The Annotated Emma

by Jane Austen

  27. Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) was one of the most popular English novels of the time; for a contemporary illustration from the book showing the title character, see this page. It is a sentimental tale that celebrates rural life and humble virtues. Its most famous passage is cited later (see here).

  28. The Romance of the Forest (1791), by Ann Radcliffe, and The Children of the Abbey (1796), by Regina Maria Roche, were Gothic novels about beautiful, virtuous young girls beset by various terrors and tribulations. Such novels became extremely popular in the 1790s and were satirized in Northanger Abbey, which Austen wrote in 1798–1799 and which focused particularly on another novel by Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). Harriet, with her unknown parentage, may have a particular reason for liking these two novels, since they both involve heroines deprived of their rightful wealthy inheritance who are eventually rescued and vindicated.

  29. Kingston is a small town in northern Surrey (see map). Mr. Martin undoubtedly sells products there and possibly engages in other business.

  30. Going on horseback, as Harriet said he did, would signal greater wealth, though not as much as someone’s owning a carriage. By saying “on horseback or on foot,” Emma is associating him with those who are poorer.

  31. The yeomanry, or yeomen, were traditionally those who owned and farmed a small property. This placed them below gentlemen and above landless laborers. The term could also apply to others in the same middle rank in society, respectable but not genteel. This is how the term is used here, for Mr. Martin rents land from Mr. Knightley (and is never mentioned as owning any). A man who rents farmland was the principal definition of “farmer” then. English rural society was characterized by three principal classes: large landowners, who by this time possessed most of the land in England; farmers, who rented considerable parcels from the first group (while sometimes also possessing small plots of their own) and sold what they produced; and laborers with no property who worked for the farmers (for pictures of rural laborers, see this page). The Martins, despite being only or primarily renters, have been able to prosper and accumulate livestock, and live fairly well.

  32. Charity to the poor was a basic activity of the wealthy, especially wealthy women. This charity was usually extended only to those considered the deserving poor, meaning either those who worked and still did not earn enough or those who could not work from disability or lack of opportunities. This is why Emma speaks of the need for a recipient to have a creditable appearance.

  33. beforehand with the world: in possession of more money than he needs for current expenses.

  34. Generally a rented farm was passed down from father to son, for the owner preferred family continuity.

  35. afloat: in circulation.

  36. This could mean his livestock or other aspects of his farm.

  37. An indoors man would be an indoor male servant—Robert Martin probably has an outdoor man, such as a gardener, as well as men working on his farm. An indoor male servant was a sign of prestige, for male servants were considerably more expensive than female ones, due to much higher wages along with a tax on male servants. Families unable to afford such a servant would sometimes hire a boy, who could perform many of the functions of a man but would be much cheaper.

  38. Emma says “Harriet,” while Harriet calls her “Miss Woodhouse.” This asymmetry will persist throughout the novel, a testament to Emma’s social superiority. Harriet will never challenge or question it, and Emma will never think of altering it by permitting Harriet to call her by her first name, as she could do.

  39. It is not clear how superior their education really was to Robert Martin’s: he is the one who reads to the family, and Mrs. Goddard’s school was not described as offering anything special. But since their education was the same as Harriet’s, Emma needs to affirm its high quality.

  40. notice: acknowledge—as someone worthy of being befriended.

  41. The abandoned or disinherited child who turns out to be the son or daughter of a wealthy man was a common fictional convention. The novels cited by Harriet above are one example; another is the title character in what was probably the most renowned of all eighteenth-century novels, Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones. Emma’s active imagination makes her turn naturally to such romantic scenarios.

  42. People generally avoided friendship or close association with social inferiors, in part from fear that it could lower their own status.

  43. It is appropriate that Harriet, in speaking of her lack of superior education, uses the ungrammatical “as me,” just after saying above “what had had some education.”

  44. manner: good or polished manners or deportment.

  The Vicar of Wakefield.

  [From Joseph Grego, Rowlandson the Caricaturist Vol. II (London, 1880), p. 356]

  [List of Illustrations]

  45. clownish: rough, awkward, boorish. “Clown” originally meant a peasant or rustic person. The term was also applied to someone with the crude manners associated with such persons, and eventually to a comic actor or entertainer who exhibited such manners. Many of Shakespeare’s plays have one or more lower-class characters identified as “clown,” not all of whom are idiotic or buffoonish.

  46. air: stylish or impressive manner.

  47. well bred: polite, courteous.

  48. A modulated voice was considered a mark of a refined or genteel person, while loud and clanging tones denoted vulgarity.

  49. These would also be marks of a gentleman. Books advising people on the basics of polite or cultivated behavior often included detailed recommendations on the best ways to move or stand or deport oneself; one argument in favor of dancing, which was commonly taught to young people, was that it helped people move or hold themselves in a more becoming manner. Such books also praised discretion in speech, and an ability to hold one’s tongue.

  A contemporary picture of a shepherd and sheep.

