Discussion #3 Notes

Discussion #3 led by Emily Tyndorf

1)      Is Emma a likeable character?

E: Yes, she’s a leader and confident; she cares a lot about other people; she might get annoying sometimes but you will tolerate them

A: she seems like she can be a mean person, but she is an interesting character which makes her likeable to the reader

H: I wouldn’t want to be her friend because she has such a large personality, but you would want to be on a team or in a club with her; she’s not self-centered and cares about people

S: Emma is unlike most main characters in books. She is a little rude and overly confident and closed minded, but her character is different which makes her interesting and likeable

2)      In chapters 16-18, what do Mr. Knightly and Emma argue about?

A: they fight about Mr. Elton’s desire for Emma, she wants to deny it because she had set up Harriet with Mr. Elton

S: She wants to think that her match making instincts were spot on, but Mr. Knightly believes that she read the whole situation with Mr. Elton completely wrong

H: Emma wants to force Mr. Elton and Harriet together, and wants her matchmaking to be correct, but Mr. Knightly believes she is wrong about this match

E: I feel that Mr. Knightly likes Emily and wants to cause conflict and heat with her

3)      What role has Mr. Knightly played in the novel so far?

A: he is the balance for Emma, he is her opposite and her foil; opposites attract, Mr. Knightly challenges Emma

H: he makes her think twice, second guess her ideas; they have very different points of view and it is interesting to see how they interact

E: he has good judgement and helps her make the right decisions, instead of letting emma do what she wants to do; Mr. Knightly is always trying to push the boundaries with Emma because he is attracted to her

S: Mr. Knightly poses as the only one who fights Emma’s beliefs and actions; he makes her think twice about what she does instead of doing whatever she wants

4)      Compare and contrast Emma and Jane Fairfax

E: they are both beautiful, intelligent, and talented; they are both very independent women; Jane has had to work for things, but Emma has had most things handed to her

A: Jane and Emma both lost their someone in heir family, but Jane has no fortune, while Emma is very wealthy

H: Emma and Jane clash because they both have similar qualities like beauty and intelligence

S: Emma comes from a very wealthy family, but Jane is an orphan who has no money

5)      What are some of the epiphanies that Emma has during the course of the novel?

A: she realizes that matchmaking isn’t her thing and she needs to find something else to occupy her time

E: she becomes more humble throughout the novel and realizes that the world does not revolve around herself

S: all of her epiphanies are a result of bad behavior relating to those around her; her bad behavior stems from good intentions

H: she starts to become more and more bluntly rude, but before she prided herself in her kindness towards other people

6)      What role does the narrator play in the novel?

H: she outlines Emma instead of letting us interpret about her on our own

E: she only talks about Emma’s thoughts and Emma’s characteristics, even though it is a third person narrative

A: Emma’s view of herself is different than what other people think of her

S: the narrator adds a voice of judgement and reason to the novel; she is a trustoworhty source of what actually happened, not what Emma’s thinks happened

7)      How does the novel portray the issue of class in British society?

S: it is evident that there is a clear divide in her community between right and poor’ and it is hard to climb up the ladder of the social structure

E: the social structure and classes have to stay

A: class structure back in that time was much more rigid than it is today; you could clearly see the difference between the two classes

H: during this time period, it was the way you were born, but now a days it’s how you present yourself and the work you put into it

8)      Describe Emma’s relationship with Harriet Smith.

E: Emma chose Harriet to be her friend because she knew she was lower down in the class system so she can control her

S: Harriet loves Emma and will listen to her because she is confident and comes from a higher class; Emma takes advantage of Harriet’s love for her by controlling her every thought and action; their relation has no equality

A: because they are not equal, Emma tries to improve Harriet by finding her a wealthy husband

H: Emma learns how to think of people other than herself because of their friendship