Summary of Emma by Jane Austen?

Answer 1

On the surface, the lesson is not to meddle in other people's lives.

But there is a deeper lesson, which is that the very limited opportunities afforded women of that time were causing trouble. Emma meddles because she is bored, but she is nothing compared to Mrs. Elton, who is both bored and unimaginative. Jane Fairfax cannot do anything she wants to do, because she needs to be secretive about her engagement to Frank Churchill, but she is constantly bothered by Mrs. Elton because she needs to secure her future. The portrait of Miss Bates is constantly a warning to the younger women, and the portrait of Harriet Smith is both a reminder of what can go wrong and that a woman is very lucky to marry if she has no money.

Answer 2

Almost every one of Jane Austen books is about young, unmarried women who look for love and marriage. The exception is the last novel, Persuasion, which differs only because it is about a woman who is a bit older (27) and her love is being rekindled.

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All of Jane Austen's books deal with love and marriage. There are many reasons to marry, and each of them has a lesson. In her novels, Jane Austen examines many of these. The questions include the following, and possibly others:

• Whether a person is too poor for a good match
• Whether affection is sufficient or required for a good marriage
• Whether a person should hold out for true love
• How well a person should understand the background and the faults of the intended spouse
• Whether age should be a factor in who one should marry
• How important family connections are for a happy marriage

All of this is accompanied by satirical consideration for the social standards for marriage, which include consideration for income above almost anything else.

Personal growth is a major issue. Not all of her heroines grow much, Elinor Dashwood being an example. Fanny Price, in particular, seems not to grow at all, but that in itself is a part of the theme, because her fixed attachment to moral standards makes her the one person who can hold the Bertram family together when it faces multiple calamities. Growth includes self examination and correction. Indeed, there are heroines in the novels who do not know their own minds and must learn that fact. Elizabeth Bennet is one who makes many mistakes based on her own misconceptions of herself, Emma is another, and Catherine Moreland is almost living in fantasy for much of Northanger Abbey.

Adherence to good moral standards and decorum is always an issue, with those who exceed the bounds doing so at their own risk. Sometimes chance intervenes, but not always.

Affection and respect for siblings is an important issue. Jane Bennet has a corrective effect on Elizabeth's prejudices, and Elinor Dashwood supports Marianne, even when she knows Marianne is wrong, and even when she is feeling her own, private pain.

The education of children, and particularly of girls, is an issue. We see this particularly in Pride and Prejudice, where there are comments in several places that the girls are self educated without much guidance. It is also an issue in other books as well, as we see the largely self educated Fanny Price, guided to a great degree by her cousin Edward, compared to her cousins Maria and Julia, who fail to get proper moral guidance with their expensive schooling.

One thing I notice, but have not read much comment about, is that children raised in the same household turn out very differently from each other in all of Jane Austen's novels. It seems she is expressing the idea that there is an innate inclination built into each person that will be expressed, and family is not an adequate prediction of character.

Another thing I see in these books is an issue of confidences and communications. In several books, people confide in each other. Jane and Elizabeth Bennet do so often, and this is to their benefit. Marianne Dashwood and Willoughby confide in each other to a degree, but there is no benefit from it, partly because of what is concealed. However, the interesting thing, to me, is the communications that are not made. Elizabeth Bennet might have produced some good by confiding more in her father. Elinor Dashwood might have been hurt less, if Edward Ferrars had been able to confide in her early on about his relationship with Lucy Steele.

Answer 3

Emma is about a girl named Emma Woodhouse who sets her heart on matchmaking for her best friends, her childhood governess Miss Taylor and new friend Miss Harriet Smith, although Emma very bluntly states that she does not want to be married herself. After seeing Miss Taylor happily married and leading Harriet into two disastrous relationships with the Reverend Elton and Frank Churchill, Emma gives up matchmaking only to find that she has unwittingly set Harriet's sights on Mr. Knightley, Emma's mentor and best friend. After this discovery is made, Emma realizes her own love for Mr. Knightley and the two eventually marry. The book has several other subplots, such as the secret engagement between Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax and Mr. Woodhouse's continual over-concern for the health of those around him.

Answer 4

Emma is about a spoiled and rather conceited young woman growing up to realize she is not always right. She meddles in the love lives of other people, such as Harriet Smith, and Mr. Elton, and believes she has a gift in it only to discover she is wrong. She tries to improve other people, such as Harriet Smith, only to show her own bad judgement, as she does by insulting Miss Bates badly and unnecessarily at the picnic at Box Hill. She utterly misjudges both Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax, and ultimately fails to see that she, herself, is in love with Knightley until it seems to be too late. She is saved from a life of despair by the fact that Knightley sees through all her follies and recognizes a really wonderful person underneath them.

Answer 5

"Emma" follows the story of Emma Woodhouse, a young and wealthy woman who meddles in the love lives of those around her. Through a series of misunderstandings and romantic entanglements, Emma learns the consequences of her actions and ultimately finds love herself. The novel explores themes of class, society, and the complexities of relationships.

Answer 6

That you shouldn't judge someone by their first impression.

Answer 7

As The World Turns

Answer 8

"First impressions" could be misleading.