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$Pretitle{}
$Title{Works of Jane Austen
Emma: Chapters 47 - 55}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Austen, Jane}
$Affiliation{Instructor Of English, Rutgers University}
$Subject{emma
knightley
harriet
mrs
frank
jane
now
love
weston
emma's}
$Date{}
$Log{}
Title:       Works of Jane Austen
Book:        Emma
Author:      Austen, Jane
Critic:      Fitzpatrick, William J.
Affiliation: Instructor Of English, Rutgers University

Emma: Chapters 47 - 55

Charter XLVII

     Emma can think of nothing but "poor Harriet," who for the second time
has been victimized by Emma's misconceptions and flattery. She thinks of Mr.
Knightley's words, "Emma, you have been no friend to Harriet Smith."
Although this time it was not Emma who first suggested the possibility of an
attachment which might not otherwise have occurred to Harriet (for Harriet
herself had acknowledged her admiration for Frank Churchill before Emma even
hinted at it), Emma nevertheless feels guilty for having encouraged her to
hope where (Emma can now see) common sense should have indicated there was
no hope at all. Emma can now imagine why Jane Fairfax has refused her
overtures. Jane must have considered her a rival for Frank's affections. Emma
resolves to break the truth to Harriet as soon as possible.

     Harriet then comes in and proceeds to announce the news of Jane's and
Frank's secret engagement. She heard it from Mr. Weston (who had admonished
Emma that the matter was to be kept secret). Emma is surprised at Harriet's
calmness and her apparent lack of disappointment. Harriet asks if Emma ("you
who can see into everybody's heart") had any idea of Frank's being in love
with Jane. But Emma replies that she had been encouraging Harriet in her
feelings for Frank. "Me," cries Harriet. "You don't think I care about Frank
Churchill." "But you gave me reason to understand you did," says Emma. "Never,
never!" Harriet explains that the person she had in mind is far superior to
Frank Churchill, and but for Emma's approval and encouragement, she would not
have presumed to think that a match of such a great disparity was possible.
Emma asks sternly if Harriet is speaking of Mr. Knightley. "Of course," says
Harriet. "I thought you knew." Emma recalls to Harriet her having mentioned
the "service" that Frank had rendered her in protecting her from the gypsies
(though Emma had not mentioned Frank's name). But Harriet replies that she
understood that by "service" Emma was referring to Mr. Knightley's coming to
her rescue at the dance when Mr. Elton refused to dance with her. "Good God!"
cries Emma. What is to be done! Harriet goes on to say that she does indeed
hope that Mr. Knightley may find her not beneath him and she asks Miss
Woodhouse not to oppose the match. She claims that she has reasons to believe
that Mr. Knightley returns her affections.

     Emma is silently meditating. "A few minutes were sufficient for making
her acquainted with her own heart." She acknowledges to herself the reason why
she is so stunned at Harriet's being in love with Mr. Knightley and at the
news that Harriet believes that Mr. Knightley may be in love with her. "It
darted through her with the speed of an arrow that Mr. Knightley must not
marry anyone but herself!" She now sees her own conduct and her own feelings
with a clarity she never had before. How irrational, how unfeeling, how blind,
how mad she has been! She resolves to treat Harriet kindly and asks what signs
Harriet has had from Mr. Knightley. It seems that Harriet has been aware of a
difference in Mr. Knightley's attitude to her since the ball. He has gone out
of his way to talk to her on different occasions in a very sweet way. (Emma
indeed knew of this, but had interpreted it differently.) Mr. Knightley was
free in his compliments to Harriet. She recalls to Emma the time when he
talked to her apart from the others during the strawberry-picking at Donwell
(see Chapter XLII). Harriet understood him to be asking her then if she was
attached to anyone. And although he said he came only for five minutes, he
stayed talking to Harriet for half an hour at Hartfield the morning he left
for London, and he indicated to her that he had much rather remain at home
(something he did not confide to Emma). Emma asks if it is not possible that
when Mr. Knightley was inquiring about her attachments, he might not have been
inquiring on Mr. Martin's behalf. But Harriet replies that she now knows
better than to care for Mr. Martin. Although she never would have thought it
possible without Emma's encouragement, yet Harriet now thinks that it is quite
possible and even natural for her and Mr. Knightley to fall in love and marry.
At the sound of Mr. Woodhouse's coming, Harriet takes her leave.