  [From Sir Walter Gilbey and E. D. Cuming, George Morland: His Life and Works (London, 1907), p. 196]

  [List of Illustrations]

  50. In dismissing Robert Martin due to his focus on the marketplace and attempt to thrive, Emma is not arguing that such behavior is wrong. Prevailing opinion in this society accepted that people, especially those not already wealthy, would strive to make money; many writers also praised commerce and those practicing it for adding to the wealth and power of the country. But such activities, however necessary, were still considered to be less valuable than others, such as religious devotion, public service, or the cultivation of moral and cultural refinement. The secure wealth and social position of landed gentlemen, and those connected with them, was believed to free them from constant concern with profit and loss and thereby allow them to devote themselves to such higher pursuits and to cultivate higher virtues. Hence they would be ideally suited to running the government and other institutions, while they could also set an example of superior behavior for all to emulate.

  51. illiterate: uneducated.

  52. Because age conferred greater authority, a commanding manner would be more acceptable in an older person. Mr. Knightley’s high social rank further justifies such a manner—this is what Emma means in her reference to his “situation in life.”

  53. Mr. Elton’s behavior toward Emma and Harriet, which will shortly be on full display, supports Emma’s comment on his recent gentleness. It is her interpretation of this change, given in the next lines, that will be tested in the upcoming chapters.

  54. Subsequent conversations will show her drawing praise of Harriet from Mr. Elton; her need to solicit it never makes her doubt her assumption that Harriet is the one he seeks and courts.

  55. Emma’s already fixing on a specific man for Harriet, rather than simply planning to introduce her to various men and see what develops, indicates her confidence in her matchmaking. One possible reason is that the match she considers her previous triumph, that of Mr. and Mrs. Weston, also involved a woman with no fortune being courted by a muc
h wealthier man.

  56. One reason they might predict this, assuming they shared Emma’s high opinion of Harriet’s status, is that those depicted in Austen’s novels, the rural gentry and others at the top of the village hierarchy, have limited marriage opportunities. They socialized with and looked for mates only among others of the same class, and in a normal rural locale such people would rarely be great in number. The slowness and roughness of travel also meant they could not venture far afield for regular activities and acquaintances, and so young unmarried people would have few options.

  57. low connections: socially low family connections.

  58. A later passage suggests that Mr. Elton has some family links with trade (see here), though the exact nature is never specified. This would put his family on a lower level than truly genteel ones such as the Knightleys and the Woodhouses, and this is why, in Emma’s mind, they could have no objection to Harriet.

  59. The vicarage’s not being large means the vicar’s income was not large. It was not unusual for clergy to have additional property or sources of income.

  60. respectable: worthy of respect. In this case the word “respectable,” unlike on this page (see accompanying note), is not being contrasted with gentility. This more general usage of the term is also found frequently in Austen’s novels.

  61. Emma never supposes that Harriet’s gratification might stem more from her feelings for Robert Martin than from the service itself.

  Rural laborers.

  [From John Ashton, Social England under the Regency, Vol. II (London, 1899), pp. 365 and 367]

  [List of Illustrations]

  VOLUME I, CHAPTER V

  1. This chapter is the only one in the novel in which Emma is absent. It still centers around her, for she is the sole subject of the exchange that comprises it. But now, instead of seeing her presented through action and speech or through authorial commentary, we hear the two people who know and understand her best offer their evaluations, thereby providing an additional perspective. This is the only time Jane Austen ever uses such a technique on this scale for a main character. One probable reason is that Emma is the most flawed of all these characters, which makes those who know and love her more likely to criticize or worry about her; another is that she is arguably the most complex and multifaceted of all Austen heroines, which makes her especially suited to being exhaustively examined and presented from a variety of perspectives.

  2. That they have argued before about Emma suggests their long-standing differences about her and mutual concern for her, as well as the likelihood that she has exhibited previously the characteristics at issue here.

  3. am come: have come. English in earlier centuries often formed the past tense with “to be” rather than “to have.” This usage was fading by this time but had not disappeared.

  4. Since Mr. Weston always shows an easygoing attitude toward everybody, and never offers critical words about any of his friends, his agreement does not testify to much.

  5. The hero of Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy, declares that the highest mark of an accomplished woman is “the improvement of her mind through extensive reading.” This opinion was also expressed by those writing at the time on female education and conduct; many such writers would offer detailed suggestions on the type of books that should be chosen. Mr. Knightley is later described as being a frequent reader himself.

  6. This signals both Emma’s precociousness and Mr. Knightley’s strong and long-standing interest in her.

  7. Emma’s failings in this regard put in ironic perspective her censure of Robert Martin for his limited reading, especially since the latter has much less leisure for books.

  8. understanding: intellect.

  9. His pause could testify to his strong feelings on the subject, for as much as he obviously likes and esteems Mrs. Weston, her indulgence of Emma may have long been a source of distress or worry to him. It also could result from his contemplation of how he will formulate his next words: he always speaks honestly and openly, while also showing politeness and a great respect for others’ feelings, and in this case his true opinions are ones very critical of the person he is addressing.

