by Jane Austen
In this state of suspense13 they were befriended, not by any sudden illumination of Mr. Woodhouse’s mind, or any wonderful change of his nervous system, but by the operation of the same system in another way.—Mrs. Weston’s poultry-house14 was robbed one night of all her turkies15—evidently by the ingenuity of man. Other poultry-yards in the neighbourhood also suffered.—Pilfering was housebreaking to Mr. Woodhouse’s fears.—He was very uneasy; and but for the sense of his son-in-law’s protection, would have been under wretched alarm every night of his life. The strength, resolution, and presence of mind of the Mr. Knightleys, commanded his fullest dependance. While either of them protected him and his, Hartfield was safe.—But Mr. John Knightley must be in London again by the end of the first week in November.16
The result of this distress was, that, with a much more voluntary, cheerful consent than his daughter had ever presumed to hope for at the moment, she was able to fix her wedding-day—and Mr. Elton was called on, within a month from the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Martin, to join the hands of Mr. Knightley and Miss Woodhouse.17
The wedding was very much like other weddings, where the parties have no taste for finery or parade;18 and Mrs. Elton, from the particulars detailed by her husband,19 thought it all extremely shabby, and very inferior to her own.—“Very little white satin, very few lace veils;20 a most pitiful business!—Selina would stare when she heard of it.”—But, in spite of these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the predictions of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony, were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union.21
FINIS.
A wedding veil and other accessories.
[From Elisabeth McClellan, Historic Dress in America, 1800–1870 (Philadelphia, 1910), p. 279]
[List of Illustrations]
Notes
VOLUME I, CHAPTER I
1. Emma is the only one of Jane Austen’s completed novels to be named after its heroine (Northanger Abbey was originally as well, but the title was changed before publication). The title reflects the great extent to which Emma revolves around its main character, as does its beginning with a description of her (the only other Austen novel that begins this way is again Northanger Abbey). The author may have chosen the name “Emma” precisely because of the character’s centrality, for it seems to have been a favorite name with her. She uses it for the heroine of an unfinished novel, The Watsons, and her fondness for it appears in several letters in which she expresses a wish that someone had the name, disgust that a person with it married someone with an unattractive name, or special indignation that a young lady deprived of sufficient dancing partners should be an Emma (Nov. 30, 1800; April 21, 1805; Dec. 9, 1808). Its use in England stemmed from its being the name of a medieval queen; after a period in which it fell into disuse, it again became popular in the eighteenth century.
2. handsome: attractive. The word was often used to describe women then and had no masculine connotation.
3. “Mistress of the house” was not simply an honorary title, bestowed here on the sole female in the family, but usually a position of real responsibility. The mistress managed the household, which would include hiring and supervising the servants (in families wealthy enough to have them), deciding on meals, purchasing food and other supplies, and keeping the household budget. She was also expected to serve as hostess for visitors and to perform charitable acts in the neighborhood. Men who lacked a wife or adult daughter would frequently have a sister or other female relative perform these functions. In Emma’s case, since she was twelve when her sister married (see here), she probably shared these duties with her governess for a while and assumed full responsibility later.
4. It was standard for girls in wealthy families to have governesses who took charge of their education; in some cases, girls would also attend school for a few years when older.
5. Girls usually finished their education by eighteen, so this more equal situation would have prevailed for at least three years. A family would typically dismiss a governess at that point; Mr. Woodhouse’s retention of Miss Taylor testifies to two of his leading characteristics, a kind solicitude for others and a hatred of anything that could disturb his existing routine.
6. evils: drawbacks, disadvantages. “Evil” then was used more widely than today, and with not as strong a connotation of malevolence.
7. The author here announces the central theme of the novel, namely the way that Emma’s many advantages, personal and social, have led her to an excessive confidence and vanity that will bring trouble to herself and others. Of course, many, including Emma herself at present, would not regard these two things, especially the power of having her own way, as disadvantages. But Jane Austen, in keeping with strong cultural and intellectual currents of the time, believed firmly in the need for humility and self-restraint, and she frequently demonstrates these principles in her writings.
8. bride-people: wedding guests. At this time “bride” and “bridal” were often used for matters connected with the wedding in general, rather than specifically in relation to the woman getting married.
9. easy: comfortable.
10. This suggests both Emma’s genuine concern for her friend and how much pleasure she takes in congratulating herself for her good deeds. She will display this combination of benevolence and vanity on many occasions.
11. want: lack.
12. amuse: entertain.
13. Almost all medical care took place at home then—the few existing hospitals catered to the poor—and nursing was performed by members of the family or servants. Nursing was in fact one of the principal tasks of women of all social ranks. The only time a professional nurse might be hired would be during and after pregnancy.
14. peculiarly: particularly.
15. scheme: plan, project. The term was mostly used in this general sense (as it still is in British English), with no connotation of something underhanded or conniving.
