Review: Emma (novel)

How can it be June already? Where does the time go? 🤷 It's hard to believe this blog will soon be a year old.

I found some exceedingly strange covers for this book when I was searching for one to put here. They included a drawing of an American Civil War-era dress (not at all out of place in the Regency England setting!), a portrait of Empress Elisabeth (why), and a picture of a modern girl (double why, with a side of what were they thinking). The mind boggles.

Emma was Jane Austen's fourth novel, first published in 1815. It's been adapted into at least two films, eight miniseries, four stage productions, and a manga, to say nothing of the countless other works it's inspired.

The main character is Emma Woodhouse, a would-be matchmaker, who is determined to arrange a suitable marriage for her friend Harriet. Only trouble is, she's hopeless at matchmaking, and tries to set Harriet up with a man who's in love with Emma herself. And that's only the start of Emma's errors in judgement.

Much like Pride and Prejudice, Emma is an often-humourous story about a woman who jumps to conclusions, finds her conclusions are badly wrong, and eventually ends up marrying someone she never expected to. But unlike Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse is a vain, arrogant idiot until character development sets in. She refuses to let Harriet marry the man she likes because Emma wants her to marry someone grander, and because of it she gets Harriet's heart broken. She insults a woman who's undeniably silly but has always been very kind to her. But before the book ends, she finally realises how stupid and selfish she was and she tries to change for the better.

Before writing this book Jane Austen said she'd create a heroine no one but herself would like. At first I disliked Emma (the character, not the book) and thought she'd succeeded. But then I found I liked her more and more as the book continued. True, she isn't perfect, but she isn't as unlikable as I thought. Compared to some characters, like Mr. and Mrs. Elton, she's practically a saint. But I still don't like her breaking up Harriet and Mr. Martin 😠

Overall this isn't my favourite Jane Austen novel (because nothing can ever reach the perfection that is Pride and Prejudice), but it's enjoyable and amusing -- or perhaps I should say diverting instead 😄

Is it available online?: Yes, on Gutenberg.

Rating: 9/10.