by Jane Austen
36. This could mean the one or two rooms are especially attractive, or especially large, or both. Because it is an old building, its owners over the years have improved it by adding or altering sections, which means it no longer has a regular structure or appearance. This is also true of Northanger Abbey in the novel by that name.
37. In other words, it does not attempt to disguise its antiquity and therefore its deviation from contemporary tastes in architecture. In this respect, it fits the sincerity and lack of pretension of the owner.
38. understanding: intelligence, intellectual qualities. Its lack of taint in blood derived from the antiquity of the family, referred to earlier (see here).
39. Hautboy, chili, and white wood are all varieties of strawberry. Jane Austen would be familiar with them, since her brother Edward had strawberry beds on his property, and she enjoyed them on visits there.
40. The intractability or indolence of gardeners may represent a complaint she has from dealing with her gardener, if she has one, or one she heard while staying at Maple Grove, which certainly would employ one.
41. Cherries and currants had long been popular fruits in England.
42. This technique of presenting someone’s conversation is unique in Jane Austen. It serves to convey Mrs. Elton’s comments, and their progression, without having to expend the space it would require to quote them in all their undoubtedly verbose detail.
43. That Mrs. Elton spoke on all those subjects during half an hour indicates how continually she was talking. It is also notable that she becomes weary and needs to sit down after only half an hour of picking strawberries, even though she had earlier expressed great enthusiasm for the outing.
44. The sequence of single words again summarizes Mrs. Elton’s chatter. It suggests her tendency toward insistent and repetitive harping on the same points rather than developing a coherent line of thought, and her habit of boasting effusively about her connections (“circle, spheres, lines, ranks” all refer to the same idea).
45. wild: passionately eager.
46. triumph: exaltation.
47. In witnessing this, Emma is given a chance to see the obnoxiousness of trying to arrange another person’s life and push her into a course of action she does not really wish.
48. decision: firmness, resolution.
49. insensibly: by imperceptible degrees; so gradually that they are barely conscious of it.
50. During the seventeenth century, when the fashion for planting rows of trees along roads was at its height, limes were the tree of choice because of their tall, narrow growth. Jane Austen’s brother Edward had a lime avenue on his estate.
51. The pleasure grounds were one of the two principal areas of landscaped grounds; the park was the other. The former, which was generally closer to the house, consisted of those areas, including shrubberies, gardens, and walkways, that had obviously been created by human hands.
52. It is not clear if creating this false appearance was ever the intention of those who established the stone wall; that may be why the passage says “might” when describing its quality of taste.
53. Steep slopes and inclines were prized by landscaping ideals of the time, and many writers praised particularly the picturesque effects that could be created by sharp wooded slopes next to water.
54. The Abbey-Mill Farm was earlier identified as that of Robert Martin. This indicates its proximity to Mr. Knightley’s home.
55. culture: cultivation, farming.
56. Many writers in recent years had celebrated the beauties of English scenery, after an earlier tendency to celebrate the scenery of other lands, such as in the Italian landscapes depicted by the French painter Claude, whose works were highly influential in eighteenth-century England. Jane Austen may also be distinguishing herself here from the very popular novelist Ann Radcliffe, whose works are central to the satire in Northanger Abbey and who filled her pages with romantic evocations of spectacular, wild scenery in various European countries (instead of the more domestic and practical scenery in her native England).
57. These would Robert Martin’s flocks of sheep, earlier mentioned.
58. This description provoked a criticism from Jane Austen’s brother Edward, whose ownership of a large estate made him familiar with agriculture. According to family tradition, he asked his sister when he first saw her after this novel’s publication, “Jane, I wish you would tell me where you get those apple-trees that come into bloom in July.” (It is actually only late June, but apple trees bloom much earlier).
59. Though it is a warm summer day, a farmhouse could have a cooking fire that would produce smoke.
60. He could be discussing those matters, with Robert Martin’s farm in view, in order to reanimate Harriet’s interest in him.
61. remove: change of place.
62. His father earlier expressed his belief that, from Richmond, he would come to Highbury on horseback. Mrs. Weston may fear his having an accident on his horse and wish him to give up this means altogether or get a better horse. Men often engaged in buying, selling, or trading horses.
63. dependence: expectation, confidence.
64. It is unlikely he would be delayed dramatically by a lame horse, for in that event he could take his servant’s horse (for a servant’s accompanying him, see note 19). Or he could leave both horses with the servant and walk, which, as the total distance is only nine miles, would not take him long.
65. emotion: agitation. Emma assumes that Harriet is interested in Frank Churchill, and explains Harriet’s calmness as a sign of her self-command.
66. Many landowners kept fish ponds to provide an additional source of food.
67. Clover played a prominent role in the new agricultural methods that were raising productivity, and for this reason was frequently touted by writers on agriculture. It provided more nutritious feed for livestock than ordinary grasses, and it added to the nutritional richness of the soil (by fixing atmospheric nitrogen in the soil), which meant that when clover was used as part of a regular crop rotation the fields would produce more during other years when crops were grown on them.
68. An increasing number of books were published during this period that contained high-quality engravings or other illustrations (including some of the illustrations in this book). Pictures of landscapes or beautiful architectural specimens were particularly popular.
69. Cameos are small round or oval pieces of stone or other material (often precious) onto which has been carved a picture, usually a portrait. They had existed in antiquity and been revived during the Renaissance. They were worn as jewelry or simply collected. Queen Elizabeth was well-known for giving cameo brooches or pendants as gifts to those she wished to reward. The eighteenth century witnessed a renewed interest in cameos, which increased even further in the years just after 1800, when an interest in classical decoration caused people to favor an art that had strong associations with antiquity. The leading carvers were in Europe, and cameos were an easy and relatively cheap item for travelers to bring back as souvenirs of their having visited distinguished sites. It is possible some of the Knightley family’s collection results from travels, though people could also buy them in England.
70. Since the Renaissance, a favorite pastime of wealthy Europeans was accumulating what were often called “cabinets of curiosities.” This could include artworks and other products of human craft as well as items from the natural world. Many families accumulated substantial collections over the generations. Medals, often cast in precious metals, were often issued by monarchs to celebrate themselves and the events of their reign; collections of seashells had been given a particular impetus in Britain by late-eighteenth-century voyages to different parts of the world. The interest in collecting was further stimulated by retailers who developed sets of goods that could be bought as part of a series and thereby accumulated to form a collection. For a contemporary picture of a natural history museum, another manifestation of this interest, see facing page.
71. gro
und-plot: the ground that a building stands on, or the foundation.
72. She is presumably escaping from Mrs. Elton.
73. This suggests a relatively short distance between Donwell Abbey and Highbury.
74. Emma’s objection is based on the well-established principle of the impropriety of women walking alone (though the principle was not as strict when it came to short and relatively isolated walks like this).
75. Jane’s reply suggests that the prospect of her becoming a governess is prominent in her mind, perhaps because of Mrs. Elton’s badgering of her about the supposedly wonderful position she has just found.
76. This exhaustion of spirits will have important consequences.
A view of Lake Nemi in Italy by the late eighteenth-century landscape painter J. R. Cozens.
[From Geoffrey Holme, ed., Early English Water-colour Drawings (London, 1919), Plate XXX]
[List of Illustrations]
77. Jane’s friendliness toward Emma is notable, since she will shortly demonstrate far more aloof and hostile feelings.
78. somewhat: something.
79. Views of famous sites in Europe were also popular subjects for books of pictures, and Venice was one of the leading places for English tourists to visit (St. Mark’s Place is the principal square in Venice, around which many of its leading landmarks are grouped). Italy in particular attracted English visitors to Europe, both because of its rich artistic and architectural treasures and because of its warm and sunny climate. Venetian artists produced many pictures of their city during the eighteenth century, which in turn became the basis of prints and engravings. The Italian landscape was also prized; for an example of this interest, see previous page.
80. A seizure often meant a stroke, though it could mean something milder as well. Mrs. Churchill’s ailment was earlier described as at least partly nervous in character.
81. {CAUTION: PLOT SPOILER} He met Jane, and as he explains later, they quarreled. The worn spirits she mentioned when she left could have resulted, at least in part, from anger at him for not showing up and thus being able to help shield her from Mrs. Elton’s persecutions, and this in turn could have provoked harsh words between them. They would already be suffe ring from increased fear that their secret is in danger of discovery, which the recent episode involving Frank’s blundering reference to Mr. Perry would have intensified, and from the knowledge that they are now approaching the time when Jane had said she would leave her family and go to work as a governess. The encounter is also one of the only times they have ever been alone together, allowing both of them to vent frustrations that had earlier been held in check. In his later explanation he reveals the particulars of their quarrel (see here).
82. For spruce beer, and Mr. Knightley’s brewing of it, see here and note 12.
83. Switzerland (sometimes spelled as Austen does) was often visited by English tourists, both because of its mountain scenery and because it was on the route into Italy. For a contemporary picture of a scene from Switzerland, see the following page.
84. Making the Grand Tour in Europe had long been a standard rite of passage for aristocratic young men in England. It was considered a critical part of their education, in exposing them to great works of art, to the classical heritage that was central to education then, and to foreign countries and customs, all of which could help broaden their minds. Frank’s own background has probably made him acquainted with men who have made the tour, or at least discussed it (in the period leading up to the novel’s composition in 1814, English people had been mostly cut off from European travel because of the long and almost continuous war with Napoleonic France).