16. Correcting the faults of her charges would normally be a central task of a governess, who was expected to provide moral as well as intellectual education. Miss Taylor’s indulgence of Emma has played a significant role in the latter’s development, compounded by the fact, as we shall soon see, that Emma’s father is neither able nor willing to offer any serious criticism of his daughter.
17. valetudinarian: a person in feeble health, and especially someone excessively focused on his own ailments. The term is still in use but was used more frequently then.
18. activity: energy, vigor.
19. talents: mental powers or abilities.
20. It is later revealed that they live in Surrey, a county just south of London (see map). The typical travel speed then was seven to eight miles an hour on main roads; since the distance to Emma’s sister’s house, as opposed to the boundary of London, is eighteen miles (see here), and carriages would advance more slowly in the crowded London streets, the trip would probably take two and a half to three hours in each direction. This could in principle be done in a day—later a character does go to London for the day (see here)—but it would leave little time for visiting, especially since travel then was rough, often leaving people discomposed at the end of it. Mr. Woodhouse’s needs also mean that Emma cannot be gone for an entire day.
21. Hartfield is their house. Prominent country houses normally had a name. It is now late September (see chronology); the story, as with all the longer Austen novels, will transpire over the course of approximately one year.
22. The Encyclopaedia Britannica of the time defines a village as “an assemblage inhabited chiefly by peasants and farmers, and having no market, whereby it is distinguished from a town.” Highbury has one general store, along with at least a baker and a butcher, which would make it nearly a town. Its population is never specified, but since a variety of professional and landowning families are mentioned over the course of the novel, and one can assume there are many more of lower status, its inhabitants must number well into the hundreds.
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23. A lawn and shrubberies were standard parts of the landscaped grounds that surrounded wealthy country houses. Shrubberies were formal plantings, often quite elaborate.
24. At later points characters are described as passing through Highbury when going between Hartfield and the Westons’ home, only half a mile. Thus both homes must be close to the village.
25. consequence: social importance, position.
26. Their primacy rests on their wealth, which seems to be greater than anyone else’s in Highbury, on their not needing to work, and on the family’s having long occupied such a position. For more on the prevailing social hierarchy, see note 39.
27. There are virtually no other families of the same social rank as the Woodhouses in the village, and people in this society rarely socialized with those of a different rank—a principle Emma upholds with particular zeal. Social gaps were reinforced by great differences in educational levels. Most people received little or no education, and even among those who could afford to school their children, the quality and amount of schooling provided would vary significantly. Mr. Woodhouse hired a full-time governess, something few families could afford; other girls would be taught by their mothers, when the latter were not occupied with household chores, or sent to school, which would not provide the individual attention of a governess. Emma would also have enjoyed much greater access than most children to books, which were expensive then, and to accessories such as musical instruments. Moreover, the parents and governesses in wealthy homes furnished examples of refined speech and manners for the children to emulate; people from less-wealthy backgrounds in Austen’s novels are often noticeably rougher in their speech and manners. All of this would only increase the reluctance of someone like Emma to associate with them.
28. Emma’s first words show her talking to her father, who is so central to her existence, and correcting and assisting him in most of what she says. Her constant need to care for him counteracts in some respects the spoiled nature of her existence, though it also encourages her tendency to manage others and to think highly of her judgment. Finally, her consistent willingness to help him and invariable patience with his often aggravating ways reveal the fundamental goodness of her character, which her behavior in other spheres sometimes occludes from view.
29. Mr. Woodhouse’s statement serves as a reminder of the gap between the Woodhouses and the Westons, the family in Highbury closest to them in both wealth and social rank (though it is possible that his “three times” is an exaggeration).
30. Visiting a newly married couple, especially the bride, was standard etiquette.
31. “Randalls” is the name of the Weston house, a sign that, inferior as it may be to Hartfield, it still is large enough to have its own name.
32. put the horses to: harness the horses.
33. James is the coachman, who would drive and take care of the family carriage, and often the horses as well. James is probably a last rather than a first name, for a coachman was an upper servant and such servants were called by their last names as a sign of greater respect.
34. A housemaid was the most common of all servants; her main responsibility was cleaning the house, though she could perform other tasks. She was normally a lower servant, which is why they use her first name. Servants, who usually lived within the house, were discouraged from marrying and having children; if they did marry they generally left service. Outdoor servants, such as a coachman, constituted the main exception, since their residence was usually separate from the main house, and many employers believed that a family would make a servant more stable and less likely to leave.
35. Helping friends and relatives of one’s servants find a job, and helping one’s friends find servants, was standard practice among the wealthy. Emma and Mr. Woodhouse also show a typical upper-class paternalism in their concern for James and Hannah. At the same time, they assume as a matter of course that Hannah’s natural destiny is to be and remain a servant, just like her father. A few people in this society did manage to rise socially, but they were rare exceptions, and the general assumption was that it was both inevitable and good that most people remain at their original social level.
