Emma - Success and Ethics
Emma (1816)
Written by the English novelist, Jane
Austen (1775-1815), pictured right.
Fun facts
- A 1996 movie version starred Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma (pictured right).
- Movie star Kate Beckinsdale played Emma in a 1996 BBC production.
Key characters
Emma Woodhouse, clever and pretty.
George Knightley, her friend and brother-in-law.
Frank Churchill, another friend.
The story
Emma Woodhouse lives with her father in a Surrey village, south of London.
Emma (Romola Galai, pictured right in the 2009 BBC adaptation) is a spoilt 20-year-old who delights in
matchmaking.
She persuades her friend, Harriet Smith, not to marry Robert Martin, a wealthy
farmer (even though Harriet likes him) but to pursue Mr. Elton, the local vicar. Emma is
insulted when he proposes to her instead.
George Knightley, a frequent visitor to Emma’s house and her brother-in-law, criticizes her for
this marriage meddling, saying that Mr Martin is a worthy husband. But she kindly comforts Harriet after
Elton’s rejection and marriage to the self-centred, Augusta Hawkins.
Emma falls for the charming but irresponsible, Frank Churchill, the stepson of Emma’s old
governess, Mrs. Weston.
But she is jealous of the beautiful Jane Fairfax. Knightley criticizes her for this and her
hurtful insults to Jane Fairfax and her kind aunt, Miss Bates. To cheer Harriet up, Knightley
dances with her at a village ball, and the next day Frank saves her from some gypsy beggars.
Emma (Doran Godwin, pictured right in the !972 BBC adaptation) is shocked by the news of Frank and Jane's
secret engagement.They then marry.
Emma realizes she loves Knightley when Harriet tells her that she loves him as well. He tells Emma that he loves
her too, and Harriet accepts another proposal from Robert Martin.
The novel ends with their two marriages.
Lessons for success and ethics
1. Be kind
Knightley is excellent with people because he is kind, humble and
truthful. He rates these values much more highly than cleverness.
His example finally convinces Emma that her insults (for example to Miss Bates) and constant
meddling in other people’s lives (particularly Harriet’s) are wrong.
Kate Beckinsdale is pictured right as Emma in the 1996 BBC production.
2. Listen to others
Knightley is a great conversationalist, because he
- takes an interest in what they say.
3. Marry for love
Emma marries Knightley for love, although it also helps that he is rich as well.
“Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without
affection”, Jane
Austen once wrote.
So she turned down a loveless proposal when she was 27 and never married.
4. Love makes you happy
Emma learns from Knightley (pictured right together in the 1996 film) how satisfying
generosity is when she feeds and encourages the poor and sick in her village.
5. Don’t be a snob
Emma snobbily looks down on the nice Mr. and Mrs. Cole, simply because they got their
money from business.
6. Slavery is evil
The slave trade in Britain was only abolished in 1807, and Jane Austen hated it.
So she makes Mrs. Elton a villain because her wealth comes from slavery.
7. Be honest
If Emma had been in love with Frank Churchill, his engagement to Jane Fairfax would have broken her
heart.
He deceives Emma and leads her on, only because he’s afraid that her aunt will stop giving him money because of
Jane’s social inferiority.
Frank Churchill (Rupert Evans) is pictured right in the 2009 BBC production
Key quote on men and women
One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other, Emma.
Key quote on happiness
Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!,
Frank Churchill
Key quote on influencing people
There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart, Emma
Key quote on money
Business, you know, may bring money, but friendship hardly ever does, George Knightley
Key quote on ethics
Vanity working on a weak head produces every sort of mischief, George Knightley
Key quote on relationships
There are people, who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves.
Two literature websites to
recommend
1. sparknotes.com
2. litcharts.com
A big thank you to...
The BBC for the pictures.
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