Emma (Penguin Classics)

published	1966 by Penguin Classics
first published	1816
binding	Paperback
isbn	0140430105 (isbn13: 9780140430103)
ebook
pages	471
description	Of all Jane Austen's heroines, Emma Woodhouse is the most flawed, the most infuriating, and, in the end, the most endearing. Pride and Prejudice'...more [close] Of all Jane Austen's heroines, Emma Woodhouse is the most flawed, the most infuriating, and, in the end, the most endearing. Pride and Prejudice's Lizzie Bennet has more wit and sparkle; Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey more imagination; and Sense and Sensibility's Elinor Dashwood certainly more sense--but Emma is lovable precisely because she is so imperfect. Austen only completed six novels in her lifetime, of which five feature young women whose chances for making a good marriage depend greatly on financial issues, and whose prospects if they fail are rather grim. Emma is the exception: "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." One may be tempted to wonder what Austen could possibly find to say about so fortunate a character. The answer is, quite a lot. For Emma, raised to think well of herself, has such a high opinion of her own worth that it blinds her to the opinions of others. The story revolves around a comedy of errors: Emma befriends Harriet Smith, a young woman of unknown parentage, and attempts to remake her in her own image. Ignoring the gaping difference in their respective fortunes and stations in life, Emma convinces herself and her friend that Harriet should look as high as Emma herself might for a husband--and she zeroes in on an ambitious vicar as the perfect match. At the same time, she reads too much into a flirtation with Frank Churchill, the newly arrived son of family friends, and thoughtlessly starts a rumor about poor but beautiful Jane Fairfax, the beloved niece of two genteelly impoverished elderly ladies in the village. As Emma's fantastically misguided schemes threaten to surge out of control, the voice of reason is provided by Mr. Knightly, the Woodhouse's longtime friend and neighbor. Though Austen herself described Emma as "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like," she endowed her creation with enough charm to see her through her most egregious behavior, and the saving grace of being able to learn from her mistakes. By the end of the novel Harriet, Frank, and Jane are all properly accounted for, Emma is wiser (though certainly not sadder), and the reader has had the satisfaction of enjoying Jane Austen at the height of her powers. --Alix Wilber [close]
date added	03-24-07 edit book

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Denise rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

07/04/08

Read in July, 2008

Lines I loved from this book:

Have you never known the pleasure and triumph of a lucky guess? I pity you.

It’s a great deal better to choose than to be chosen, to excite gratitude than to feel it.

What is passable in youth is detestable in later age.

Emma is spoiled by being the cleverest in her family.

I think her the very worst sort of companion that Emma could possibly have. She knows nothing herself and looks upon Emma as knowing everything.

With all dear Emma’s little ...more

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William rated it:

(review of isbn 0760748624)

05/13/08

i not only enjoyed this book, which i feel is the best of jane austen's novels, but i learned something -- the meaning of valetudinarian. it's the opposite of what it sounded like to me. so too with the heroine of this story, emma, who believes herself so wise in the ways of human affection. in fact, she finds out that her every interpretation of which man intends to ask which woman to marry him is backward. not once, but several times. much of the comedy of this novel springs from emma's consis...more i not only enjoyed this book, which i feel is the best of jane austen's novels, but i learned something -- the meaning of valetudinarian. it's the opposite of what it sounded like to me. so too with the heroine of this story, emma, who believes herself so wise in the ways of human affection. in fact, she finds out that her every interpretation of which man intends to ask which woman to marry him is backward. not once, but several times. much of the comedy of this novel springs from emma's consistently mistaken predictions, all of which involve her. first she is the unexpected object of mr. elton's affections, then the mistakenly expected object of frank churchill's affections. to say nothing of mr. knightley.

the other humorous aspect of the novel is emma's ironic comments, either intentionally or unintentionally funny. here is one wry observation, about why she does not fear being a spinster:

"it is poverty only which makes celibacy contemptible, . . . a single woman of good fortune is always respectable."

it appeared to me that austen makes more of this type of insightful comment about her society in this novel than in her other ones. she even seems to be poking fun at class snobbery, as when emma hopes to be invited to a diner party given by the coles, who got their money in (gasp!) trade, so that she can decline the invitation and show them that they cannot set the terms on which they will associate with the "superior families" in highbury. of which she is the most superior, of course. when she doesn't get an invitation, she feels slighted at "being left in solitary grandeur." then when it finally comes, she is psychologically unable to refuse. but being emma, she rationalizes, telling herself that she will still teach them a lesson, she will "throw coldness into her air." when it comes to it, however, she does nothing of the kind.

