Questions tagged [emma-austen]

Questions about Jane Austen's 1815 novel 'Emma'. Use this tag with [jane-austen]. This tag should not be used for works entitled 'Emma' by other authors, e.g. F. W. Kenyon's novel with the same title.

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What does "N. takes M." mean in "Emma"?

In Jane Austen's Emma, when Emma and Mr. Knightley are discussing first names, this exchange happens: 'And cannot you call me "George" now?' 'Impossible!—I never can call you any thing but &...
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2 votes
1 answer
61 views

Why aren't Mr. Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley as enthusiastic as Mr. Weston thinks?

In Jane Austen's Emma, when Mr. Weston is making the rounds at a party talking about his son, Mr. Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley are apparently less happy than Mr. Weston would hope them to be: Mr ...
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4 votes
2 answers
253 views

Is Emma's preoccupation with class and station typical of the time period or an aspect of her character?

In Jane Austen's Emma, the titular character is shown to spend a lot of time and effort thinking about class, rank, and station in society. She's worried about mixing with the lower classes, and ...
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3 votes
1 answer
750 views

What does Mrs Weston mean by "do not beat me" in "Emma"?

In Jane Austen's Emma, when Emma and Mrs. Weston are arguing about the possibility of Mr. Knightley being in love with Jane Fairfax, Mrs. Weston finishes off with this line: 'Well, Mrs Weston,' said ...
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9 votes
1 answer
2k views

Who is "the black gentleman"?

In Jane Austen's Emma, Mr. Weston, when announcing that Frank Churchill is returning to Highbury, says this: 'Well, he is coming, you see; good news, I think. Well, what do you say to it?—I always ...
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3 votes
1 answer
98 views

What does this little speech by Mr. Weston to Emma accomplish?

Before the arrival of Frank Churchill in Jane Austen's Emma, Mr. Weston, Frank Churchill's father, happens to meet Emma on the road, and he says this to Emma: Emma could imagine she saw a touch of ...
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6 votes
1 answer
698 views

Is this comment about Jane Fairfax's curiosity about a character trait or a comment on the specific circumstance?

In Jane Austen's Emma, when Miss Bates is talking about Mr. Elton's recent engagement, she mentions that Jane is curious to see him, which is then followed by a narrator statement about Jane's ...
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5 votes
1 answer
586 views

What are the Campbells' motives in sending Jane to Highbury?

When giving us the background of Jane Fairfax in Jane Austen's Emma, the narrative seems to imply that the Campbells, who Jane has been living with, have some hidden motives in allowing Jane to visit ...
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1 vote
0 answers
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Why is "the ——— regiment" censored in "Emma"? [duplicate]

When giving us the history of Jane Fairfax, Emma by Jane Austen has this line: Jane Fairfax was an orphan, the only child of Mrs Bates's youngest daughter. The marriage of Lieut. Fairfax, of the ——— ...
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4 votes
1 answer
801 views

Why does the narrative change back and forth between "Isabella" and "Mrs. John Knightley" to refer to Emma's sister?

In chapter 11 of Jane Austen's Emma, I happened to notice that the narrative - not from anybody's specific point of view, but the narrator of the story - switched back and forth between referring to ...
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7 votes
2 answers
2k views

How am I supposed to parse the "...she might have passed over more..." line in "Emma"?

I'm having trouble parsing this excerpt from Jane Austen's Emma, particularly the bolded sentence: He was not a great favourite with his fair sister-in-law. Nothing wrong in him escaped her. She was ...
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10 votes
2 answers
3k views

What does living "in a very small way" mean?

Towards the beginning of Emma by Jane Austen, Mrs. Bates is mentioned as living with her daughter in "a very small way": Mrs. Bates, the widow of a former vicar of Highbury, was a very old ...
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8 votes
1 answer
4k views

Where does Emma Woodhouse’s family fortune come from?

The opening words of Jane Austen's Emma (1816) describe the eponymous heroine as follows: "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich ...." The novel shows very clearly how much prestige and power ...
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