Emma
(Jane Austen)

Manipulation

There are many characters who use manipulation to get what they want, or at least to attempt to. Mr. Elton uses Emma's friendship with Harriet to seek Emma's hand in marriage. Emma manipulates Harriet into thinking she is a gentleman's daughter and encourages her to seek a man higher up in society. Frank manipulates and plays games with those around him to hide his secret engagement with Jane, and to also communicate with her when other people are around. While everything is resolved by the novel's end, the ease with which characters manipulate one another suggests that friendships are disposable as long as the end goal is in sight.

Word Games

The word game with Jane, Frank, Emma and Mr. Knightley hints at the inability for many of these characters to interpret the others' intentions and meaning. While Jane and Emma perfectly understand the meaning of “Dixon”, Mr. Knightley is baffled by it. Frank creates the word “blunder”, which Jane understands refers to a mistake Frank has made and is sort of apologizing for, but Emma believes it refers to Jane's past with Mr. Dixon. This echoes the mistakes characters make in interpreting each others behaviour in regular conversations.

Observation

Emma watches other people's behaviour and is confident in her abilities to decode what is actually happening between people. She is convinced that Jane and Mr. Dixon are or were involved and does not suspect Frank and Jane of their engagement. This is likely due to Emma's own prejudiced understanding of the unfolding events because she thinks Harriet and Frank will marry one another. That so many of the characters fail to see what is truly happening could suggest that they are socially inept. It could also suggest that it is harder to reveal true feelings and thoughts when honour and manners rely on how someone behaves in their station.

Visiting

The complicated nature of visiting in Highbury society dictates who should visit whom and when. There are certain events that require people to pay visits. There are also visits that people make purely to find out information or to watch other people. The people higher up in society are expected to pay attention to those who are not as lucky in life. For example, Mr. Knightley wishes that Emma would be kind enough to visit Miss Bates and Jane more often as they are not as lucky as she is. Emma would honestly rather not, and is guilt-tripped into doing so rather than going out of her own wishes.

Open vs. Reserved Expression

The secrets and deceptive behaviour in Emma is rife: neither Frank nor Jane reveal how they genuinely feel, but they do it in different ways. Jane remains cold to everyone around her while she hides her secret, whereas Frank is emotional about everything and expresses his delight or hatred for whatever he sees. It is seen as common decency and politeness to not voice thoughts that might be insulting. Emma seems to sit in the middle of these two spaces—she keeps her thoughts to herself if it is appropriate, particularly when she does not want to upset someone like her father, Mr. Woodhouse, but does not shy away from speaking her mind when she can, or when she thinks she can get what she wants.

Gender Spheres

In the world of Highbury and beyond, men are primarily concerned with business, farming, and so on while women are concerned with parties, visits, having children and taking care of them. There is no question raised as to whether or not these spheres are discriminatory, and the worth of a man or woman is based on their status and how well they carry out the tasks related to that status. Austen plays with gender a little in Emma. Emma is celebrated for her accomplishments as a gentlewoman even though she is probably intelligent enough to perform other tasks and Mr. Woodhouse's ill health is reminiscent of Mrs. Churchill's and suggests that he has more feminine qualities in him than anything. There are more frequent moments in the novel that criticize each gender's inability to cross the boundary between female and male spheres. For example, Mrs. Elton mixes up the day for Mr. Elton's meeting with Mr. Knightley which suggests that she is incapable of understanding or being part of the business world. While this has often been seen as satirical on Austen's part, much of it reflects the contemporary societal structure she grew up in.

Match-Making

Match-making is a kind of social sport among both the women and men of Highbury society. Many characters believe that they see things that hint at a possible attachment, when in actual fact it does not suggest anything of the sort. Mr. Cole wonders if Mr. Knightley and Jane will end up together, Emma imagines Mr. Elton, and then Frank as a potential match for Harriet. Mr. and Mrs. Weston hope Emma and Frank will end up together. That the relationships and agreements between people are the source of gossip and influence suggests that this society does not have much else to do with their time. These matches are also based on financial improvement and social status.

Mistaken Romance

There are a series of mistaken romances during the course of the novel. Mr. Elton proclaims he is in love with Emma in a display of affection she is disgusted by. This comes after she is convinced that Mr. Elton's affection for Harriet means he is in love with her. Harriet believes Mr. Knightley is in love with her because of the attention he has been showing her. While this belief thankfully never goes beyond Emma and Harriet's ears, it reveals the kind of mistakes that can happen when people influence others to interpret behaviour in different ways. Harriet and Mr. Elton only believe that the other party is in love with them because of Emma's interference. It is only when she takes a step back from the proceedings that things play out how they were meant to. For example, Harriet only accepts Mr. Martin when she is parted from Emma.

Youthful Pride

Emma is susceptible to her own schemes, theories and understanding of the world around her, often to the point where she misunderstands what is actually happening. Her pride in making the match, or she she thinks, between Mr. and Mrs. Weston leads her to believe she has an insight and talent for understanding others which blinds her. Harriet is infected by Emma's pride in her own projects—she believes she is more superior than she actually is which leads to a series of blunders. Emma thinks Jane's cold treatment of everyone means she believes she is better than her and so she makes Jane's life much harder by spreading the rumour of her relationship with Mr. Dixon and making references to it in front of other people. Emma does not see that she is hurting other people. She believes it shows her intelligence more than anything.

Marriage

Marriage is the key goal for many of the young women in Emma and is the source of many different schemes and theories. The novel begins with news of a marriage, which alters Emma's day to day life considerably. This leads her to search for a friend in Harriet Smith, who she decides will be her next project. Mr. Elton is chiefly concerned with finding a bride in Emma, and then escapes Highbury to find someone else to become Mrs. Elton. The secret engagement between Jane and Frank has to remain secret while his Aunt is still alive because of the unequal status Jane holds in society.