     Emma says to herself, "Oh, God! That I had never seen her!" The rest of
the day Emma is beset with confused feelings and memories. What deceptions she
had practiced on herself! What blunders and blindness of head and heart! She
tries to understand thoroughly her own heart. How long has she been in love
with Mr. Knightley? When did it begin? She compares Frank Churchill and Mr.
Knightley and sees now that she has always considered Mr. Knightley infinitely
the superior of the two and valued his opinion more. She had been under a
delusion, totally ignorant of her own heart; she never really cared for Frank
Churchill. Being satisfied that she is in love with Mr. Knightley, she reviews
her past conduct. "With insufferable vanity had she believed herself in the
secret of everybody's feelings; with unpardonable arrogance proposed to
arrange everybody's destiny." She has been mistaken in everything, and if the
match between Harriet Smith and Mr. Knightley takes place, it would have been
her fault for bringing them together. Can it be possible? Yes, indeed. Emma
must admit that it may be possible. Oh, that she had left Harriet where Mr.
Knightley told her she ought! She had prevented Harriet's marrying someone
entirely suited to her. Harriet is now less humble, less sensible of her own
inferiority than formerly, and that is all Emma's doing. It is Emma who has
made the humble Harriet vain.

Comment:

     This chapter is the climax of the book. For here Emma discovers the
nature of her own past actions and the quality of her own feelings. Under the
terrible pressure of events, she cannot avoid recognizing her love for Mr.
Knightley. She had previously suppressed her own natural affection by making
romances for others; and the irony is that in the process she has not only
been acting immorally, arrogantly, and stupidly, but she has been acting
against her own best interests as well. So "blind" has Emma been, so deeply
has the honesty of her own emotions been repressed that only Harriet's sudden
revelation is able to bring them to the surface. Now Emma's judgment begins to
be restored and she is about to achieve emotional and moral maturity. (The
reader will recall how violently Emma acted when Mrs. Weston suggested that
Mr. Knightley had his eye on Jane Fairfax [Chapter XXVI]. But then the threat
was far less tangible than now; therefore, much less of Emma's real feeling
came to the surface.)

Chapter XLVIII

     Now that she appears to be threatened with the loss of Mr. Knightley,
Emma realizes that her happiness has always depended on being first with him.
She never reflected on it before. He has watched over her from girlhood,
trying to see that she always did the right thing, correcting her when she was
wrong. But she cannot be confident that he is in love with her as she now
realizes that she is with him. Her only hope is that Harriet may be mistaken
about his regard for her - that Mr. Knightley may never marry at all. That
would satisfy her, since, having to take care of her father, she will never
marry even if Mr. Knightley were to ask her. She looks forward to seeing Mr.
Knightley and Harriet together so that she can tell if he is in love with her.
She writes Harriet asking her not to come to Hartfield for a while.

     Mrs. Weston arrives to tell Emma about the visit she and Mr. Weston just
had with Jane Fairfax. Jane told Mrs. Weston how much she had suffered during
the many months of pretending. She regrets very much having consented to a
secret engagement and is remorseful for her deceit. She tells Mrs. Weston to
thank Emma for the kindnesses she showed her during her illness. Mrs. Weston
is convinced that Jane loves Frank very much. After Mrs. Weston leaves, Emma
is full of bitter regrets for not having tried to be closer to Jane in the
past and for her envious feelings and her foolish suspicions about Mr. Dixon.
Jane, rather than Harriet Smith, was a proper friend for her. Emma is sitting
alone with her father, and she is reminded of that melancholy evening of Mrs.
Weston's wedding day. All she has to look forward to now is the solitary
company of her father. There will soon be a child born to Mrs. Weston who will
occupy her time; Frank Churchill and Jane will be living away from Highbury;
Mr. Knightley will be lost to her. Her only consolation is her re
olve to be a
better person than she has been in the past.

