Vol III: Chps 11 - 19

This is where I'd usually say "It's been nice knowing y'all" except I think people might think I'm crazy if I wave goodbye to...myself. I should probably just post before I say/type anything weird.

Let's get to it then.

These chapters were all various stages of Emma realizing she loves Knightley. 

-Emma realizes she loves Knightley

-Emma smiles

-Emma meets up with Harriet, who says she loves Knightley

-Emma frowns

-Emma thinks Knightley likes Harriet

-Emma cries and wishes Knightley would stay single forever

-Emma randomly meets Knightley on a walk, its awkward, Knightley is adorable, they decide to get married, Emma smiles again

-Emma has to break it to Harriet

-Emma goes back to hanging out with Knightley after shipping Harriet off to spend time with her sister in London

-Emma can't leave her poor papa, so maybe she won't marry Knightley after all

-Take that back! Knightley figures it out! He'll come and live at Emma's house until her dad dies! Smiles all around (except Harriet, poor dear.)

-Harriet gets engaged to Mr. Martin (finally) and Emma is happy to be with Knightley and at peace with herself.

Emma, Emma, Emma, Knightley, Knightley, Knightley, blah, blah, blah

To be perfectly honest, these last chapters are so filled with character soul-searching that, while the reader is happy for the character, you can't help but think "Yes, We know you like him! Yeah, we got that you've been blind! Okay, that's great Emma, we've sort of seen this the whole time! Move along dear, and hurry up, he's not yours yet!" and then later "Oh stop fussing Emma its really not that big of a deal! Harriet's too much of a ninny to snatch Knightley, YOU HAVE NO COMPETITION! What are you worried about?!?!?!?!?!?!"  Ugh. Emotion. Though let's not forget Knightley is 16 years older than Emma. 

But really, Knightley (and all Jane Austen guys) is absolutely adorable:

I mean, look at him!!!!

And...."I cannot make speeches Emma." YES YOU CAN

ANYWAY, I guess I have to actually discuss what I read now.......

Discussion

Even though I complain about Emma's soul searching, I really do think it was good for her character. She becomes a lot more humble, a lot more sincere towards Harriet (if that's possible), and a lot more caring and thoughtful towards people's feelings in general. Its great for her, and its probably in the best interest of everyone around her. I was really just interested in her anxiety over Harriet after her walk in the garden with Knightley:

"How to do her best by Harriet, was of more difficult decision;---how to spare her from any unnecessary pain; how to maker her any possible atonement; how to appear least her enemy?----On these subjects, her perplexity and distress were very great---and her mind had to pass again and again through every bitter reproach and sorrowful regret that had ever surrounded it." pg 376

Connection

Since it is the last week.....

And

Aren't they just adorable!? I mean! HE RODE THROUGH THE RAIN


On that note, here's an article on the decline of chivalry.


Passages

Since I focused so much on the action leading up to them finally getting married, here's the very last paragraph of the book, that talks about the wedding itself:

"The wedding was very much like other weddings, where the parties have no taste for finery or parade; and Mrs. Elton from the particulars detailed by her husband [implying that she wasn't invited!!!!!!], thought it all extremely shabby, and very inferior to her own.---"Very little white satin, very plain lace veils, a most pitiful business!----Selina would stare when she heard of it."---But, in spite of those deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the predictions of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony, were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union.

FINIS

" pg 421

The End, thank you to whoever actually read this, hope you enjoyed it; I really enjoyed posting all the pictures and video from the movies.....And once again, I have succeeded in making a reference to one Emma movie or another in every. single. post. Gold star for me.

