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1-Page Summary of Emma

Overview

Like all of Jane Austen’s novels, Emma is a novel about courtship and social manners. The majority focuses on marriage and how people marry for love or other reasons. At the center of the narration is Emma Woodhouse, an heiress who lives with her widowed father at their estate, Hartfield. She has no particular need to marry but takes pride in her matchmaking skills among others in Highbury where she lives.

When Emma’s governess, Miss Taylor, marries Mr. Weston, she leaves Emma alone and lonely. So Emma decides to adopt Harriet Smith as her protégé and teach her about the ways of society. She tells Harriet that her father must have been a gentleman because he sent his daughter to a boarding school. Then Emma plays matchmaker for Harriet by setting her up with Mr. Elton, the vicar of Highbury parish church.

Emma and Harriet’s friendship does not benefit either of them. Emma is too meddlesome, while Harriet is an empty-headed fool who only flatters her friend. Mr. Knightley, a neighbor and old friend of the family, notices this immediately. He criticizes Emma for being so foolish as to encourage Harriet in her silly dreams about marrying into higher society than she deserves—she thinks that Robert Martin is beneath her because he isn’t rich enough or well-born enough for her tastes. Mr. Knightley believes that Robert Martin would be a better match for Harriet than someone like Mr. Elton with his overblown ego and grandiose pretensions to gentility; in short, he thinks that Emma should leave the matchmaking to him since he knows what’s best for their friends’ happiness (and since they’ve been arguing about it).

Emma sees things differently; she wants everyone around her to marry happily (except herself), but at least one person has the good sense not to want what she wants: Isabella Knightley refuses both Frank Churchill and George Weston when offered by Emma on behalf of their other sister Jane Fairfax! She then tries again with John Knightley after learning from Jane Fairfax about his previous love interest, but once more fails miserably…

Emma tries to get Mr. Elton and Harriet together, but they don’t seem interested in each other. Emma is the only one who seems to be interested in him because of her wealth and social status. He wants a wife with money so he can advance his own status, which is why he’s attracted to Emma. However, she rejects him when he asks her for marriage.

Emma is upset that she was wrong about Mr. Elton’s intentions toward Harriet and realizes that Knightley may have been right in saying that Harriet should not be associating with Robert Martin. Emma still believes, however, that Harriet shouldn’t demean herself by associating with him. After telling a heartbroken Harriet the truth, Emma comes to terms with her own poor judgment of the situation and decides to take Knightley’s advice more seriously in the future.

The town of Highbury is excited about the visit of Frank Churchill, who’s coming to visit. His father sent him away when his mother died because he didn’t have enough money to raise him. Now that he’s older and a suitable match for Emma, they’re eager to meet him.

Emma is also interested in Jane Fairfax, the granddaughter of Mrs. Bates and niece of Miss Bates. She’s a friend of Emma’s who has been raised by wealthy people after her parents died.

While Emma and Mr. Knightley are spending time together, they learn that Frank Churchill has been engaged to a woman named Augusta Hawkins from Bath. This news causes Harriet Smith to become embarrassed because she had an interest in him as well. Later on, the Martins visit the Westons again and this time it’s awkward for Harriet because of her feelings toward Frank Churchill. Emma learns more about Frank when he visits later on; she finds out that he is not what she expected at all—he seems superficial and immature. He makes a trip to London just so he can get his hair cut, which even Emma admits is odd behavior for someone who should be able to afford such things easily if needed (as we find out later). As Emma spends more time with Frank, Mr. Knightley becomes jealous of their relationship; he thinks that there must be something wrong with him since no one else wants anything to do with him except for Emma (Mr. Elton certainly does not want any kind of relationship with him). Meanwhile, Jane Fairfax continues to live in London while caring for her aunt who is ill but still receiving letters from Mrs. Weston asking her how she’s doing etcetera…