36. Servants would normally curtsy or offer other outward signs of respect when encountering their social superiors.
37. Needlework, ranging from basic sewing to fancy embroidery, was one of the most common activities of women of all classes. Emma may be hiring Hannah to perform occasional odd jobs; she is probably familiar with the servant’s work from the time she lived with her father, for poorer girls would usually start working to supplement the family income from early adolescence, and Hannah is likely to have either worked as a full-time maid or done intermittent work for them.
38. ideas: thoughts. The word then was used broadly, without the more abstract and intellectual connotation it has now.
39. backgammon: a board game in which each player must try to move pieces around and off the board by means of dice throws. It originated in England in the seventeenth century, deriving from earlier, related games, and by the eighteenth century it had become very popular. By 1810, however, an authority on the subject claimed that “of late years this pastime has become unfashionable” (Joseph Strutt, Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, p. 283). It is thus appropriate that this is the only reference to the game in Austen’s novels, and that an elderly man like Mr. Woodhouse should play it—later another elderly person, Mrs. Bates, is described as enjoying an evening of backgammon with him. Emma’s willingness to play probably results more from solicitude for her father than from her own interest.
40. backgammon-table: backgammon board. This usage was long-standing; most commonly each half of the board was called a table, and the ensemble was called the “tables.”
41. It is appropriate that Mr. Knightley is the other person besides Emma and her father to be introduced in the first chapter. He will be the most important person in the novel after Emma herself, thanks to his family connection with the Woodhouses, his leading position in the local community, and his consistent role as the voice of reason and morality. In fact, he is probably the most virtuous and wise of all the male characters in Jane Austen—she herself identified him as a particular favorite of hers. He is also one of the only characters in her works to have a symbolic name, with his last name signifying his chivalric qualities and his first name, George, being that of England’s patron saint, one identified particularly with knightly valor.
42. connections: relations.
43. Thus Mr. Knightley has not attended the wedding, even though he is good friends with both bride and groom. Nor has Emma’s sister from London, for whom the bride was also a longtime governess. This does not signify neglect or callousness, however, for at this time weddings among the wealthy were mostly quiet, private affairs, with little celebration and often a limited number of guests.
44. Brunswick Square is in London; for more, see note 33.
45. his: Mr. Woodhouse’s.
46. The use of “sir” is a sign of respect on Mr. Knightley’s part. The term was most often used when addressing older people or parents. Mr. Woodhouse consistently uses “Mr. Knightley,” the most common form of address.
47. great: large. This was the common meaning of the word then; “great” as a synonym for excellence had not come into usage yet except in certain contexts.
48. Mr. Knightley’s initial speeches give a good sense of the characteristics he will continue to display. He is straightforward, even when that means, as in this last comment, disagreeing with someone; at the same time, he is always polite and always respectful toward Mr. Woodhouse, despite the latter’s frequently exasperating qualities.
49. “My dear” and “my dearest” were frequently used when addressing family members or close friends. Most of Jane Austen’s letters begin with one of the two designations.
50. Mr. Knightley’s willingness to criticize or disagree with Emma appears throughout the novel and will have many important
consequences. Her first words to him in the novel display her keen awareness of this tendency of his, one that serves to counteract to some extent the worshipful attitude toward her of both her father and, to a lesser degree, Mrs. Weston.
51. thinks for: expects, supposes.
52. It is indeed greatly to her advantage. Marriage brought significant social and material benefits to a woman in this society. It raised significantly a woman’s social position, especially if she also had children. It provided her with a home of her own, for prevailing social rules did not usually permit single women to live on their own, and it gave her the opportunity to exercise real power within that home as mistress of the household, a power unavailable to women in virtually any other walk of life. Finally, it almost always raised her income and gave her financial security, since even if her husband died she would normally inherit enough to continue living decently (this is why Mr. Knightley refers in the next sentence to her being now “secure of a comfortable provision”). These benefits would be especially pronounced in the case of Mrs. Weston, who seems to have no family (none is ever mentioned) and whose need to work as a governess indicates she has no other source of support. If she remained single she could look forward only to either continued work as a governess, a job that offered limited freedom and pay, or a life of dependence on the charity of people like the Woodhouses.
53. Mrs. Weston’s “time of life” is never specified. But since governesses had to be adults, and she had been working for the Woodhouses for sixteen years, she is probably at least in her mid-thirties. This is well past the age when women usually married: by their late twenties women were considered to have lost their prime marital eligibility. Hers would be further diminished by the low status of governesses, her lack of a dowry, and the apparent absence of any family; moreover, though she is frequently praised during the novel for her goodness, she is never complimented on any personal beauty. All this adds to her good fortune in marrying a man both kind and wealthy.