The Annotated Emma

by Jane Austen

  37. hands: individual styles of handwriting.

  38. By this time the post office was an elaborate service reaching throughout England, one operating with a high degree of speed and efficiency. Characters in Austen’s novels normally receive letters the day after they are mailed if they are not being sent to a distant part of England; within London, where Jane normally resides, mail was delivered multiple times during each day, and a letter could reach its recipient the same day it was sent. For a picture of clerks sorting letters in the central London post office, see this page.

  39. Meaning the same writing master, who would be hired by the family to teach the children.

  40. While handwriting could also be taught to boys, it was stressed for girls as an important accomplishment.

  41. Mr. Knightley indicates his preference, expressed on other occasions.

  42. Mrs. Weston may have taught handwriting to both Isabella and Emma.

  43. Mrs. Weston earlier showed a letter of Frank’s to Emma (this page).

  44. She had already promised Frank to correspond with him regularly (this page).

  45. The writing desk would include drawers and possibly other compartments for storing letters. For a picture of a contemporary one, see below.

  A writing desk.

  [From The Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c, Vol. III (1810), p. 56]

  [List of Illustrations]

  46. He presumably was writing to Emma for his own purposes but claimed it was on behalf of Mrs. Weston. This would allow him to avoid any suggestion of impropriety, for a single man was not supposed to write to a single woman unless they were engaged.

  47. dining-parlour: dining room. “Parlour” was often used in this fashion to help designate particular rooms.

  48. Her readiness and her saying this before Mr. Woodhouse makes his request belie her words of reluctance. She is leading the way according to rules of precedence that determined how people proceeded into dinner. Her status as a recent bride makes her the preeminent woman, while Mr. Woodhouse, the host, is the corresponding man who will escort her.

  49. This represents a new stage in Emma’s suspicions. Before she imagined affection between Jane Fairfax and Mr. Dixon, but also a determination on Jane’s part to avoid anything wrong by staying away from Mr. Dixon. Now she guesses Jane’s complicity in the guilty connection. It is an ironic conclusion to her resolution, in inviting Jane to dinner, to show her more kindness and attention than she had hitherto—though at least, as the next sentence indicates, she avoids saying anything unkind.

  50. Ireland had a postal service similar to the one in England. It had originally been managed by the English postal service, but in 1784 it was made separate, and continued to be so even after the political union of Britain and Ireland in 1801. Like England’s, it had experienced a significant increase in postal rates in the early 1800s, so that by the time of this novel the total expense of a letter between England and Ireland, including the domestic cost for each country as well as the cost of the packet boat carrying it across the sea, was considerable. The length of the journey also would have made a letter to or from Ireland much less expeditious than one within England, which would be Emma’s basis of comparison. During 1813, the year before this novel was written, the delivery time lengthened further due to a dispute between the English and Irish postal services over the division of revenues from the packet boats, which caused Ireland to transfer its letters to slower, alternative boats for a while.

  VOLUME II, CHAPTER XVII

  1. The half whisper helps Mrs. Elton maintain an atmosphere of secrecy and exclusion.

  2. first: best.

  3. family: household.

  4. The schoolroom is the room in the house set aside for the governess to teach the children. Wax candles would be a luxury there. The most common candles then were tallow (animal fat) candles. Beeswax candles were greatly preferred because they smoked less, did not produce the unpleasant odor of tallow, and provided more light, but they cost much more.

  5. town: London.

  6. eligible: suitable, desirable.

  7. fling at: passing scoff or attack directed toward.

  8. Mrs. Elton here alludes to one of the leading political issues of the time. Britain, like other European nations, had long had colonies in the Americas with a substantial slave population, and its merchants had engaged in a continual trade in slaves from Africa to supply those colonies. During the eighteenth century slavery had come under greater criticism, due both to new ideas stressing natural liberty and the rights of man and to a rising evangelical Christian movement in the later part of the century that increasingly turned its attention to fighting slavery. In the 1780s a major political movement arose dedicated to abolishing the slave trade (the leaders of the movement also wished to abolish slavery itself but decided it was more practical to focus initially on the slave trade). Its rapid growth led to abolitionist bills becoming a major item on the parliamentary agenda in the early 1790s, and though the impetus behind abolition was slowed somewhat by the French Revolution and fears of similar revolutionary activity at home, eventually the slave trade was abolished in Britain in 1807, eight years before the publication of this novel.

  Mrs. Elton’s allusion would also be grasped by any listener, for the campaign for abolition, and the continuing controversies surrounding it, had succeeded in arousing significant awareness of the issue. Central to the campaign was the formation of local committees throughout Britain, and the preparation of petitions to send to Parliament. These petitions attracted massive support, with four hundred thousand people (out of a total British population of around ten million) signing them in 1792. A further spur to general awareness was the organization of a widespread boycott of sugar from the West Indies, the sugar plantations there being the main place where slaves were employed in the British colonies. Numerous attacks on slavery and the slave trade appeared in writings of the time, in paintings and political cartoons, and even in popular medallions issued by the leading porcelain manufacturer, Wedgwood. All this had solidified a strong national consensus on the moral evil of the trade, with defenses of it resting on its supposed economic benefits to Britain.