these types of unintentionally funny comments arising from emma's great self-satisfaction are much more humorous. such as when she says of her intention never to marry, "i cannot really change for the better." or, at a point when she observes harriet taking her romantic disappointment stoically because of her simpler temperament, "it was rather too late in the day to set about being simple-minded and ignorant."

in addition, this is the most intricately plotted of austen's novels, with a series of interlocking romances among a short list of players. (imagine having to find your true love among the small number of people of your own class in a small english village at a time when a journey of 16 miles to london was considered onerous.) as a result of her sequential blunders, emma finally gains some insight into her own character, which makes this (i believe) the only one of austen's novels in which a character grows in maturity. or, as we say in writing workships, "has an epiphany".

but perhaps the greatest wisdom in the novel is culinary, when miss bates says of her mother, "there is nothing grandmamma loves better than sweetbread and asparagus." ...less

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Stephen rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

04/01/08

bookshelves: victorian-lit

I just re-read this novel b/c it had been years since I last read it, and I couldn't remember it as well as I would have liked. It's a simple, fun, social comedy about classes, gender, and love...everything you'd expect from the Victorians. The interesting thing is that, in writing the character of Emma Woodhouse, Jane Austen was attempting to create a character that no one would like. Of course, she failed miserably as everyone fell in love with Emma, her independence, her meddling ways, and...more I just re-read this novel b/c it had been years since I last read it, and I couldn't remember it as well as I would have liked. It's a simple, fun, social comedy about classes, gender, and love...everything you'd expect from the Victorians. The interesting thing is that, in writing the character of Emma Woodhouse, Jane Austen was attempting to create a character that no one would like. Of course, she failed miserably as everyone fell in love with Emma, her independence, her meddling ways, and her apparent cluelessness with regards to romance and matchmaking. Still, there really are some things about Emma that are grating or frustrating, but I would argue it's precisely these imperfections that make her so endearing. As for what I didn't care for about the novel...let's take a look at Harriet Smith for a second.

***SPOILER ALERT!***

Harriet (or Miss Smith as I should refer to her, being a proper gentleman) wraps up a little too neatly in the end. I know that Victorian novels traditionally prefer the novel as tidy package, all loose ends nicely tucked away, but let's be honest when we say that Harriet Smith takes this a little too far. Emma spends the whole of the novel shaping Harriet to her liking, constantly re-shaping and altering depending on the circumstances until, at the end, Emma realizes that she has created a lower than gentry-class girl who is extremely vain about her station in life and her ability to procure a husband far superior than her (this is the Victorian class mentality speaking, not my own). However, in the course of a chapter, Harriet realizes that all she has come to think is wrong, and immediately changes her views back to the uneducated, naive girl we first met at the beginning of the novel. And not only that, but Mr. Martin (respected farmer with the heart of gold) whose marriage proposal was rejected by Harriet back in Chapter 10 or so, shows up, reproposes, and is accepted. It's almost as though Austen took Harriet's character to a certain point, didn't know what to do with her after that, and then recanted everything she's done and gone back to square one.

***END SPOILERS***

Things that I love? Mr. Knightly, his frustrations with Emma, his witty banter, and his always appropriate and gallant understandings of the situation; Mr. Woodhouse, who drones on ad nauseum about how going outside will kill you while everyone patronizes him and then Jane Fairfax goes and gets ill from wandering in the fields for too long--hilarious!; how truly despicable Mr. and Mrs. Elton are, even by today's standards they are insufferable....less

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Clif rated it:

(review of isbn 0736687661)

04/15/08

Read in April, 2008

Jane Austen wrote about everyday life among the lower English gentry of the early 19th Century. Thus, the book's characters are concerned about social class in ways that seem a bit strange to a 21st Century American reader. A modern reader is likely to find that the book consists of much 19th Century dialog about trifles. It is that, but Austen's skill as a writer is apparent in the way she portrays character traits and personalities through their spoken words. It seems as though half the wor...more Jane Austen wrote about everyday life among the lower English gentry of the early 19th Century. Thus, the book's characters are concerned about social class in ways that seem a bit strange to a 21st Century American reader. A modern reader is likely to find that the book consists of much 19th Century dialog about trifles. It is that, but Austen's skill as a writer is apparent in the way she portrays character traits and personalities through their spoken words. It seems as though half the words in the book are contained within quotation marks. But at truly climatic moments the story's narration slips inside the minds of the story's characters to describe their feelings.

