DECEMBER 2020 MARKS THE 205th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PUBLICATION OF EMMA

In December 1815, Jane and her publisher, John Murray, were frantically prepping Emma for its debut, which was announced on December 23rd in The Morning Chronicle.

Mr Murray corrected Jane’s initial dedication to the Prince Regent, making it a little more elaborate, and Jane thanked him profusely – ‘I feel happy in having a friend to save me from the ill effect of my own blunder.’

Jane wrote to Revd James Stanier Clarke, the Prince Regent’s librarian and curator of the infamous dedication, to assure him a copy of the novel was on its way. She thanked him for his praise of her other novels and declares ‘I am too vain to wish to convince you that you have praised them beyond their Merit.’ However, she then goes on to humbly refute his suggestion of writing a clergyman as the hero of her next book – ‘the comic part of the Character I might be equal to, but not the Good, the Enthusiastic, the Literary…And I think I may boast myself to be, with all possible Vanity, the most unlearned, & uninformed Female who ever dared to be an Authoress.’ It is Jane’s self-deprecating, exaggerated deference that shines through for a reader today, but passed as a suitably humble manner at the time.

A reply from the librarian survives which shows his admiration for what he has read of the novel so far, as well as December correspondence with the Countess of Morley. She was a popular and vivacious woman who some suspected of being the true author of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. She likely came to be acquainted with Jane through Jane’s brother Henry, and spoke warmly to Jane of Emma, despite ranking it below Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park when confiding in other friends.

This was just the start of Emma’s reception, which perhaps culminated for Jane in the review of the novel by Sir Walter Scott in the Quarterly Review. Its popularity waned slightly after Austen’s death, but was soon picked up again, largely due to the 1869 publication of Memoir of Jane Austen, by James Edward Austen-Leigh (Jane’s nephew and the son of her eldest brother James).

Since its publication 205 years ago, scholars, critics, and fans have argued over Emma. Is it, as many declare, Austen's most perfect novel? Is it Austen's most enjoyable novel, or are others, as the Countess of Morley believes, superior? It has by no means exhausted its appeal - the last couple of decades has seen lavish adaptations from Miramax, Focus Features, the BBC, and ITV, an extremely popular contemporary reworking set in a high school (Clueless, 1995), and a mixed-media web series (Emma Approved, 2013).

The story of privileged, snobbish Emma Woodhouse, "handsome, clever, and rich", and her romance with the kind-hearted, generous Mr Knightley has delighted readers for two centuries, but the love story is only one facet of this narrative. The novel is both social critique and Bildungsroman – in addition to romance, there is the minutiae of life in Highbury, the divisions of class and status, the mystery of orphans and origins, and the ethical and moral questions that are tackled, perhaps the most striking being the behavior of the privileged classes - does Emma, as a younger, richer woman, have an obligation to be kinder to her older, poorer neighbours? Does Emma's wealth excuse her from admonishment when her matchmaking (read: meddling) affects people's lives in a harmful manner? Mr Knightley is perhaps indicative of Jane’s opinions - he has a strong sense of duty to the tenants he oversees and takes responsibility for their wellbeing onto himself in an almost father-like way when he sends the last of the Donwell apples to the Bates'.

Mr Knightley, a pinnacle of integrity and decency, is Emma's saving grace - he is the one to take her off her own pedestal, to pull her up when she is rude and unfeeling. Through Knightley, Emma's character is improved. Jane obviously admired Mr Knightley - he is a character almost entirely without fault - and it is interesting to note that his name, Knightley, is so similar to that of the Knight family, who adopted Jane's brother, Edward. It was due to the inheritance Edward received from the Knights that Jane, her sister, and her mother were able to move to Jane's beloved countryside in Chawton, which proved to be her most prolific writing period. There is no proof of course, that the naming of the character was a tribute to the Knight family, but it would be a very odd coincidence were it unintentional.

It is the supporting characters that flesh out this complex and nuanced narrative and provide some of the more amusing comic exchanges still making readers laugh today. Dippy Harriet, pompous Mr Elton (and his revolting wife), the hypochondriac Mr Woodhouse and the exasperating Miss Bates are all beloved of readers and serve to highlight Emma's good and not-so-good features in a social context. Numerous academics have also pointed out that the book contains Austen's only kissing scene between lovers, should eagle-eyed readers look closely enough (they refer to the moment Emma comes upon the seemingly pre-occupied Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax, alone except for a slumbering Mrs Bates, before Emma and the audience realize that Frank and Jane are in fact secretly engaged and would certainly not be using their alone time to clean some spectacles and play the pianoforte).

These are all signs of a good - a great - piece of literature, but as we know, great literature doesn't always translate to popular literature. Yet Jane's appeal and the popularity of Emma just continues to grow. So what is it about this book that resonates so strongly with readers today? Is it the amusing imperfections and flaws of its heroine, a woman whom Jane declared ‘no one but myself will much like’? Is it the innate perceptions of human behaviour that play out amongst the inhabitants of Highbury? Is it Highbury itself, a town so finely drawn it could represent any sort of anonymous and real place in England? Or is it simply the story, a tale of romance and realism that presents some new insight or revelation on every subsequent reading? Decide for yourself – whether it is for the first time or the fiftieth time, Emma’s 205th birthday is the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in one of English literatures most enduring and respected works.

© Emily Prince - writer and editor of Pride & Possibilities

References: 

Hecimovich, G. A. (2008). Austen’s Emma. Continuum International Publishing Group: London.

Le Faye, D. (Ed.). (2013). A chronology of Jane Austen and her family: 1600-2000 (rev. ed.). Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

Le Faye, D. (Ed.). (2011). Jane Austen’s Letters (4th ed.). Oxford University Press: Oxford

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Image credit: BBC TV