over 30 chapters, half of the book!, to go. I hope Harriet gets a happy ending. 

I have two main thoughts after reading Chapter 23, the first of which is: Do Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax have an understanding? After Emma tells him of the Bates and of how Jane is ‘…a very elegant young woman…’ Austen writes: ‘He agreed to it, but with so quiet a “Yes,” as inclined her almost to doubt his real concurrence…’. To me, this is Austen’s clever way of hiding what might be a possible connection between the two. 

My next thought is: The way Emma is behaving toward Frank, with her excitement about him visiting, her rushing to defend his actions, seems to show that she is blinded by who she supposes him to be, not who he really is. He reminds me of a combination of three characters we’ve met in previous Austen works: Mr. Robert Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility and Mr. Crawford and Mr. Bertram from Mansfield Park.

R: In this chapter, Frank Churchill seems to be polite and respectful enough. He is certainly full of praises for his stepmother, of which she seems to be entirely deserving. I do agree that Emma seems to have an inflated opinion of Frank at this point.

S: In Chapter 24 Emma has no idea how rude she is appearing! I can’t peg Mr. Churchill, but Emma seems so blind to her jealousy of Jane Fairfax and how she sounds when she talks of her. If Emma wants Mr. Churchill to fall in love with her, she needs to do some serious rethinking, because she’s not making herself very likeable.

Chapter 25 is so ridiculous! The further we get into the story, the less reason Emma has for being stuck up and proud. Her father is a recluse, she speaks rudely of others – how is she so liked?

R: Emma definitely has an inflated sense of her own consequence and superiority to others in her sphere. I wonder if Mrs. Weston has encouraged it, even inadvertently, in how she handles giving Emma advice about whether she should accept the Coles’ invitation or not. Likely as consequence of having lived in the Woodlouse household as Emma grew up and having to manage Mr. Woodhouse’s oddities, Mrs. Weston may have learnt to baby them too much.

S: I leave this section feeling very confused and conflicted. I hope Emma turns her attitude around before the end of the book because I want a happy ending for her, but right now she really is acting rather immature

R: Overall this was a busy and revealing section of the book.