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Emma''''' is a comic novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1816, about the perils of misconstrued romance. The main character, Emma Woodhouse, is described in the opening paragraph as "handsome, clever, and rich" but is also rather spoiled. Prior to starting the novel, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like."
Plot Summary
Emma Woodhouse is a handsome, clever, rich young woman in Regency England. She lives with Mr. Woodhouse, her father, and has — as the novel begins — just attended the marriage of Miss Taylor, her old governess. Having introduced Miss Taylor to her future husband Mr. Weston, Emma finds that she rather likes matchmaking. Emma tries to match her new friend, Harriet Smith (a sweet but simple girl of seventeen of unknown parentage) to the local minister, Mr. Elton; this plan backfires when it turns out that Mr. Elton aspires to greatly better himself by marrying Emma— not, as she had mistakenly thought, the poor and socially inferior Harriet. After Emma turns down his proposals, Mr. Elton goes on holiday. Harriet fancies herself heartbroken, though Emma does her best to convince Harriet that Mr. Elton (who will reveal himself to be more and more arrogant and pompous as the story continues) is beneath them both.
An interesting development for Emma is the arrival in the neighbourhood of Frank Churchill, the stepson of her ex-governess, whom she has never met but in whom she has a long-standing interest. Mr Elton returns with a vulgar wife who becomes part of Emma's social circle, even though the two women loathe each other. Another newcomer is Jane Fairfax, the reserved but beautiful niece of Emma's impoverished neighbour, the loquacious Miss Bates (another comical character who serves to lighten the scene). Emma envies Jane for her musical skills. Jane had lived with Miss Bates until she was nine, but Colonel Campbell, a friend indebted to her father for seeing him through a life-threatening illness, then welcomed her into his own home, where she became fast friends with his daughter and received a first-rate education. On the marriage of Miss Campbell, Jane returned to her relations to prepare to earn her living as a governess. In her eagerness to find some sort of fault with Jane — and also to find something to amuse her in her pleasant but dull village — Emma concocts a fantasy that Jane fancied Miss Campbell's husband, Mr. Dixon, and that it is for this reason she has returned home, rather than going to Ireland to visit them. This suspicion is further fuelled