Emma, in the book, is preoccupied with social class and match making while at the same time claiming no interest in marriage for herself. The story shows Emma's busy-body approach failing to achieve her desired goals in most cases. Her self perceived ability to understand the feelings of others is repeatedly found to be leading her to incorrect conclusions. But never fear, this is 19th Century writing so things will be OK in the end.

Some reviewers note that the book shows how women of that era were dependent on men for their security. That may be true, but this is a story about English gentry who have a quite pleasant life. (The servants hover in the background and are given about as much attention as we give to our kitchen appliances.) The women in this story may not be liberated in the modern feminist sense, but they appear comfortable with their environment.

The historical context within which Jane Austen wrote is what makes her books interesting to me. She predates the Bronte sisters, George Eliot and Mary Shelley. So I guess that makes Jane Austen the mother of the English novel. Jane Austen also predates Dickens and Hardy. Unfortunately, her being female had little impact on her contemporaries because all her novels were published anonymously during her lifetime. Jane Austen was a natural born writer starting at a young age. However, it can be argued that her books may never have been published had her family not been experiencing financial difficulties.

(I need to acknowledge here that Ann Radcliffe was a published female author prior to Jane Austen. So it may be a bit too generous to call Jane Austen the mother of the English novel.)

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Mike rated it:

(review of isbn 067940581X)

05/13/08

Read in May, 2008

Continuing our trip down Jane Austen Blvd! Emma has much the same style that Persuasion does, but with a much, MUCH lighter tone. It can afford it; while Anne spends pretty much all of Persuasion pining for lost love, Emma is far too busy meddling in everyone else's love lives to get too weepy about her own. Where they ever to meet, Emma would role her eyes, tell Anne to get over herself and then arrange some meeting with a local gentry that would probably involve a chapter-long scene wh...more Continuing our trip down Jane Austen Blvd! Emma has much the same style that Persuasion does, but with a much, MUCH lighter tone. It can afford it; while Anne spends pretty much all of Persuasion pining for lost love, Emma is far too busy meddling in everyone else's love lives to get too weepy about her own. Where they ever to meet, Emma would role her eyes, tell Anne to get over herself and then arrange some meeting with a local gentry that would probably involve a chapter-long scene where everyone farcically talks past each other and ends with said gentleman proposing - to Emma. For her part, Anne would probably have enough sense to politely avoid Emma altogether, but admitting as much would ruin the allegory. Work with me here, people.

Emma also manages to have what may be one of literature's first unreliable narrators. True, Emma and the narrator are generally distinct, only occasionally bleeding together, and even when her internal monologue manages to hijack the story it never comes even vaguely close to what Humbert does in Lolita. Still, I was shocked when I discovered in retrospect that the book had lied to me. I look for that kind of thing in modern writing, but I frankly wasn't expecting it from Austen. The whole joke of Emma is that she imagines herself to be a matchmaker without equal while simultaneously managing to have an astonishingly poor understanding of everyone's actual affections, including her own. She finally, FINALLY comes around in the end, but only after deluding herself (and maybe the reader too, if they're thick like I am) for most all of the story. Despite the rampage of unnecessary emotional destruction Emma leaves in her wake, you can't help but love her by the end of the book. Deep down, she does mean well after all.

The other thing I have to give Austen kudos for here is, once again, excellent characterization. Emma has an unfortunate habit of deciding that other people are conceited, overbearing and annoying, not like her at all! Why, she'd never act like that! And when she inevitably does, she of course rationalizes it and swears, in any event, not to do it again. And then she goes and does it again. If you can read Emma and not find that you have a few character traits in common with her, chances are you're lying to yourself.

Hey, just like Emma does!

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Steven rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

03/24/08

bookshelves: 1001, womenareamystery

Read in March, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Emma Woodhouse is a spirited young lady in Highbury (think Alicia Silverstone in “Clueless”) who likes to play the role of matchmaker. She did well is putting together her governess and Mr. Weston. She takes a liking to the cute Harriet Smith, and tries to set her up with the village vicar, Mr. Elton, also encouraging Harriet to reject the goodly farmer, Robert Martin. Mr. Elton doesn’t like Harriet, though, he likes Emma. Oh no. Don’t worry about him though, he leaves and quickly r...more Emma Woodhouse is a spirited young lady in Highbury (think Alicia Silverstone in “Clueless”) who likes to play the role of matchmaker. She did well is putting together her governess and Mr. Weston. She takes a liking to the cute Harriet Smith, and tries to set her up with the village vicar, Mr. Elton, also encouraging Harriet to reject the goodly farmer, Robert Martin. Mr. Elton doesn’t like Harriet, though, he likes Emma. Oh no. Don’t worry about him though, he leaves and quickly returns with a new wife.