Comment:

     It is ironic that all the matches that Emma tried to make have failed,
and one which she did not intend to make (Harriet and Mr. Knightley) may be
accomplished to her own sorrow. Emma's seeing that Jane, her equal, should
have been her friend rather than Harriet is an indication of her maturing
insight. Everything has been topsy-turvy. She has been busy arranging
everybody else's life instead of her own, promoting other marriages instead of
trying to make a match for herself. Emma has been hiding from herself all
these many months.

Chapter XLIX

     That evening Emma is taking a walk in the shrubbery when she sees Mr.
Knightley coming towards her. She did not know of his return from London. When
Emma says that she has some news for him, he replies that Mr. Weston wrote to
him in London about Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill. Emma remarks that he was
less surprised than anyone, for he has had his suspicions. She was doomed to
blindness. Mr. Knightley takes Emma's arm and presses it against his heart and
tells her that time will heal the wound. He refers to the "abominable
scoundrel." But Emma tells him that he is mistaken; for though she had flirted
with Frank Churchill, he is no loss to her. Mr. Knightley hopes that this will
indeed be true in time, but, of course, he knew that Emma had a preference for
him. Frank is a disgrace to the name of man. But Emma assures Mr. Knightley
that she has never buen in love with Frank. She may have flirted with him and
been flattered by his attentions, but she did not fall for him. Mr. Knightley
remarks that Frank Churchill, who has been unscrupulous, is very lucky to have
found such a prize as Jane Fairfax so early in life. He admits to Emma that he
envies him. Though Emma does not ask Mr. Knightley why he is envious of Frank,
he says that he will tell her anyway. Emma (fearful that he is about to speak
of Harriet) says to him, "Don't speak - take a little time - don't commit
yourself." Mr. Knightley is silent; Emma then decides that because he was
perhaps going to consult her about Harriet, she should be generous and praise
Harriet to him if necessary. She tells him that he may speak openly to her as
a friend if he wishes. Mr. Knightley then asks her if he has any chance of
ever succeeding. He tells her to say no if it is to be said, and is grateful
when she says nothing. Emma is shocked with happiness. Mr. Knightley goes on
and tells her how much he loves her. Though she hears nothing but the truth
from him; though he has blamed her and lectured her; yet he loves her dearly.
She resolves not to tell Mr. Knightley of Harriet's dream.

     It seems that Mr. Knightley had followed her in the shrubbery with no
more idea than to see how she was bearing up under Frank Churchill's
engagement. But when Emma assured him that she had not been the least bit in
love with Frank Churchill, he suddenly resolved to declare his own love for
her. He had been in love with Emma and jealous of Frank Churchill for the
past few months, and it was his jealousy of Frank Churchill - Emma's
flirting with him at the Box Hill party - that prompted him to go off to
London. And when he heard of Jane Fairfax and Frank, he rode home
immediately to see how Emma was taking the news. Now he and Emma, in the
certainty of being loved, have cleared away ignorance, jealousy and distrust.

Comment:

     Just as the pressures of Harriet's hopes for a match with Mr. Knightley
forced Emma to discover her own love for him, so apparently did Emma's
interest in Frank Churchill several months ago set Mr. Knightley off to
discover his love for Emma. We must not conclude that because Mr. Knightley
was envious of Frank in the past, his judgments of him were not
well-founded-Poor Harriet!

Chapter L

     Mr. Knightley and Emma, with her heart aflutter, go in to have tea with
her father. After Mr. Knightley leaves, Emma thinks about the two problem that
face her: her father and Harriet. She decides that she can never leave her
father. While he lives, it must only be an engagement. As for Harriet, she
decides that she will continue avoiding her and try to get her an invitation
to her sister Isabella's in London in the hope that she will be distracted
from Mr. Knightley. The next morning, she writes to Harriet and breaks the
news. When Mr. Knightley comes over, she spends a delightful hour with him.
After he leaves, a letter is brought to her from Randalls, including a note
from Mrs. Weston and a long letter that Frank has written her.

