If you’re new to this Substack, one of the things I’m offering subscribers in 2023 is A Year with Jane. We’re reading through Austen’s six novels this year and Emma is our read for March and April.
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In this week’s reading (see reading schedule at the bottom of this post), Emma experiences her first brutal humiliation. She has completely misread the situation of the local vicar Mr. Elton and her friend Harriet Smith. “How could she have been so deceived!” she wonders.
For someone very enchanted with her own powers of perception and ability to manipulate situations to her desired outcomes, the realization that she has been dead wrong for weeks about Mr. Elton’s perceived attachment (he was instead hoping to court Emma herself, not Harriet) should disabuse her of this attitude. Alas! It’s going to take a bit more for Emma to come around to the fact that she excels in self-deception.
Like Elizabeth Bennet who misread the character of George Wickham in Pride & Prejudice because she was seeing through the eyes of pride, Emma needs corrective lenses. She needs humility. While it took Elizabeth one dramatic revelation to change course, Emma is a harder nut to crack. This is to be one of several humiliations that are required to bring Emma to some kind of self-awareness.
To Emma's credit, what grieves her most is not her own mortifying conversation with Mr. Elton (which is so cringe-worthy but also so funny—“ready to die if she refused him!”). She is most distressed at how her misperception and the manipulation she orchestrated have wounded her friend Harriet. If she had not set Harriet’s hopes so high above her station, Harriet would not be suffering such a disappointment. It seems clear that Mr. Knightley’s claim that while this friendship between Harriet and Emma does no favors for Emma’s growth, it is much worse for poor Harriet.
Austen is masterful at revealing how little sins can have wide ripples of consequence. Emma’s meddling is not, after all, malicious or cruel. And yet, her pride and selfishness harm not only herself, but her community. We would all like to think that our vices harm us alone, but this is simply not the case. Emma will need a bit more time to learn this lesson, so thankfully there are still two volumes of the novel to go!
Reading schedule:
Week of March 5th:
Gather your books. There are many editions out there, so just grab what’s on your shelf or at the local library. And if you enjoy audiobooks, this is an excellent novel to enjoy with a great narrator. My favorite for this novel is Juliet Stevenson’s audiobook version. Grab Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life from Ave Maria Press (use STEWART20 for 20% off) or from Amazon.
If you didn’t start reading with us in January, you may want to catch up by reading the Introduction and Chapters 1-2 of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life to set the stage.
Week of March 12th:
Chapters 1-9 of Emma
Week of March 19th:
Chapters 10-18 of Emma
Week of March 26th:
Chapters 19-27 of Emma
Week of April 2nd:
Chapters 28-36 of Emma
Week of April 9th:
Chapters 37-45 of Emma
Week of April 16th:
Chapters 46-54 of Emma
Week of April 23rd:
Chapter 3 of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life
TBA: Zoom Discussion with special guests, Marcia Lane-McGee and Shannon Wimp Schmidt.
If you know someone who would enjoy reading Austen with us for our Year of Jane, please share this post with him/her!
And coming soon (as soon as I figure out how to embed a video) I’ll share the recording of our live Zoom discussion of Pride & Prejudice with Dr.
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Discussion Question
Why do you think Emma is so eager to develop at close friendship with Harriet Smith? Are there any benefits to this intimacy?
We’ll be talking more about friendships next week!
Haley
(Editor of Word on Fire Spark, Author, Former Podcaster)
Haley’s Children’s Mystery Series about Mouse Nuns
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To be honest I think it's mostly motivated by her pride. She doesn't have any female friends - the only woman in her station that could be her friend she is jealous of, though she won't say it in those words. She just gets irritated when the aunt won't stop bragging about her. She's annoyed at her piano prowess. Emma wants a friend that doesn't threaten her self-perception/self-deception. She wants a companion that makes her feel good about herself.
Emma has way too much time on her hands and no one with whom to spend it, other than her needy father. She needs "a project," and regretfully, chooses Harriet as her project. In today's world, a part-time job, as she is responsible for the management of the home, would help, or volunteer work or a course of study.