The Annotated Emma

by Jane Austen

  A portrait of a woman (Lady Elizabeth Belgrave).

  [From Lawrence (Masters in Art) (Boston, 1907), p. 11]

  [List of Illustrations]

  VOLUME I, CHAPTER XVI

  1. Women’s hair was generally worn in curls then; many hairstyles involved a multitude of small curls encircling the head. The hair was curled by being wrapped around papers—in Jane Austen’s unfinished novel The Watsons, a girl is described “with her hair in papers.” Emma’s hair is being curled now so it can set during the night. For a contemporary portrait of a woman with curls, see previous page.

  2. Her maid would have been curling her hair. Wealthy women had a special ladies’ maid whose job was to help her mistress dress, take care of her clothes, and tend to her hair.

  3. With the maid gone, and Emma finally on her own, she can give vent to her feelings. The author has segued from the objective description of facts in the opening sentence to the mimicking of Emma’s own thoughts. Thus there is one short declarative sentence after another to convey how Emma is being overwhelmed with one acute regret after another and is unable for the moment even to articulate more complex thoughts.

  4. Hence Emma, while moved by wounded vanity, is even more moved by concern for her friend’s welfare.

  5. Mr. Elton does bear some responsibility, even if the principal culpability rests with Emma, for his unctuous professing of fine sentiments all around, and his attempt to win Emma’s favor by exhibiting high regard for Harriet, provided some sustenance for her delusion. A more sensible man, who spoke without affectation or pretense, would not have been so easily misunderstood.

  6. Mrs. Weston earlier praised Emma’s “hazel eye,” and an admirer of her beauty could easily have considered her eyes to be soft.

  7. Its failure, to Emma’s mind, to indicate clearly its object would be a failure of taste as well as truthfulness, since good taste dictated speaking or writing intelligibly.

  8. address: outward demeanor, especially in conversation.

  9. wanting: lacking.

  10. penetration: discernment, sagacity.

  11. Meaning imprudently, in a financial sense.

  12. assuming: presumptuous.

  13. The usual course would be that, flattered by being courted, one would develop more pleasant feelings toward the other person and be more likely to esteem him and to think he had good taste.

  14. devise: conceive, imagine.

  15. Subsequent events will confirm her surmise. But it also puts her earlier behavior in a worse light, for the whole basis of her hopes for Harriet rested on a belief that Mr. Elton was passionately in love and thus would disregard other considerations such as Harriet’s birth or lack of fortune. If his words and actions were as devoid of real love as she now says, she should have perceived that and adjusted her plans for her friend.

  16. This is an enormous fortune for a woman. In Austen’s novels only one other woman from the landowning class, Georgiana Darcy of Pride and Prejudice, has an equal fortune. The probable reason is that Emma and Isabella are the sole heirs of their father. Most landed families operated under an entail that bequeathed the bulk of the estate to the oldest son or, in the absence of sons, to another male relative, thereby ensuring that the estate would remain intact and in the family. But no such male heir is ever alluded to here.

  17. connection: family circumstances or ties.

  18. mind: inner qualities.

  19. Here Emma’s pride, as well as a general disapproval of Mr. Elton’s conduct, comes into play.

  20. This means that an ancestor was a younger son who did not inherit the family estate. The smaller inheritance he did receive, combined with money he or his descendants procured from professional activities or marriage, allowed the family to accumulate enough money to buy Hartfield, enabling them to live like landed gentry, but not enough to buy a true landed estate, which was very expensive. Instead their wealth lies elsewhere (see below). The lack of an estate would explain the lack of an entail (see above). The antiquity of the family would add to their status.

  21. Thus Mr. Knightley probably owns most of the land in and around Highbury. This would help explain his strong involvement with the affairs of the village, despite residing in the adjacent parish.

  22. The most likely other sources are investments, particularly in government bonds. They also could own property elsewhere.

  23. consequence: social rank or importance. Landed property was the most prestigious form of wealth, which means their overall importance is below Mr. Knightley’s, but other forms of wealth, as long as the possessor did not have to engage in business to enjoy it, still conferred great status.

  24. He would have received his appointment as vicar two years ago.

  25. alliances: family associations.

  26. This means he is not from a genteel background.

  27. His situation is his position as a clergyman, which confers considerable prestige and importance.

  28. dependence: basis of trust or confidence.

  29. Her raving may result partly from unacknowledged anger at her own inability to have perceived the conceit beneath his gentle manners.

  30. complaisant: civil, agreeable.

  31. delicacy: sensitivity to the feelings of others, or to what is appropriate and proper.

  32. Emma has finally attained greater objectivity and come to admit her error. As in some other Austen novels, this is a crucial development in her reformation. Ideally it should lead to a resolution of better conduct, and it does here to a certain extent.

  33. trick: clever or dexterous contrivance.

  34. Thus Emma is still willing only to acknowledge a partial error.

  35. She is probably thinking of Mr. Knightley’s statement to her: “You have been no friend to Harriet Smith” (see here); its importance to her mind is shown in her quoting it directly to herself later (see here).

  36. Later Mr. Cox (the name is spelled with no “e” elsewhere) is described as “the lawyer of Highbury.” William would be his son, which is why he is referred to by his first name rather than as a simple “Mr.”; sons usually followed their father’s trade when possible. He and his father are undoubtedly attorneys, rather than barristers like John Knightley, for the latter almost always resided in London. Attorneys, whose sole education for the law usually consisted of being apprenticed to another attorney for five years, could not try cases in court. They specialized in property transactions, sometimes also acting as bankers and financial advisers for the local community. Moreover, while the social prestige of attorneys had been rising over the past century, they were still not considered gentlemen. In Pride and Prejudice the heroine’s having a grandfather who was an attorney, and an uncle who still is one, is a blot on her socially, one that leads to disparaging remarks by others and hurts her marital chances. It is this, along with his alleged pertness, that makes Emma dismiss William Cox as a prospect for Harriet.

  37. eclat: public display or notice. She fears that the awkwardness of Harriet, Mr. Elton, or herself at future meetings could lead to others’ wondering what was wrong.

  38. The wording suggests that Emma’s distress did not deprive her of sleep.

  39. amiable: kind, good-natured.

  40. Emma’s low estimate of Harriet’s intellect leads to a low estimate of the strength of her feelings, one that will prove to be mistaken.

  41. She would see Mr. Elton at church, since he would conduct the service. He would also see her, since the leading local families usually sat in a prominent place in the church, often in their own separate box.

  42. In other words, she could remain confined to her own home with no dishonor, for the weather rather than her reluctance to face Mr. Elton or Harriet was keeping her there.

  43. Mr. Woodhouse’s worries about Mr. Elton and his health make him glad to think the latter is remaining at home.

  A woman at church.

  [From The Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c, Vol. IV (1810), p. 2
42]

  [List of Illustrations]

  VOLUME I, CHAPTER XVII

  1. A woman as completely wrapped up in her domestic duties and affections as Isabella is would be considered “a model of right feminine happiness” according to the standards of the day. How far Jane Austen would concur is not certain. On the one hand, since the principal object of the sentence is to ridicule Mr. Woodhouse’s laments for his daughter, the concluding phrase would not be meant in a primarily ironic fashion, for if it were, then Mr. Woodhouse’s laments would be justified. On the other hand, Jane Austen consistently shows a high regard for women with sharper intellects and greater force of character than Isabella, and would not consider the latter the best model for women. The line may simply be intended to put Mr. Woodhouse in an ironic light: since prevailing opinion would consider Isabella’s situation an excellent one, and Mr. Woodhouse never indicates any dissent from established opinion, his pity is completely misplaced.

  2. Bath was the most popular spa town in England at this time and probably the leading center of amusement, after London. It had boomed in the eighteenth century and became a center of fashionable society. By this time its popularity had declined a little, but many people still flocked there for its entertainments, its shops, its beautiful architecture, and its excellent opportunities for social life. Mr. Elton is going at an appropriate time, for its prime season, when the greatest possibilities of enjoyment existed, was the winter. Jane Austen lived in Bath for a number of years, and set approximately half of two of her novels there, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. It is also the only place in England aside from London that is mentioned in every one of her novels. For a contemporary map, see this page.

  3. Since he is simply going away for a short vacation, there is no need for him to communicate such an elaborate farewell, nor is there any reason to offer any grand expressions of gratitude for the ordinary social intercourse he maintained with the Woodhouses. He may hope that the contrast between his excessive ceremony and his deliberate snubbing of Emma will make the snub even more pointed for her.

  4. Her other complaint being her infatuation with Mr. Elton.

  5. Meaning the one preferred by Mr. Elton, which could naturally arouse jealousy and resentment.

  6. attaching: likely to attract or attach someone.

  7. artless: natural, sincere, not designed for effect.

  8. understanding: mind, intellect.

  9. Some currents of thought at the time celebrated natural simplicity and purity of heart as superior to sophistication, and by that standard Harriet could have the advantage over Emma. Moreover, since Emma is feeling shame at the pain she has caused her friend, Harriet’s refusal to blame Emma only increases the latter’s censure of herself.

  10. genius: natural talent.

  11. Clearly Jane Austen herself does not idealize the simplicity of someone like Harriet.

  12. Thus Emma’s reflections on Harriet have at least served the useful function of checking her pride and encouraging resolutions to cease interfering in others’ lives, though these resolutions will not always be upheld.

  13. indifferent: mediocre.

  14. These matters are the recovery of a broken heart, which Emma has not felt. Emma still does not pause to reflect on whether someone with her inexperience in matters of love should have undertaken the task of guiding another person’s love life.

  15. Emma projects her own ability to rebound quickly from disappointment onto Harriet, just as above she projected mistakenly her own perception of the strangeness of Mr. Elton’s leave-taking onto her father.

  16. People in this society tended to be fixed geographically, and the three people in question here are particularly so. Emma is bound by her father, Harriet by her lack of any home or known friends and family, and Mr. Elton by his clerical position. Such positions were difficult to procure, especially for someone like Mr. Elton with no family connections to the landed gentry who controlled most of them.

  17. great: big, i.e., older.

  18. Meaning truths that would repel her affections from Mr. Elton.

  19. in the way of: likely to attain or progressing toward.

  A woman in morning dress. This would be worn when at home during the day.

  [From The Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c, Vol. XIV (1815), p. 304]

  [List of Illustrations]

  VOLUME I, CHAPTER XVIII

  1. This chapter, the last of Volume I, marks the transition to new story lines and the prominence of new characters.

  2. was to: was likely to.

  3. Her sudden loss of interest in Frank Churchill due to other distresses is notable after she had been excitedly speculating on an attraction between them.

  4. Gala days were days of special festivities.

  5. See the debate between Emma and Mrs. Weston on this page.

  6. Mr. Knightley will continue to express a critical opinion of Frank Churchill, and an aloof attitude when he does come. The criticism he is now offering may be in part a reaction to Emma’s enthusiastic description above of the joys she expects he will bring to Highbury.

  7. connections: relations.

  8. luxurious: given to luxury and self-indulgence.

  9. Emma has said that he is twenty-three; see here.

  10. watering-place: a spa town or seaside resort. Both are places where people would go for the waters, and these two sorts of town were the leading vacation and pleasure destinations in England at the time.

  11. Weymouth was a popular seaside resort (see note 43). Mr. Knightley’s own busy and productive life would incline him to look down on men who spend much of their time at pleasure resorts.

  12. As a woman, and as a younger person, Emma would have a greater appreciation of the position of someone in a state of dependence and constraint.

  13. finessing: using artifice or stratagems.

  14. Mr. Knightley consistently advocates this sort of vigor and forthrightness, and practices it himself.

  15. Decisiveness was considered an important masculine quality.

  16. Emma touches on a crucial point. Frank Churchill was effectively adopted by his uncle and aunt and made the heir to their wealthy estate. But, unlike actual sons whose inheritance is secured by a legally binding entail, Frank’s inheritance depends on the continued good favor of his uncle and aunt, who always have the power to change their will. This gives him a powerful incentive to do nothing to displease them.

  17. fix his interest stronger: establish a firmer influence.

  18. shifts: contrivances, evasions.

  19. He especially owes a visit now because of his father’s marriage.

  20. meanly: shabbily, small-mindedly.

  21. In fact, Mr. Weston will frequently show himself to be undiscerning about other people.

  22. Mr. Knightley exhibits a continual distaste—“disgust” had a weaker meaning then—for rhetorical flourishes and fancy show.

  23. He will express this principle elsewhere, namely, that one owes a greater obligation to those in weaker positions, such as Mrs. Weston, who comes from a humble background.

  24. behind-hand: backward, tardy.

  25. Mr. Knightley’s concluding words represent a play on the word “amiable,” in response to Emma’s above description of him as an “amiable young man.” He contrasts “amiable” as truly kind and benevolent, the meaning the term had possessed for centuries and still had frequently in this time, with the more recent meaning of outwardly agreeable, which had arisen only during the eighteenth century (and which eventually would replace the earlier meaning), and suggests that Frank possesses only the latter quality. He also associates the second meaning of “amiable” with the very similar French word “aimable” (“kind” or, at that time, “lovable”) in order to associate Frank with what he sees as a particularly French form of superficial charm. Stereotypes of the French, usually negative, abounded in England then, and the long war raging between Britain and France only exacerbated such
feelings. A common stereotype was of the French as a people devoted to gallantry and fine words and display, whose pleasing externals and elaborate courtesy concealed a lack of the solid moral virtues of the English.

  26. plausible: ingratiating, agreeable.

  27. fine: handsome.

  28. nice: particular, choosy.

  29. These words indicate one reason for Emma’s different opinion. Unlike Mr. Knightley, her time is not heavily occupied; hence the novelty of a new sensation to excite interest holds a greater charm for her.

  30. conversible: prone to or worthy of conversation.

  31. coxcomb: fop. The term was fairly popular then, applied especially to fashionable but foolish men who were inclined to show off.

  32. Mr. Knightley’s asperity has gradually grown over the course of the exchange. It is one of the only times in the novel when he loses his calm, even if slightly. Emma’s increasingly extravagant enthusiasm for Frank Churchill and his arrival are clearly helping to provoke him.

  33. Britain had regular campaigns for parliamentary seats, which meant that those hoping to get elected had to engage in flattery and wheedling, thereby contributing to the stereotype Mr. Knightley cites. His dislike of politicians may reflect partly his social position, for there was a long tradition of country gentlemen like himself being suspicious of the maneuvers of the government and court in London. For a picture of the House of Commons, the principal governing body in Britain, see the following page.

  34. puppy: vain, empty-headed, overly familiar young man. Similar to fop or coxcomb.

  35. Both participants in this exchange are suffering from some lack of self-awareness. Mr. Knightley cannot perceive that he is expressing a pointed dislike of a man he has not even met, and Emma cannot perceive that some of Mr. Knightley’s words are in reaction to hers.