When I first discovered Jane Austen, tearing through my one-volume edition of her works in a two-week period, Emma was certainly my least favorite. It was long, and nothing really momentous seemed to happen, and I just didn't like Emma as much as Austen's other heroines. I was hoping that my feelings would be softened after rereading, and they have been. I feel I am finally appreciating Emma for its brilliant character sketches, sly, understated humor, and firm moral footing. Be warned, this review contains spoilers.

Emma is the brightest, most accomplished young woman in her retired country neighborhood of Highbury. She lives with her invalid father at their estate at Hartfield, enjoying her position of prominence. Everyone adores clever, pretty Emma... everyone, that is, except her brother-in-law George Knightley. He claims the right of a family friend to see Emma's faults and to sometimes make her see them as well, so that she might change. Despite this honesty and the disparity in their ages (Knightley was sixteen when Emma was born), the two are good friends. But when Emma turns matchmaker and begins to direct the romantic affairs of her new protegé, Harriet Smith, Knightley warns her she is not helping her friend. Emma, not lacking faith in her own wisdom, is sure she knows more about matchmaking than any mere man could and pursues her plans anyways.

Emma really is a great character. I didn't dislike her this time around, probably because I finally admitted to myself our similarities. Her dislike of Jane Fairfax and neglect of Mrs. and Miss Bates spring from a fault I must also own to. What makes Emma likeable is not her offenses, but how she responds when they are pointed out to her. She makes some foolish and even spiteful mistakes, but sincerely repents and tries to make amends. Honest friends are precious, even when the truths they speak are unpleasant to hear. Emma is a smart, generally kind person who nevertheless makes some bad mistakes — and learns from them. It doesn't make sense not to like Emma. She gives us hope!

The characters are pure Austen and very funny and poignant indeed. Miss Bates is quite funny; her speeches must have been such fun to write. Mrs. Elton is the odious woman you love to hate, always conniving for compliments and treating others with a most disgusting familiarity. Her speech when they are picking strawberries made me laugh out loud. Her husband, Mr. Elton, thoroughly deserves her. His behavior really is cruel, and unlike Emma, he never repents of it. Rather, he and his wife rejoice at how they score off Emma by slighting Harriet at the ball. There's really no hope for change when people are proud of their bad behavior!

One thing I realized on this reread is how badly fathers fare in Austen's work. I can't think of a single father who is portrayed in a good light; either the father is not present or is ridiculous. In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bennet is loving but indolent, more interested in his own comfort than in the affairs of his family. In Persuasion, Sir Walter Elliot is a social-climbing and vain fop. In Northanger Abbey, General Tilney is a grasping, greedy, ill-mannered man. And in Emma, Mr. Woodhouse is a hypochondriac who is incapable of imagining that others could feel differently from himself, especially on matters of health and marriage. He is always denying his guests the delicacies that Emma tries to provide, because he honestly believes those tidbits will ruin their digestion. He is much beloved, of course, and very polite and well liked in his circle, but still utterly ridiculous. I suppose the leading men represent the male of the species well enough to make up for the deficiencies of the fathers, but it's still rather troubling that fatherhood gets such a one-sided portrayal in Austen's world.

Some readers are disturbed by the difference in Emma's and Knightley's ages; when the story opens she is twenty-one and he thirty-seven. Knightley has been accused of "grooming" Emma to be his bride, forming all her opinions and ironing out her faults for his own future benefit. I think this idea gives Emma far less credit than she deserves, for one thing! She isn't exactly a moldable, pliant woman like Harriet Smith. And such a view completely misunderstands Knightley's own character. He is an honorable, upright man who would never stoop to such a tactic. He never corrects Emma with the plan of marrying her once she is all improved; the thought of marrying her never enters his head until fairly late in the story. In the early chapters when Mrs. Weston speaks to him about Emma, he talks about Emma's resolution to never marry without any particular feeling on the matter. Clearly he doesn't think it concerns him at all. There is a part at the end where Emma and Knightley are joking with each other and he says he fell in love with her when she was thirteen, the first time he pointed out one of her flaws. But for all those years he doesn't realize what his feelings are, and never seeks to control Emma's social or romantic life. Surely a creepy cradle-robber would have been much more aggressive in securing his fair intended?

Lastly, I should mention a few of the film adaptations of this story. My personal favorite is the Gwyneth Paltrow version; it is very lighthearted and fun, and stays fairly close to the original. Rachel Portman's score for it is just lovely, too. I've only seen the Kate Beckinsale version once, but I remember it being rather humorless and drab, and sorely lacking panache. But I know many fans prefer it, so perhaps I need to give it another try. If the Beckinsale version is your favorite, drop by my profile or challenge thread and tell me why. I love a good discussion.

Emma is probably not the best place for a new Austen reader to start, and it may be that on your first read, you — with the penetration of common sense imparted by the omniscient narrative — will be as frustrated as I was with Emma's wilful mistakes. But the story is worth another visit, and Emma should be an encouragement rather than an annoyance to anyone who has ever bungled something. It can't be that I am the only one! Smart, funny, and highly recommended. ( )

Excellent story, although it took me a short while to get into it. Once I'd got into it (probably about 50 pages or so in) I couldn't put it down. ( )

Emma is an interesting character who thinks herself a matchmaker. How she slowly discovers that she truly loves Mr. Knightley makes up the bulk of the book. ( )

I have been a fan of Jane Austen for quite some time, with only a couple popular books left to read, I was excited for Emma, but after finishing I found it wasn’t as enjoyable as I had a imagined. I couldn’t keep my focus and half the time was confused as to the characters.

Emma is supposed to be a comedic novel about misinterpreted romance. Emma is spoiled and rich, not a care but herself, and Austen proclaimed prior to publishing that Emma was probably a character most people would not enjoy, but herself.

The story covers the lives of many characters and involves Emma’s quest at matchmaking, unable to find love herself. Emma focuses her quest on her young friend Harriet, but when things don’t go as planned, Emma finds herself questioning the new match and the future.

I hope to re-read this again in the future, maybe after seeing the film, and having more of a connection with the story.

As a protagonist, witty, good-hearted Emma cannot be beat. One of Austen's very best novels. ( )