     In this long letter, Frank explains in detail his behavior over the past
several months. He had to persuade Jane to stoop to a secret engagement
because he feared his aunt's objections. He had merely trusted that it would
work out somehow eventually. He asks Mrs. Weston's forgiveness for not having
visited his father and her sooner. He actually did not come to Highbury until
Miss Fairfax was there. He confesses that he paid attentions to Emma in order
to aid his concealment of his real romance. He says that he was convinced of
Emma's indifference to him. She never gave him the idea of a young woman
likely to become attached. He recalls that when he called on Emma to say
good-bye at the end of his first fortnight's stay in Highbury, he was at the
point of confessing the truth (see Chapter XXX) and he suspected that Emma had
an inkling of the truth. He has no doubt that her "quickness" penetrated the
ruse, at least in part. Emma gave him many hints of that. He remembers Emma's
telling him at the ball that he should be grateful for Mrs. Elton's attentions
to Jane (see Chapter XXXVIII). He asks Mrs. Weston to obtain for him Emma's
forgiveness, for he regards her with brotherly affection. His motive, of
course, was to get to Highbury as often as possible with the least
suspicion. He says that the piano (which, of course, was his gift to Jane) was
sent without her knowledge. She is indeed a marvelous creature and he hopes
that Mrs. Weston will call on her soon; he is worried about her health. He
explains that the whole affair suddenly came out into the open as a result of
the following sequence. He had been deliberately unpleasant to Jane Fairfax
and had been open in his flirtation with Emma. Jane thought he went too far
and was annoyed. The morning that he came down to Donwell for the
strawberry-picking outing, he encountered Jane Fairfax on the road, and they
had a serious quarrel when she refused to let him walk her home. He was angry
and resentful when he got to Donwell (see Chapter XLII). The next day at Box
Hill, Jane was extremely resentful because of Frank's shameful devotion to
Emma. That evening, angry at Jane's coldness to him, he goes back to his aunt
and uncle sooner than he has to, determined that Jane shall be the first to
try to make up. That evening Jane accepts the officious Mrs. Elton's
proposal (see Chapter XLIV). Frank alludes to the impertinence of Mrs. Elton's
calling Miss Fairfax by her Christian name. The next day, Jane wrote to Frank
telling him that because she felt the engagement was a source of misery to
both parties, she was therefore breaking it. He received the letter on the day
his aunt died. He answered immediately, but by mistake the letter was not
posted. Two days afterwards, Jane sent him all his letters and a note saying
that she was surprised he had not bothered to answer her letter. She
interpreted his silence as indicating his agreement that the engagement
should be broken, and she asked that her letters be returned to her at
Highbury or at Mrs. Smallridge's. Frank understood then that she had accepted
Mrs. Elton's offer and was serious about breaking the engagement. He
immediately asked his uncle's permission to marry her and the good man gave
his consent. He then dashed off to Highbury, persuaded her to become his
fiancee again, and then went on to Randalls and back to stay with his uncle.
He now considers himself indeed the "child of good fortune" that Emma had
called him.

Comment.

     Thus, not only was Emma mistaken about everyone's feelings including her
own; not only was Mr. Knightley wrong about Emma's love for Frank, and Mr. and
Mrs. Weston wrong about a romance between Emma and Frank; not only was
Mrs. Weston wrong about Mr. Knightley's love for Jane, and Harriet about
Mr. Knightley's love for her; but Jane and Frank also misunderstood each
other. If the reader now goes back and re-reads all the passages in the
previous chapters having to do with Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax, he
will see that the author has not committed herself to Emma's interpretation,
but rather has set the stage for Frank's explanation now.

Chapter LI

     Emma reads Frank's letter with great interest. The part about her she
finds fascinating. Although she still thinks that Frank has been wrong,
yet she is disposed to forgive him completely because of his suffering,
because of his love for Jane, and, above all, because of her own great
happiness. When Mr. Knightley comes in, she has him read Frank's letter in
order to get him to relent his harsh judgment. Mr. Knightley reads it,
pausing now and then to comment sarcastically about Frank's style, to
criticize him again for having made the secret engagement, to shake his head
at the boyish thoughtlessness of sending Jane the piano, to censure him
severely for having put Jane in such a difficult position and for writing
such a long-winded letter. Emma recalls that Mr. Knightley had pointed out
that Frank could have come to visit his father and Mrs. Weston sooner if he
had wanted to, and Mr. Knightley replies that even if it had not concerned
Emma, he would still have distrusted Frank Churchill. But at the end,
Mr. Knightley is ready to believe that under Jane's influence Frank's
character may improve. He then raises the question how he can ask Emma to
marry him without acutely upsetting her father. Emma replies that she cannot
leave her father. But Mr. Knightley immediately answers that he had first
hoped to induce Mr. Woodhouse to come to stay with them at Donwell, but,
realizing that this would not work, he has decided that he and Emma should
live with her father at Hartfield. Emma realizes that this is a sacrifice
for Mr. Knightley, but she agrees to think favorably about the idea.