Emma’s buddy (and also her brother-in-law, which is just a little creepy) thinks that Emma should mind her own business and stop trying to set people up together. Much like other Jane Austen leading men, we know that Mr. Knightly will be more important later in the story because he is a bit rough around the edges, but has a kind heart, and he also has a really big house.

With all this matchmaking, Emma starts to wonder about ol’ Mr. Weston’s son, the dreamy Frank Churchill, who will soon be visiting Highbury. We know that Frank Churchill is not a good guy because he travels to London to have his hair cut. Of course, Mr. Knightly can see through Mr. Churchill immediately. Also in Highbury is Jane Fairfax who is pretty and plays the piano very well, but Emma is not a huge fan. Emma has a good time with Frank Churchill, but we all know he is not the one because he went to London to get his haircut. Emma is mean to someone and Mr. Knightly criticizes her for it, yet another reason why we know he is the one, and Emma cries. Everything all works out in the end when Knightly and Emma get together (who didn’t see that one coming), Harriet marries the farmer Robert Martin, and Frank Churchill marries Jane Fairfax. The moral of the story - plucky heroines always end up with the right guy.

Can’t say it was my favorite book ever, but it makes you smile and makes you say awww, all that is not a bad thing. Various things that make me laugh in this book, but for whatever reason, my favorite is the discussion about the counties in England known as the "garden of England" and whether Surrey is one among many or the only one. Just thinking about that cracks me up even now.

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Deana rated it:

(review of isbn 1593080891)

07/27/08

Read in July, 2008

I had never endeavored to read Emma before, although I have read and enjoyed others of Jane Austen's novels. This one, I didn't care for as much. The plot was interesting, and I did enjoy the twist at the end involving Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax - I was never expecting that and I actually laughed aloud with surprise. This is rare for me in any book - so obviously it did have its merits. It was just really long, an even more difficult read for me than her other novels (which is saying somet...more I had never endeavored to read Emma before, although I have read and enjoyed others of Jane Austen's novels. This one, I didn't care for as much. The plot was interesting, and I did enjoy the twist at the end involving Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax - I was never expecting that and I actually laughed aloud with surprise. This is rare for me in any book - so obviously it did have its merits. It was just really long, an even more difficult read for me than her other novels (which is saying something). I have only one "real" complaint, and that is with regards to Emma's feelings about Frank Churchill. She first believes herself to be in love with him - and later decides she never was. And manages to convince poor Mr. Knightly of that as well (with help from the fact that Frank says in his letter he never believed Emma to be taken in by his act). But really, I think she may have been, at least to some extent. Certainly not the same kind of love that she felt for Mr. Knightly, but... love can express itself in many ways. I guess that's all I have to say about that. I'll be watching the movie Emma sometime in the future for my own movie community, so I'll be interested to see how it compares.

Speaking of that - I forced myself to read both the Introduction to the book (which is usually best read AFTER reading the work in question, rather than before) as well as the "Inspired by Emma" section at the back. In the "Inspired by Emma" section, it was noted that the movie Clueless was actually based on this novel, which I NEVER would have guessed if they hadn't mentioned it. I guess there are some similarities (Cher was a matchmaker, tried to improve Tai's status at school by taking her under her wing), they certainly took some liberties with a lot of the plot (falling in love with her step-brother rather than a sibling's husband's brother, which is far more removed).

The Introduction was a bit dry (but aren't they all?) and extremely wordy. I think the average word length went up by 2-3 for the Introduction. But he made a lot of really good points that I wouldn't have noticed on my own - even though most of what he did just seemed to be summarizing the novel....less

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mari rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

08/24/08

bookshelves: classic

Read in July, 2008

Jane Austen. You can't go wrong with any of her books. Pride and Prejudice is most definitely my favorite, but Emma comes in at a close second. It has been one of my favorite books for years and this reread has been a lot of fun. It is actually the 5th Jane Austen book I have read this year.

