He’d almost confessed, and suddenly Emma asks Jane to dinner. And then after talking about Jane’s walk to the post office Emma says how nice Frank’s handwriting is, and then she takes Jane’s arm to escort her into the dining room? That’s it, Emma must know.
Tag: Reading Jane Austen
How I got here and those “Reading Jane Austen podcast” references
The question of why I was forgetting Jane was forming somewhere in the recesses of my mind, but before the question had time to become fully formed I had tripped over the springs and mirrors operating Miss Bates.
Austen’s Insidious Poisoners – Mr. Collins: the spider
Can anyone believe that he meant the nice things wrapped up in knives early in the book, but not the ones later in it? That his cruelty is a new affliction?
Jane, Jane! What’s in a name? Mrs. Elton’s most unpardonable sin.
What Mr. Knightley cannot fathom is that anyone—even Mrs. Elton—could address someone with the dignity and pride of Jane Fairfax like an inferior to her face. And by calling Miss Fairfax “Jane,” Mrs. Elton is indeed “continually insulting” her.
The conversation between Mrs. Weston, Mr. Knightley and Emma about why Jane Fairfax “consents to be with the Eltons” in which Emma calls EVERY SINGLE POINT right can lead me into what I need to say about Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’
I like it not only because it’s a very particular way of bringing forward points that the author wants us to be aware of—like the conversations in Pride and Prejudice at Bingley’s when Jane is sick—but also because half of what Mr. Knightley says needs the “rules of address” translation tweak to be properly understood, plus the bonus to make it all perfect, because Jane Austen counterintuitively allows Emma to be very precisely and exactly right on every point in her summation. (And you need her saucy lead-in to make the perfection fully sparkle.)
Exact Words 