85. expose myself: display myself to the public. Many of those on the Grand Tour would make sketches, sometimes after taking art lessons abroad, or write accounts of their experiences.
86. Some English travelers went to Europe for the health benefits of a warmer climate.
87. Morning, which lasted most of the day, would include the present hour.
88. {CAUTION: PLOT SPOILER} Frank’s quarrel with Jane is the obvious reason for this sudden change. Earlier he said he had once wished to go abroad, but had ceased to do so (see here); his engagement to Jane was the reason for that.
89. Frank’s disgust with England hearkens back to Mr. Knightley’s earlier criticism of him as someone who exhibited French rather than English manners—here.
90. prosperity: good fortune—in a broad sense, not just a financial one.
91. Madeira, wine from the Madeira archipelago in the Atlantic, was popular in England, in part because of Britain’s close commercial ties with Portugal, the owner of the archipelago. They are probably combining the wine with water.
92. Mr. Knightley is probably the one who was particularly composed, due to his dislike of Frank Churchill.
A view of the Castle of Chillon in Switzerland by the leading early nineteenth-century painter J. M. W. Turner.
[From Geoffrey Holme, ed., Early English Water-colour Drawings (London, 1919), Plate VII]
[List of Illustrations]
VOLUME III, CHAPTER VII
1. amount: sum total.
2. Thus even the Eltons are not always unpleasant. Jane Austen consistently avoids ever making characters completely bad or completely good.
3. prospects: views.
4. collation: light meal.
5. stupid: dull, stupefied.
6. dull: listless, gloomy.
7. {CAUTION: PLOT SPOILER} He may have been hoping that Jane Fairfax would do or say something to signal her regret at the previous day’s quarrel; or the sight of her could have rekindled his anger about the quarrel. In either case, he now decides to flirt shamelessly with another woman right before Jane’s eyes.
A view over landscaped grounds, an example of the increased interest in viewing picturesque scenery in this period.
[From Humphry Repton, The Art of Landscape Gardening (Boston, 1907; reprint edition), p. 118]
[List of Illustrations]
8. Jane Austen wrote a letter when she was twenty that suggests this censure, or something similar, was applied to her in reports sent to her sister. Responding to her sister, she writes, “You scold me so much in the nice long letter which I have this moment received from you, that I am almost afraid to tell you how my Irish friend and I behaved. Imagine to yourself everything most profligate and shocking in the way of dancing and sitting down together” (Jan. 9, 1796). The man in question, Tom Lefroy, who eventually rose to become a prominent judge in Ireland, declared in later life that he and Jane Austen had been in love with each other but had needed to break it off because neither had enough money to marry.
9. This potentially encouraging behavior would be very irresponsible if she believed he was sincere in his courting of her. It also is very cruel to Harriet, considering that she believes Harriet to love Frank.
10. That must be the time he arrived at Donwell Abbey.
11. That was when he first came to Highbury. His reply gives much greater significance to their present good feelings for each other.
12. lively: merry.
13. impudence: shamelessness.
14. accents: pronouncements—with reference to both the words and the tone of voice.
15. Mickleham and Dorking are the two towns closest to Box Hill; see map.
16. Mr. Knightley is roused both by moral disapproval of Emma’s frivolous behavior and by dislike of her increased intimacy with Frank, whose own behavior is recommending him even less than usual to Mr. Knightley.
17. This shows she is conscious of the flaws in her own behavior, especially after hearing an implied censure from Mr. Knightley; however, she does not alter that behavior.
18. She knows they always feel and express uncritical adoration of her.
19. Mrs. Elton is the only married woman here, which represents a claim of social superiority, as well as the right to act as chaperone in a public venue. These are the considerations that make her particularly provoked by what app
ears to be Emma’s assertion of leadership over the group.
20. address: adroitness.
21. As Emma’s collection of charades indicated, verse composition was popular in this society. Jane Austen, though having no natural bent for poetry, composed pieces of light, short verse at various points in her life, as did members of her family, sometimes as part of general amusements like this.
22. Emma’s words, the only overtly cruel ones she utters, represent her moral nadir, in this scene and in some respects in the whole novel.
23. Miss Bates’s anger would be checked by her extreme good nature, as well as possibly her social inferiority to Emma.
24. Miss Bates, having been hurt, now speaks in a poignant tone she almost never uses otherwise. She also speaks in normal, straightforward sentences, unlike her usual haphazard fragments.
25. reckon: count.
26. Mr. Weston, who is probably elated by the friendliness between Emma and Frank, may have been inspired by it to offer this praise of her. His doing so just after she has spoken such cruel words indicates his obtuseness.
27. knocked up: exhausted.
28. Mr. Knightley, the most likely to notice Miss Bates’s unhappiness, signals his opinion of Emma’s current proximity to perfection.