One of the things that draws me to Austen are her flawed heroines. There is always something about them that makes them just a little less than perfect and yet you cheer for them when they get the man at...more

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Kanchan rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

08/22/07

Read in April, 1987

Emma Woodhouse is the first Jane Austen heroine with no financial concerns, which, she declares to the naïve Miss Smith, is the reason that she has no inducement to marry. This is a great departure from Austen's other novels where the quest for marriage is the main focus and theme of the story. Emma's ample financial resources are one of the factors that make this novel much lighter than Austen's earlier works, such as Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. Jane Fairfax's prospects, in ...more

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Rj rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

10/28/07

bookshelves: reviewed

The fourth, longest and last of Jane Austen’s books to appear in print during her lifetime, Emma is considered a classic romantic comedy and was first published in 1816. Written almost 200 year ago, it’s inevitable that the dialogue may feel a bit stilted at times. However, this adds dimension and depth to the story that focuses on 19th century social hierarchies and the interaction between various social classes.

Miss Emma Woodhouse is a shining example of a 19th century socialite. Beaut...more

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Lillafiore rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

04/29/08

bookshelves: classics

Read in April, 2008

The quick summary is that Emma is a local match-maker. After helping merge one fantastic couple, Mr. Weston and Emma’s governness Miss Taylor, all her other schemes seems to flounder. Harriet Smith is a minor character although seems to fall in love with anyone that Emma points to. Mrs. Elton was one of my favorite characters only because of her insipid vanity and over indulgence in herself.

I’m not sure why, but Jane Austen seems to love solving all of the conflicts in her novels through...more

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Kelly rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

05/24/07

bookshelves: brit-lit, favorites, fiction, worth-rereading

Read in April, 1998

recommends it for: Jane Austen fans, all women

This is one of the Holy Trinity of Austen (yes, I just made that up). And in my opinion, deservedly so. Emma is far and away the heroine that I identify the most with of all the Austen women. Jane Austen thought that nobody would like her when she wrote Emma... except maybe she underestimated how many people have things in common with her. She has so many deep flaws that are so easy to completely hate, but she means so very well, and is really a deeply caring person. She just has absolutely no s...more

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Jamala rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

07/05/08

Read in July, 2008

Fav quotes:
1. Mr Elton's charade on "courtship"
2. It may be possible to do without dancing entirely. Instances have been known of young people passing many, many months successivley without being at any ball of any description, and no material injury accrue either to body or mind; but when abeginning is made - when the felicities of rapid motion have once been, through slightly, felt - it must be a very heavy set that does not ask for more.
3. "I do not find myself making an...more

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Emily rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

02/14/08

One of the disadvantages of being a fast and early reader is missing out on books that are, at 13 or 14, too long, too old, too formal, too boring, and not taking into account how much better they might be in ten years; they’re boring forever. (This, incidentally, is one of the reasons I don’t think late or reluctant readers should be pushed too hard into reading the classics). I tried Pride and Prejudice in middle school, Sense and Sensibility a little later, and didn’t like...more

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Mary rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

04/12/08

Read in April, 2008

'Emma' is not my favorite book, nor even my favorite Romantic era novel. However, I still find myself getting caught up in the characters and their dance around each others' lives. I love Austen's method of character development that convinces the reader that these much people actually exist (as exemplified by the true annoyance I feel at the Elton's consistant bad behavior). Austen is also, as always, brilliant in her concoctions of new ways that people can misunderstand each other. I do lo...more

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Don rated it:

(review of isbn 0375757422)

10/12/07

Read in October, 2007

Here's something you don't hear everyday: "The first half of the book I didn't enjoy much at all - but after the first 150 pages, it really picked up!"

Jane Austen. What a strange, strange beast. The first Austen I've read, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish it. Now, at the end, I'm actually considering if and when I might try some more.

There is still a lot that I don't like: The stunningly overblown writing style, seemingly designed for maximum detachment (though...more

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Sarah rated it:

(review of isbn 0141439580)

06/11/07

Read in June, 1986

Emma I think is my favourite Jane Austen novel because Emma as a character is so misguided and yet perversely confident in her decisions. Identifying with and sympathizing with Lizzie Bennett and Elinor Dashwood is a walk in the park (although I understand that there are those in the world who prefer Marianne; there is no accounting for taste, but I freely admit that I am an INTJ) -- Emma is more challenging and therefore in some ways more satisfying. Hating that nice Jane Fairfax? Plotting to m...more

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Megan rated it: