by Jane Austen
10. the great: larger matters.
11. Those attending theaters and other places of entertainment often sat in boxes, which allowed them to have a special space just for their own party.
12. The popularity and size of Astley’s would mean large crowds.
13. situation is an evil: social situation is a drawback.
14. Were his rank in society to improve, he would have his own land and no longer rent a farm from Mr. Knightley, thereby inconveniencing the latter. Farmers were of great importance to landowners, for they undertook the actual cultivation of the land and their success would mean potentially greater revenue to the landowner through higher rents. The two often worked together on agricultural improvements: the landowner could provide the necessary capital, while the farmer had the hands-on expertise and implemented the changes. Rented farms were usually passed down through the generations, and owners’ wishes to retain good farming families for the long term often made them refrain from raising the rents as much as current market conditions would allow.
15. This is the first time Emma has acknowledged that there may be no basis for her speculation that Harriet is the daughter of a gentleman.
Astley’s Amphitheatre. The boxes are at the front of the picture.
[From John Britton, Illustrations of the Public Buildings of London, Vol. I (London, 1838), p. 356]
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16. Cattle were a major concern of farmers, since beef was the favored meat of the English diet, while milk and other dairy products were also widely consumed. For examples of specialized occupations concerned with cattle, see the following page and the page after.
17. Drills were machines that planted seed by digging narrow trenches in the soil, dropping in seed, and covering it. The farmer and writer Jethro Tull developed an improved type of drill in the early eighteenth century, and other innovations in drill making occurred in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. At the same time, many were reluctant to adopt the new machinery; that Emma, presumably on the basis of prior experience, assumes that Mr. Knightley will be interested in new tools is an indication of his own interest in improvement and his conscientiousness as a farmer.
18. Many farmers engaged in intensive breeding of animals to improve their size and productivity, and examples of particularly impressive individual specimens could be displayed to the public in the cattle shows Emma has just mentioned.
19. air: outward bearing.
A public coach.
[From John Ashton, The Dawn of the XIXth Century in England (London, 1906), p. 183]
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20. This explains the increased friendliness with Harriet that Emma noticed, and that later made her worry about a deeper interest in Harriet on Mr. Knightley’s part. It also contributed to Harriet’s belief in his interest in her.
21. This means that Emma and Mr. Knightley have finally overcome their most serious disagreement, which occurred early in the novel.
22. collected: composed.
23. put the horses to: harness the horses.
24. An excess of happiness could lead to insecurity about its being able to last.
A drover; his job was to fatten cattle and bring them to market.
[From William Alexander, Picturesque Representations of the Dress & Manners of the English (1813), Plate 16]
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25. It is not clear whether she means associate with him frequently; the next chapter suggests that “the intimacy between her [Harriet] and Emma must sink.” But she would certainly greet and talk to someone betrothed to Harriet, and as Mrs. Knightley she would have some contact with a man who is on good terms with her husband.
26. It would seem that Mr. Woodhouse enjoys the daily outing but prefers to see his going as the result of obligation, and Emma indulges him in this.
27. He could ask for it implicitly by speaking of the trouble involved in his coming.
A slaughterman.
[From William Pyne, Costume of Great Britain (London, 1804; 1989 reprint), Plate XVIII]
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28. wonderful: amazing.
29. When they are, or have, returned from Ireland.
A visit to a new mother.
[From Joseph Grego, Rowlandson the Caricaturist Vol. II (London, 1880), p. 313]
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30. His disinterest in others’ concerns signals his limitations and would be one reason why, at the end of the visit, Emma reflects on how glad she is that she is marrying Mr. Knightley instead.
31. distinguishing: distinctive.
32. The honesty Emma now shows in acknowledging the potential faults of her character is a sign of her improvement.
33. dispositions: general characters.
34. sensibility: consciousness.
35. For a moment, spurred by Emma’s serious observation, he has dropped his usual gallantry, but he quickly returns to it.
36. Though Emma spoke of Jane Fairfax’s superior character, and he agreed, all he says specifically in her praise concerns her personal beauty.
37. Wealthy families would usually have jewels that had been handed down over the generations. They would often be placed in new settings in accordance with changes in fashion and taste.
38. Women of the time would sometimes wear head ornaments, and putting jewels in the hair was a popular way to display them.
A woman of the time with jewelry in her hair.
[From The Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c, Vol. V (1811), p. 361]
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39. “Blunder” was the very word he formed and showed to her in the game he and Emma played immediately after he blurted out the information regarding Perry that he had received from Jane—see here.
40. This preference for Jane’s serious and morally upright attitude over Frank’s often insensitive liveliness and jocularity represents a partial shift in Emma. Her love of wit led her at times into wrong behavior, especially in her dealings with Frank. Jane Austen, who certainly shows herself a great lover of wit and humor in her novels, expresses a similar sentiment in a letter (responding to another person’s criticism of someone for lack of wit): “Wisdom is certainly better than Wit, & in the long run will certainly have the laugh on its side” (Nov. 18, 1814).
A wedding dress.
[From The Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c, Series Two, Vol. I (1816), p. 361]
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VOLUME III, CHAPTER XIX
1. views: plans, expectations.
2. Harriet’s persistent love, evidence for which emerged occasionally over the course of the novel, indicates how seriously Emma’s interference had distorted matters.
3. Decency would lead him to conceal his misdeed of begetting a child outside marriage. Such concealment represents acquiescence in the principle of sexual propriety, even if he failed to follow that principle in practice. Though the father is shortly described as helping Harriet and Robert Martin financially, there is never any talk of father and daughter meeting.
A lady feeding poultry. The clothing is from a slightly earlier period.
[From Malcolm Salaman, Old English Colour Prints (New York, 1909), Plate XVII]
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4. Many families, including prominent ones, might have an ancestor who had been born out of wedlock, though the circumstance would be suppressed or passed over as much as possible.
5. Nobility and wealth would make such an unfortunate origin somewhat less objectionable.
6. The father has until now given Harriet a regular allowance, but this is not a sum she owns and could transfer to her husband. The father now gives her husband a liberal, or generous, sum of money that will help pay for her maintenance for the rest of her life.
7. retired: sequestered.
8. Thus in the end Harriet remains in the more humble station she had occupied before Emma att
empted to elevate her. This description of her ultimate condition echoes some of what Mr. Knightley, in arguing for her marriage to Robert Martin, maintained would be the best course for her.
9. The continuing social gap between them would prevent continued intimacy, as might the great difference in their intelligence and talents, which Emma would be likely to find less appealing when she is no longer regarding Harriet as an object of patronage.
10. Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax have to wait for the mourning period to end, and Emma and Mr. Knightley have to reconcile Mr. Woodhouse to the match.
11. As Jane earlier told Emma, in July, there “must be three months, at least, of deep mourning” before the wedding can occur.
12. During this time the honeymoon was beginning to emerge as an institution, though only some couples undertook one and it was usually modest. Emma’s never having seen the sea before, which she mentioned when John and Isabella were visiting at Hartfield (see here), makes this a logical destination for the new couple.
13. suspense: doubtfulness, uncertainty.
14. It is Mrs. Weston’s poultry house because the keeping and care of poultry was usually the concern of the lady of the house. For a lady of the time feeding her poultry, see this page.
15. Turkeys, though originally from the New World, had long established themselves as a popular part of the English diet, consumed particularly at feasts and on Christmas.
16. He and Isabella are evidently at Hartfield during his holidays from work.
17. The book opened with the Westons’ wedding, which left Emma alone, and saw her visited on the wedding day by Mr. Knightley; now it closes with their own wedding.
A design for an elegant poultry house.
[From John Plaw, Ferme Ornee (London, 1795), Plate VIII]
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18. parade: ostentation.
19. Thus Mrs. Elton did not attend the wedding. This is not necessarily due to the hostility between her and Emma, for as seen in the Westons’ wedding, which Mr. Knightley did not attend, weddings tended to be small-scale, private affairs at this time.
20. Lace veils were not standard parts of bridal attire during the eighteenth century, but after 1800 they gradually grew in popularity. Their greater profusion at Mrs. Elton’s could reflect, in addition to her general taste for finery, her being more attuned to the latest trends in fashion. Bridal veils then were worn down the back of the head rather than over the face. For examples of wedding veils, see below and facing page.
21. Jane Austen’s nephew J. E. Austen-Leigh, in his A Memoir of Jane Austen, states that she told members of her family that “Mr. Woodhouse survived his daughter’s marriage, and kept her and Mr. Knightley from settling at Donwell, about two years.” A later biography by a grand-nephew, William Austen-Leigh, and his nephew Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh, Jane Austen: Her Life and Letters, mentions this and adds, “According to a less well-known tradition, Jane Fairfax survived her elevation only nine or ten year”; a clue to that possibility is provided by the frequent bouts of ill health that Jane suffers.
A lace wedding veil.
[From Candace Wheeler, The Development of Embroidery in America (New York, 1921), p. 92]
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Chronology
Jane Austen provides a few exact dates in Emma, along with a number of less specific ones, and from them it is possible to derive an outline of the action of the novel.
VOLUME I
25 Years Earlier
Mr. Weston marries Miss Churchill
An approximate date; they had Frank during their brief marriage, and he is now twenty-three (here).
22 Years Earlier
Mr. Weston’s wife dies; Frank adopted by the Churchills
Also approximate. They were married three years; Frank was adopted “soon after her decease.”