  In wondering if Jane Fairfax was attacking the slave trade, and hastening to assure her that she and her family were partisans of the morally correct cause, Mrs. Elton may be reflecting the sensitivity on the subject of someone from Bristol. It had long been the city most associated with the trade, and mercantile interests from Bristol played a prominent role in the opposition to abolition. At the same time, many people from Bristol supported abolition, in some cases because of revulsion at what they had seen while serving on a slave ship, and this opinion eventually became the dominant one. Mr. Suckling may have had his own additional reason for adopting this position: Mrs. Elton indicates he or his father only recently purchased their estate of Maple Grove, and if, like his wife’s family, his family were originally Bristol merchants, taking a position contrary to the interests of such merchants could strengthen his claim to be a true country gentleman now (see here and note 31).

  As for Jane Austen’s own attitudes, a letter to her sister suggests strong sympathy with the abolitionist cause. In it she praises highly a book she has been reading and declares, “I am as much in love with the Author as I ever was with Clarkson or Buchanan” (Jan. 24, 1813)—the idea of her falling in love with, and even considering marriage with, favorite male authors was a long-standing joke between her and her sister. Clarkson would be Thomas Clarkson, one of Britain’s leading abolitionists and the author of The History of the Rise, Progress, and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade by the British Parliament (1808), a lengthy account and celebration of the struggle he helped lead. (The Buchanan mentioned is probably the author of an account of his missionary activity in India.) Her naval brother Francis expresses similar sentiments, which he could easily have shared with Jane: in 1807, when the ship he captained sailed to St. Helena, the fut
ure home of Napoleon, he commented in his notebook on slavery there, saying it was not as harsh as slavery in the West Indies before adding, “But slavery however much it may be modified is still slavery, and it is much to be regretted that any trace of it should be found to exist in countries dependent on England, or colonised by her subjects” (quoted in John H. Hubback, Jane Austen’s Sailor Brothers, p. 192).

  9. The principal means for governesses to obtain employment, if they could not procure it by a personal connection, was to advertise their services in the newspaper. By offices Jane Fairfax may mean the places where advertisements are submitted and ordered.

  Jane Austen expresses sympathy for the lot of governesses: in a letter about a new governess for her nieces, she writes, “By this time I suppose she is hard at it, governing away—poor creature! I pity her, tho’ they are my nieces” (April 30, 1811). But this does not mean she believes governesses suffer as much misery as slaves: Jane Fairfax’s comparison results from her despondency about what she is about to suffer herself.

  10. Musical skill and knowledge were important qualifications for a governess. Playing the harp as well as the piano (the latter would be assumed) would increase her value: the harp was the most popular instrument after the piano for girls to learn. A trained singing voice, though not as valuable a supplement as the harp, would still add to her suitability as a musical teacher.

  At the same time, almost no governess would enjoy the privileges Mrs. Elton cites. She would have a bedroom, but even members of a family would not normally have much beyond that for purely personal use. In addition, families rarely mixed with the governess, in part because they did not wish her to forget her subordinate place. In the great majority of cases she would spend most of her time with the children, and be alone otherwise. Mrs. Elton exaggerates the benefits of a potential position in order to enhance her beneficence in procuring one.

  11. “Beau” usually meant a male sweetheart or lover; Mrs. Elton uses it to suggest that Mr. Woodhouse is paying special court to her. The only characters in Austen’s novels who ever use the word are vulgar or affected ones.

  12. Earlier, at Mrs. Weston’s party, Mr. Woodhouse also left the other men in the dining room and joined the ladies in the drawing room, since he disliked “sitting long after dinner” (see here).

  13. This period witnessed some relaxation in formality of manners, and thus greater ease, compared with earlier times. Mrs. Elton’s strictures are ironic, considering that Emma identified an excess of ease as her strongest fault upon first meeting her (see here).

  14. Mrs. Elton again employs this formerly fashionable Italian expression (see note 57). Earlier she used the feminine adjective with the masculine noun; now, with “cara sposa,” both words are feminine, which means she is actually saying “dear wife.”

  15. over-trimmed: overly decorated. Gowns were often adorned with a variety of trimmings, including ribbons, beads, or embroidery.

  16. natural: normal.

  17. poplin: gown made of poplin, a material of interwoven silk and worsted wool. In a letter Jane Austen mentions buying a poplin as a gift and speaks of it as an expensive present (Sept. 23, 1813). Thus Mrs. Elton’s wearing of this material, and her thought of adding trimmings to it, underlines the falsity of her professed horror of finery.

  18. He finished his dinner after those at the party had already finished theirs and had been sitting awhile and talking in the drawing room. The Woodhouses, who normally eat dinner early, have probably served the meal later than usual because it is a dinner party; the beginning of the party showed everyone gathering in the drawing room before eating in order to converse for a while.

  19. He feared another person at dinner, but now, with no issue of space around the dining table or noise at the meal, he is glad to see an old friend.

  20. mixed company: company of varying characters and social backgrounds. The term was usually pejorative, and probably reflects John Knightley’s hostile astonishment at Mr. Weston’s action more than any real inclination to condemn those gathered here.

  21. abroad: among people in general, outside the family.

  22. black gentleman: devil. His dislike of Mrs. Churchill would make this analogy come naturally to him.

  23. He has enough sense of manners to know that it would not do to occupy everyone’s attention at a party with their private letter and concerns, but not enough to avoid proceeding shortly to do that very thing.

  A young woman with sheet music.

  [From The Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c, Vol. X (1813), p. 242]

  [List of Illustrations]

  24. Mr. Knightley is not delighted because of his dislike of Frank Churchill, as well as for another reason that will eventually become apparent, while Mr. Woodhouse is probably not delighted from fear of the mishaps that might occur to the visitor on his journey. Mr. Woodhouse may also be influenced by critical feelings toward Frank—he called him “a very thoughtless young man”—and by anxiety that Frank’s return will revive the plans for having a ball.

  25. Emma is the first entitled, along with Mrs. Weston, because of her closeness to the latter and because of Mr. Weston’s hope for a marriage between her and his son.

  A fancy gown with trimmings, such as Mrs. Elton might wear.

  [From The Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c, Vol. X (1813), p. 52]

  [List of Illustrations]

  VOLUME II, CHAPTER XVIII

  1. Recent weather records show only modest differences in temperature between low-lying areas of Yorkshire, in northeast England, and the southeast, which includes London and Surrey, with Yorkshire being cooler than the southeast by around one to two degrees Celsius. Yorkshire does, however, contain mountainous areas, unlike the southeast, and those can be significantly cooler. The location of Enscombe is never indicated, though usually grand country houses were in relatively low-lying locations that had richer agricultural land, the principal foundation of the wealth of such estates. Mrs. Churchill may be simply assuming, more than is warranted, that London will be much warmer because it is almost two hundred miles to the south; her large country house, like many such, may also be cold and drafty.

  Travelers suffering from damp sheets at an inn.

  [From Joseph Grego, Rowlandson the Caricaturist (London, 1880), Vol. I, p. 293]

  [List of Illustrations]

  2. As always, Jane Austen is accurate on distances. York, in the center of Yorkshire (a large county), was almost 200 miles from London by roads of the time. Bristol, near Maple Grove, was 115 to 120 miles from London, depending on which route one took, which would make Maple Grove a little farther away.

  3. People normally used two horses to pull a chaise, the most popular traveling vehicle. Four horses allowed for greater speed—ten miles an hour instead of seven to eight miles—but were more expensive. With four horses one could go between London and the Bristol area in a long day, as a character in Sense and Sensibility, Mr. Willoughby, does at one point. Mrs. Elton mentions this in order to boast of her brother-in-law’s traveling with four horses, something few people in Austen’s novels do.

  4. A conservatory was a room or structure attached to the house that was dominated by very large windows, similar to a greenhouse, and in which plants grew. It had become popular in the late eighteenth century with the increasing interest in linking more closely the garden and the house and bringing plants and flowers inside. An invalid might wish to go into the conservatory as a place for soothing relaxation and one whose windows and plants made it warmer. Having one indicated considerable wealth because a punitive excise duty made glass very expensive. For pictures of conservatories, see this page and this page.

  5. Mr. Weston, who is consistently sarcastic about Mrs. Churchill’s claims of poor health, is incredulous that someone truly ill would be willing to travel such a long distance so quickly, for it would mean spending many hours each day on the road, and carriage rides could be very rough. In a lett
er Jane Austen recounts how ill her mother became at the end of a three-day journey, one much shorter in distance than the trip discussed here (Oct. 27, 1798).

  6. Her proclamation of solidarity with her own sex contrasts with her earlier talk, repeated later, of deference to her lord and master. Both positions, however, draw attention to herself.

  7. nicety: delicacy, fastidiousness.

  8. Inns on the road could vary greatly in quality and comfort, and taking one’s own sheets was a precaution taken by some travelers. For a contemporary picture of travelers suffering from wet sheets at an inn, see previous page.

  9. “Fine lady” could mean a lady of very high rank, and Mrs. Elton may wish to disclaim a boast of that, since she knows that, even with all her pretensions, she and her sister are not on the same social level as someone like Mrs. Churchill and she would look foolish in appearing to suggest so.

  10. want of spirit: lack of pluck or vigor or assertiveness.

  11. Of course, Mr. Weston spends much of this conversation, and others, speaking ill of Mrs. Churchill.

  12. Clifton, sometimes called Bristol Hotwell, was a town immediately adjacent to Bristol (by now it has become absorbed into the city) that had developed into a popular spa town in the eighteenth century thanks to its hot springs, as well as the beauty of the spectacular river gorge it overlooked and its proximity to Bath. In Northanger Abbey several characters staying in Bath travel to Clifton for the day, and Jane Austen lived there for a brief period.

  13. A plantation was a wood of planted trees. Many landlords fostered plantations on their land, for purposes that included growing timber, which could be very profitable, enhancing the beauty of the property, and shielding the grounds from those outside. Mrs. Elton’s description, and the plantation’s going all around the property, indicate this last goal was an important one here.