Jane Austen Read A Long discussion

Discuss chapters 41-55 of Emma here!

I'm so glad I read this! Besides thinking it was a bit long in the middle section, the beginning and ending sections quite made up for it. Near the end when Mr. Knightley declares himself I was crying at my desk listening to the audiobook! Thankfully no one noticed.

I finished last night and was waiting for you to finish. Eager to read your additional thoughts.
The subplot of Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill does ramble on. Maybe its purpose is to demonstrate yet another way that Emma is so clueless about the relationships around her. I can't decide whether I like Frank or not. He flirts with Emma too much for my taste. If I were Jane Fairfax, I might have smacked him upside the head! I understand that he "must" please his aunt, but poor Jane is left confused.
Remember Jane and Frank when you read Sense and Sensibility.
I think that Mrs. Elton could out-snob Caroline Bingley!
I sort of liked Mr. Elton until he chose that woman. He wasn't undesirable; why did he settle for such an unpleasant woman? And how did she know that Elton had been interested in Emma? Would Mr. Elton tell her?
If you want to watch a movie version, the Gwyneth Paltrow - Jeremy Northam version is good. Another version stars Romola Garai, but I don't remember the man. I think I was unimpressed by him.

Why do you think that P&P is the classic that's taught in high school?

I didn't read P&P until after I had already seen the BBC miniseries when I was out of school. I had to read Wuthering Heights in H.S., which I did not like at all. I feel like P&P has a bit more angst than Emma. I also feel like it's more streamlined.I feel like a few big chunks of Emma could be cut.

I never really liked Mr. Elton; I feel like I was primed by being a big Clueless fan not to. I tend to think of Mrs. Elton and Miss Bates as kind of foils for each other. They both talk way to much but Miss Bates is sweet and Mrs. Elton is off-putting. I think a lot of that is in there so when Knightley scolds Emma for making fun of her, you can see that he would never have made such a fuss if it had been Mrs. Elton. There's a lot of stuff in there, I think, just for the purpose of making us aware that while Emma thinks she knows everybody, Knightley is the one who actually knows what's up. I like Frank Churchill but I think Knightley's assessment of him is accurate, up to a point. He's influenced by his jealousy and I think it makes him harsher on Churchill. But I also think that if everybody did not like the Westons so much, they would not have been so quick to forgive him. He was a bit over the top with his behavior w/Emma. I feel bad for Jane, especially on re-reading the Box Hill section, but she did agree to the secrecy and in Churchill's letter he mentions she was concerned about discretion during the visit to Donwell.

I did watch the BBC miniseries version of Emma, but I like Jonny Lee Miller as Knightley. I am a fan of his in general though.

I also think that Mr. Elton chooses Mrs. Elton in haste because he's eager to go back and prove to Emma that he can get someone better than Harriet.

I had to read Wuthering Heights in high school too! I remember being totally confused about the relationships among the characters. In general, the Brontes fall in the Romantic period (lots of emotion and mystery), but Austen is a Neo-Classical holdover, with added satire.

Maybe P&P seems to have more angst - and weight - than Emma because the Bennet sisters' situation is more serious. We know that they lack money and that their father's estate is entailed. When Lydia runs off with Wickham, the sisters might all be ruined socially. Yes, Jane and Elizabeth and Kitty are attractive, but what family would want to be associated with their family, with its disgraced daughter? [Total aside - I wanted Mr. Collins to choose Mary!] On the other hand, Emma admits that she need not marry; she has her own money.

What's our January book?

January -- Persuasion

One of my favorites!

Persuasion, I think.

dang i was just going to start reading all the books for the second time and wanted to start with Emma. looks like i'm too late to join this convo. will join the next one.

to Susan who is having trouble with the name conventions, check out the great book What Matters in Jane Austen, chapter 3: What Do the Characters Call Each Other?

What Matters ... is available as an e-book at my library. Thanks for the suggestion!

i got it for xmas