     Now that Emma is going to marry Mr. Knightley, she does not once worry
about her nephew Henry's being deprived of inheriting Donwell. She smiles as
she now admits to herself the real cause of her violent reaction to the
suggestions of Mr. Knightley's marrying Jane Fairfax or anyone else. What
a companion Mr. Knightley will be for her when she will be in the otherwise
cheerless and melancholic duties of attending her father! The only blight on
her happiness is the thought of poor Harriet who must now be kept away from
Hartfield - not that Emma would miss her company. She expects that
Mr. Knightley will in time be supplanted in Harriet's affections by someone
else, but that will not happen soon. It is "too much to hope even of Harriet,
that she could be in love with more than three men in one year."

Comment:

     Is Mr. Knightley making a mistake in agreeing to live at Harfield with
that fuss-pot Mr. Woodhouse? And would he not be better able to handle the
self-willed Emma on his own grounds at Donwell Abbey?

Chapter LII

     Emma is relieved to find that Harriet also wants to avoid a meeting. In
fact, she thinks that she detects something that looks like a little
resentment in Harriet's letters. Because Harriet has to consult a dentist, it
is easy for Emma to get her to accept an invitation to stay with Isabella in
London for a fortnight. Emma hopes that Harriet will soon forget the past.
Emma resolves to put off telling her father about the engagement until Mrs.
Weston's baby is born.

     Thinking of the similarity of their situations, Emma pays a visit to Jane
Fairfax, who meets her on the stairs with expressions of warmth and gratitude.
Miss Bates is out, but Mrs. Elton happens to be there. Mrs. Elton obviously
believes that she is the only one who knows of Jane's forthcoming marriage. In
Emma's hearing she vows her secrecy. She only came by to read "Mrs. S's
letter" (replying to Jane's changing her mind about the job). But Mrs. Elton
will be discreet about other things. She will mention no names about a
"certain young physician from Windsor" who helped Jane to get over her
illness. Miss Bates soon comes in with all her gushing talk. From Miss Bates'
gratitude for Mrs. Elton's being there, Emma surmises that there must have
been at first some resentment towards Jane from the Eltons because of her
cancelling. Mrs. Elton expects Mr. Elton to call for her at Miss Bates'. Right
now he is with Mr. Knightley. "Mr. E is Knightley's right hand." When Mrs.
Elton says that this is a very troublesome parish, Jane answers that her
parish at Maple Grove was small because Mrs. Elton spoke of the school having
only five-and-twenty children. Mr. Elton then comes in hot and tired from a
walk he had taken for nothing. He had gone to Donwell to meet Mr. Knightley,
to whom he had sent a note that morning. Mr. Knightley had replied that he
would be home till one, but when Mr. Elton arrived, Mr. Knightley was not in.
He is very annoyed at the fruitless exertion of walking over to Donwell and
back. It is very important that Mr. Elton see Mr. Knightley that day, and he
is furious. Emma now takes her leave and Jane sees her downstairs. Jane tries
to apologize for her past deceit and coldness toward Emma. But Emma answers
that the apology should be on her side. Jane then tells Emma that she and
Frank will be married and living with Frank's uncle at Enscombe after a
three-month mourning period for Frank's aunt. Emma is delighted at the news
and replies, "Oh, if you knew how much I love everything that is decided and
open!"

Comment:

     Mrs. Elton's crudeness reaches a nadir in this chapter. It is ironic that
Emma, who previously complained about Jane's lack of "openness," has herself
been far from open in her managing of Harriet's life.