18 Years Earlier
Jane Fairfax left an orphan
She was three then; she is now twenty-one (here).
16 Years Earlier
Miss Taylor hired as governess for Emma and Isabella
13 Years Earlier
Jane Fairfax goes to live with the Campbells
This happened “before she was nine.”
Eight Years Earlier
Isabella marries John Knightley
For seven years Emma and Mrs. Weston have enjoyed the “perfect unreserve which soon followed Isabella’s marriage.” Emma became mistress of the house when she was twelve (here), and she is now almost twenty-one.
One to Two Years Earlier
Mr. Elton comes to Highbury
According to Emma, “he has been here a whole year.” According to a later passage, he “first entered not two years ago” (here).
September
Marriage of Miss Taylor and Mr. Weston
Frank Churchill visits Weymouth
Both events can be dated from the following entry, which would also indicate that the marriage was in late September.
September 28
Frank Churchill writes a congratulatory letter to Mrs. Weston
The date is specified later (here).
October
Marriage of Miss Campbell and Mr. Dixon
Engagement of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill (here)
October or November
Emma befriends Harriet Smith
At the time of Harriet’s refusal of Robert Martin (below), “For some weeks past she had been spending more than half her time” at Hartfield (here). This would make late October or early November most likely.
Mid- November
Emma begins to encourage Harriet’s affection for Mr. Elton
Near the end of December, Emma’s efforts are described as transpiring over “the last six weeks” (here).
Early December
Mr. Elton leaves for London to get Emma’s picture framed
This passage says only December, but it must be early because of subsequent events.
Harriet refuses Robert Martin’s proposal
This was “the very day of Mr. Elton’s going to London.” here
Next Day
Emma and Mr. Knightley quarrel about Harriet
Early to Mid- December
Emma organizes a collection of charades
The following event occurs on the day after the final act of the charade collecting.
Mid- December
Emma and Harriet pay charitable visit to a cottage
They encounter Mr. Elton (here)
Mid- to Late December
John and Isabella Knightley arrive at Hartfield
It was probably Dec. 17–18, for it was a ten-day visit, and John Knightley had to be back in London on the 28th (here).
December 23
Harriet comes down with a cold
It was the evening before the following event.
December 24
Dinner at the Westons
Mr. Elton’s proposal (here)
December 27 or 28
John and Isabella return to London
He had to be back on the 28th.
December 28 or 29
Mr. Elton leaves for Bath
He stated, on the day John and Isabella departed, that he was leaving the next morning.
Emma tells Harriet the truth about Mr. Elton
Mid- to Late January
Jane Fairfax comes to Highbury
It would have been shortly before the next event.
January 25 or 26
Jane Fairfax spends her first evening at Hartfield
They learned the news below on the following day (here).
January 26 or 27
News of Mr. Elton’s engagement
Still in Bath, “he has been gone … four weeks yesterday” (here).
Harriet encounters Robert Martin (here)
Beginning of February
Harriet visits the Martins
Elizabeth Martin called on her a few days after above encounter (here), and Harriet’s visit seems
to have occurred soon after that.
Frank Churchill arrives in Highbury (here)
This happened the same day. Mr. Weston saw Emma and Harriet and announced Frank’s arrival for the next day (here), but he arrived “the evening before.” His visit is described later as in February (here).
Day Two
Frank Churchill visits Emma
He also visits Jane Fairfax (here)
Day Three
Frank goes with Emma to Highbury
Day Four
Frank goes unexpectedly to London
Emma receives the Coles’ dinner invitation (here)
Day Five or Six
Arrival of a pianoforte for Jane Fairfax
It arrived “the day before” the following event.
Day Six or Seven
Dinner at the Coles
Frank said while there, “I have been here a week to-morrow” (here); it is uncertain whether he included the initial evening of his arrival.
Day Seven or Eight
Emma, Frank, and Mrs. Weston visit the Bateses
Soon Afterward
Frank and Emma discuss the possibility of a ball
Next Day
Decision to have the ball at the Crown
One Week after Coles’ Dinner
Frank leaves Highbury
The dinner was on Tuesday (here), and Frank later wrote about leaving on Tuesday (here).
Late February
Announcement of Mr. Elton’s wedding day
They had “hardly time to talk over the first letter” from Frank when the news came.
Middle of March
Emma first visits Mrs. Elton
It was three months since Emma and Harriet’s visit to the poor cottage, and then to Mr. Elton’s house, in mid-December (here).
Late March, Early April
Estrangement of Emma and Mrs. Elton
Late April
Dinner at the Woodhouses for Mrs. Elton
Identified at dinner as April (here); it has to be late because the Churchills are said to be coming to London “next week” (here), and that is in May (here).