  10. This suggests the sisters were seven years apart and that Isabella married at nineteen (see next note). His identification of such cleverness as a misfortune rather than an advantage echoes the narrator’s opening description of the disadvantages Emma suffers from having too much power and self-regard.

  11. This would have occurred when Isabella married, thereby making Emma the oldest female of the family and its official mistress. At the outset Emma is said to have “lived nearly twenty-one years,” i.e., to be twenty, while the state of equal friendship between Emma and Miss Taylor that “soon followed Isabella’s marriage” lasted seven years (see here). Assuming that “soon followed” meant a sufficient interval to add another year, twelve would be right.

  12. situation: position (as governess).

  13. Prevailing views of marriage stressed the primacy of the husband and the need for a wife to submit her will. At the same time, husbands were encouraged to consult their wives and respect their opinions; other sources, as well as Austen’s novels, indicate that in most marriages there was mutual, even if not completely equal, give and take, so Mr. Knightley’s words probably include some deliberate exaggeration.

  14. Mr. Knightley simply says “Weston”; he will later say “Elton” (see here). Men in Austen’s novels often use only the surname when speaking of or to other men they know well.

  15. wantonness of comfort: arrogance or insolence resulting from being too comfortable and prosperous.

  16. By “that quarter” she appears to mean Mr. Weston’s son, and to have been worrying about this already. She shows herself throughout the novel to be a worrier, while the failure of this son ever to visit his father gives her grounds for anxiety.

  17. genius: natural talent. The word did not have the connotation of extreme talent or brilliance that it has now.

  18. In fact, Mr. Knightley will prove consistently to be more accurate than Emma in foreseeing things, in part because he is more careful and less inclined to jump to conclusions and engage in fanciful speculations.

  19. put her out of conceit: make her no longer pleased or satisfied.

  20. The use of “doctrines” suggests Emma has formulated a set of general precepts and expressed them to Mr. Knightley. One of the heroines of Sense and Sensibility, Marianne Dashwood, holds strongly to a set of strong abstract doctrines that end up creating great trouble for herself and others.

  21. Mr. Knightley’s words contrast him to Emma, whose imagination roams and shapes her actions so powerfully.

  22. brilliant: sparkling.

  23. “Bloom” was frequently used when discussing women’s appearance, referring to the period when she is at the height of her beauty.

  24. For more on the ideal of a good median for size, see note 30.

  25. The heroines in Jane Austen’s novels are consistently attractive but not vain about their appearance.

  A young woman distracted while reading.

  [From The Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c, Vol. XIII (1815), p. 119]

  [List of Illustrations]

  26. Mrs. Weston’s pronounced tentativeness in offering advice, even in a frank conversation with an affectionate friend, suggests how lax an authority she was as governess, as Mr. Knightley has just been affirming.

  27. Mrs. John Knightley: Isabella. Since John is the younger brother, he is always called “Mr. John Knightley” and his wife called after him, even though there is no senior Mrs. Knightley from whom she needs to be distinguished.

  28. A final testament to Mr. Knightley’s concern, especially considering his closer familial relationship to Isabella than to Emma. His, and Mrs. Weston’s, affection for Emma also furnishes proof of the latter’s underlying good qualities, even with the faults she displays over the course of the novel.

  29. This statement foresh
adows one of the most important developments in the novel.

  30. This statement also foreshadows one of the main difficulties that will arise once the issue of Emma’s marriage becomes more concrete.

  31. The implication, confirmed later, is that Mr. and Mrs. Weston harbor hopes for a marriage between Emma and Frank Churchill. They are close in age, have a similar social rank, and are seemingly free from other attachments.

  32. Talk of the weather is often part of ordinary conversation. It was a particular object of concern in this society, due to the influence of weather on agriculture, the overwhelming source of the community’s livelihood, and to people’s lesser ability to shield themselves from the effects of bad weather, especially when traveling. Also, with no reliable weather forecasts available (though some people did make use of barometers, and meteorological charts existed—see this page), canvassing others’ opinions would be a means of formulating some guess.

  VOLUME I, CHAPTER VI

  1. That Emma is working on Harriet’s vanity and that the latter’s affections prove so malleable portend possible problems with Emma’s project.

  2. in the fairest way of: in the greatest likelihood of.

  3. scruple: doubt, uncertainty.

  4. easy: free from awkwardness and embarrassment.

  5. artlessness: guilelessness, naturalness; the term is often used as one of praise in Austen’s novels.

  6. Ideals of male courtesy and gallantry counseled against saying anything unpleasant or contrary to a lady. Such a course was far from universally practiced; Mr. Knightley shows himself consistently willing to contradict and criticize women, including Emma. But Mr. Elton is devoted to such gallantry, especially toward Emma. His insistence that Emma’s contributions to Harriet’s attractions exceed Harriet’s own represents a significant hint of his real feelings, a hint that Emma ignores.

  7. decision: firmness, resolution.