Chapter LIII

     Mrs. Weston has a baby girl, and though Emma will not admit that she is
planning a match between her and one of Isabella's sons, she is delighted.
Emma says that Mrs. Weston is bound to bring her up extremely well, since she
has had the advantage of practicing on Emma. That means, says Mr. Knightley,
that she will indulge her daughter even more than she indulged Emma. But Mr.
Knightley says that he is not against spoiled children since he owes his
happiness to one (Emma). He says that his tutelage of her brought him to love
her ever since she was thirteen. Emma hopes that he will do as much for little
Anna Weston - except, of course, to fall in love with her when she is
thirteen. Mr. Knightley asks Emma to call him "George" rather than "Mr.
Knightley" which is so formal. Emma says that she can never call him anything
but "Mr. Knightley," except that she will promise to call him by his Christian
name once ("in the building in which N. takes M. for better, for worse"). Emma
regrets that she cannot ask Mr. Knightley's advice about what to do about
Harriet.

     Harriet rarely writes to Emma, who relies on Isabella's letters for news
of her. Isabella writes that Harriet is planning to stay for at least a month
and come back with Mr. and Mrs. John Knightley when they come down to Highbury
in August. This indicates to Emma that Harriet is being distracted in London.
Mr. Knightley then shows Emma John's answer to his announcement of his
intended marriage. Emma jokes with Mr. Knightley by interpreting the letter to
read that John considers that Emma is the lucky one in the marriage. When Mr.
Knightley protests, Emma says that her father, however, will think that Mr.
Knightley is the lucky one. John said that he was not entirely surprised by
the news - that is, he sensed that Mr. Knightley was ripe for marriage. Emma
finally forces herself to break the news to her father. It is a very great
shock to him and he tries hard to persuade her not to do it. He reminds her
that she has always said she would never marry. Look what happened to "poor
Isabella" and to "poor Miss Taylor." But Emma insists and anyway, Mr.
Knightley, whose company her father loves so much, will now be at Hartfield
every day. But her father reminds Emma that he sees him every day as it is.
Why cannot things go on as they always have? Emma enlists the assistance of
Isabella and Mrs. Weston in persuading Mr. Woodhouse, and he begins "to think
that some time or other - in another year or two, perhaps - it might not be so
very bad if the marriage should take place."

     Mrs. Weston is extremely surprised and delighted at the news of the
engagement. Why did she not think of it herself a long time ago? What a fine
connection for Emma and how noble of Mr. Knightley to come and live with Mr.
Woodhouse! Mr. Weston is also happy at the news and goes into town to
communicate it to Jane and Miss Bates, who in turn spread the word to Mrs.
Cole, Mrs. Perry, and Mrs. Elton. It is soon known all over Highbury, and
everyone approves the match except Mr. and Mrs. Elton. Mr. Elton remarks to
his wife that the proud young lady must always have meant to catch Knightley.
And Mrs. Elton takes pity on "poor Knightley." How could he be taken in? She
does not think that he is in love at all. Now she will have a Mrs. Knightley
to compete with in Highbury society. Shocking!

Comment:

     The remarks in this chapter about Mr. Knightley's tutelage of Emma call
to the reader's attention the fact that Emma's tutelage, instead of guiding
Harriet with common sense and good judgment (as Mr. Knightley had guided her),
filled her with illusions and false hopes; indeed, almost created a "monster,"
who at first seems to threaten Emma and who remains a problem on Emma's hands.

Chapter LIV

     Time passes. In a few days John Knightley's family and Harriet will be
arriving from London. One morning, Mr. Knightley comes in and tells Emma he
has some news for her about Harriet Smith which will not please her. She and
Robert Martin are getting married. Emma cannot believe it but Mr. Knightley
affirms that Robert Martin left him not a half hour ago. "Good God!" says
Emma, attempting to conceal her delight. She assures Mr. Knightley that the
news does not make her unhappy. He explains to her that Robert Martin went
into London for a few days on some business and Mr. Knightley had him take
some papers to John, who invited Mr. Martin to join Isabella, Harriet, and
the two older boys at Astley's. And John invited him to dine with them the
next day. During his visit, Mr. Martin proposed to Harriet, who accepted him.
Mr. Knightley acknowledges that Robert Martin does not have a very high place
in society (he is only a tenant farmer on Mr. Knightley's estate), but he is
a good man who is acceptable to Harriet. Emma assures Mr. Knightley that she
thinks that Mr.Martin's connections are probably much better than Harriet's.
But Harriet not long ago seemed very determined against Robert Martin. Mr.
Knightley replies that in his opinion Harriet could not very long be against
anyone who said he loved her. Emma recalls Harriet's saying, "No, I hope I
know better than to think of Robert Martin." Mr. Knightley tells her that
Robert Martin has gone to Mrs. Goddard's to get information about Harriet's
relations [see Chapter VIII]. Mr. Knightley explains that because of Emma, he
had gone out of his way to talk to Harriet and get to know her, and decided
that she was a very nice young lady. No doubt, this is due to Emma's
influence. Emma is exquisitely happy, for the one blight to her delight has
been removed. She laughs at the contrast between her present state and her
profound disappointment of five weeks ago.