~Claire

End of Vol I: Chps 10 - 18

Well, here we go again, with more action-packed chapters. :)

Some major events that happened in these chapters:

-Isabella and John Knightley come to visit
- Emma and Mr. (George) Knightley become friends again after their fight over Harriet
-Christmas party, at which time Harriet is sick, stays home, and Emma is proposed to by Mr. Elton (as foretold by Mr. John Knightley. Also, see discussion and connection below)
-Emma's fascination with Mr. Frank Churchill (who she's never met) really begins here
- Frank Churchill again becomes important; important enough for another quarrel (this one smaller than the last) between Knightley and Emma

Discussion

I'd like to focus on the Christmas party bit, specifically Mr. Elton's proposal, subsequent refusal, and the pain and awkwardness that followed. This scene marks Emma's first failure in matchmaking---one that she was sure would be successful, to the point where she encouraged Harriet to form an attachment to Mr. Elton that now causes her pain. I'm a little ashamed of Emma: I thought with all her "ready wit" she would have seen it all coming from a mile away (the framing of the picture, the charade, etc was all for her) but she was blinded by her determination to make a match, so she bent everything to skew it one way or another. Both Knightley brothers cautioned her against this, both mentioning Mr. Elton as a warning flag and to both she laughed and walked away. Not only is this part painful for Emma because it means hurting Harriet, its also painful because it affects her opinion of Mr. Elton. She says on pg 116 (kindle), "...Mr. Elton was proving himself, in many respects, the very reverse of what she had meant and believed him; proud, assuming, conceited; very full of his own claims, and little concerned about the feelings of others." (Kinda sounds like our modern day average teenage boy, don't you think?) Not only does Emma blunder in not properly interpreting Mr. Elton's actions, her own actions coincide (though, she admits this, which is a step forward in terms of humility): she was always very kind to him, encouraged him to spend more time at Hartfield, etc.

After all this pain and internal conflict, Emma goes through a good "purge", where she admits to herself that being so active in matchmaking was a bad idea, and also recognizes that she may have lost the only admirer that Harriet will actually get (Mr. Martin) by convincing her that Mr. Elton was a much more suitable prize. Luckily for Emma, Harriet takes the news relatively well (she cries, but blames no one) and Mr. Elton leaves town for a few weeks vacation in Bath (Okay, is it just me, or do guys in older books like this always go on vacation somewhere when in love/trying to forget some girl? I'll bring this up later in the blog NO SPOILERS). So, for the first time we (I) get to say, "Badly done, Emma! Very badly done!" but afterwards we can console ourselves with a "well, at least she's trying to make Harriet feel better now". It's not much, but its what we've got.

Connection

The scene where Mr. Elton expresses his passionate love for Emma is hilarious (and awkward) in the 1996 movie with Gwyneth Paltrow, so, for your enjoyment:

One thing that caught my attention here was "kindly refrain from the intimacy of whispering". I've never really thought of whispering as something "intimate" but now that I think about it, whispering is mostly an action reserved for very good friends, secrets, and couples. So, yeah, it is kind of an intimate thing. For more on whispering, here's a study done on the "perception and judgement of whispered vocalisations".


Passsage

I had several short things highlighted throughout these chapters, but here are my favorite bits and pieces:

1. Emma declares she won't marry (HA):

"My being charming, Harriet, is not quite enough to induce me to marry; I must find other people charming-one other person at least. And I am not only, not going to be married, at present, but have very little intention of ever marrying at all."

She continues later on the page:

"Were I to fall in love indeed, it would be a different thing! But I have never been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall. And without love, I am sure I should be a fool to change such a situation as mine. Fortune I do not want; employment I do not want; consequence I do not want: I believe few married women are half as much mistress of their husband's house as I am of Hartfield; and never, never could I expect to be so truly beloved and important; so always first and always right in any man's eyes as I am in my father's!"

(pg 72/73 K) 

Ah! What great thought we used to put into getting married! I wish we gave that much consideration now-days. 

2. "Never mind,  Harriet, I shall not be a poor old maid; and it is poverty only which makes celibacy contemptible to a generous public!"

 (pg 73/74 K)

True; sad, but true.

Well, that's it! Next week I start Volume II, where hopefully the famous Mr. Frank Churchill will be finally introduced!

~Claire