     She and her father then go to Randalls to see Mrs. Weston and her baby.
There they discover Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax. After an initial
embarrassment, they all sit down and Frank talks about the past. He says that
he hopes Emma still forgives him. He then talks of many past mistakes; of the
name of Dixon; of his shame. Emma tells him that she never had the least
suspicion of the truth. Frank announces that his uncle will probably visit the
Westons. He praises the beauty of Jane's complexion, and Emma reminds him that
he once told her that it was too pale for him. They all laugh heartily. Frank
says that his uncle plans to give Jane all of his aunt's jewels. When Mrs.
Weston tells of their having called Mr. Perry in because they were worried
about the baby, Frank refers to his dream about Mr. Perry's carriage, about
Jane's letter which told him about it, about the blunder. When Emma leaves the
Westons, she is pleased to have seen Frank Churchill again and regards him as
a friend, but she is very much aware of Mr. Knightley's extreme superiority of
character.

Comment:

     Thus the novel has come full circle. Harriet is engaged to Mr. Martin as
she should have been at the outset were it not for Emma's arrogant
interference. And Emma at last confesses her mistake. She has fully learned
the lesson of the events of the book. After meeting him at the Weston's, Emma
is more aware of the extent of Mr. Knightley's superiority to Frank. His
boyish, playful, and somewhat thoughtless joking about his past deceit
contrasts both with Jane's decorous silence and Mr. Knightley's masculine
maturity.

Chapter LV

     When the party comes down from London, Harriet confides in Emma how
thoroughly Robert Martin has taken possession of her affections. Emma now sees
that Harriet has always liked Robert Martin but she cannot understand how she
could have shifted her feelings about so easily from one man to another. It
soon comes out that Harriet is the daughter of a well-to-do tradesman. (Emma
recalls how she had imagined that Harriet's father was noble.) She thinks of
how she had been preparing to connect Mr. Elton, Frank Churchill, and
(unwittingly) Mr. Knightley with "the stain of illegitimacy unbleached by
nobility or wealth." Emma now acknowledges that Robert Martin is a man of good
sense and worth, sure to provide Harriet with happiness, security, and
stability and to keep her out of the way of temptation. Lucky Harriet! The
intimacy between Harriet and Emma will inevitably dissolve now as she settles
down as Mrs. Martin, nor does Emma regret it. The Martins are married in
September by Mr. Elton. Jane Fairfax is gone home with the Campbells awaiting
her marriage to Frank Churchill in November. Emma and Mr. Knightley decide on
October for their marriage. They sound out Mr. Woodhouse, who puts up such a
fuss that Emma will not go ahead. But luckily Mrs. Weston's poultry house and
several others are robbed on several nights and this raises fears of
housebreaking. Mr. Woodhouse is then very grateful to have his son-in-law,
Mr. John Knightley, at Hartfield for protection. But when he realizes that
John Knightley will be leaving for London soon, he is much more easily
persuaded to give his consent for their marriage.

     Mr. Elton then presides over the marriage of Mr. Knightley and Emma. Mrs.
Elton decides that the affair was much inferior to her own, but "the wishes,
the hopes, the confidence, the predictions of the small band of true friends
who witnessed the ceremony, were fully answered in the perfect happiness of
the union."

Comment:

     Thus, the various problems that were opened up in the first chapter are
all resolved. Emma's education is completed; she has attained her maturity.