Blog Post #3

Real CLASSy

~Blog Post #3~

Topic D

April 30, 2015

Lily O'Gorden

            Throughout section 2, the significance of social hierarchy to Emma is made apparent by her actions. From the beginning of this novel it has been obvious that class is a big deal, particularly to Emma and her family. When Emma becomes companions with Harriet, her main focus is to promote her social status and assist her in marrying someone prosperous and settled. While people in modern society may believe that the importance of class within this culture is normal, it is emphasized by other characters that this is not true. Mr. Knightley is ashamed of the fact that Emma would attempt to stop two people who like each other, Mr. Martin and Harriet, from marrying because of status. The subject of social class remains relevant throughout the story, and there is a major conflict involving this in Chapter 25. When Emma receives an invitation the Cole’s party, she hesitates to accept because of their social rank. Although they are nice people according to Emma, they are “low of origin, in trade, and only moderately genteel” (195). Emma feels the need to decline in order to show them it is improper to invite superior families to dinner. This situation stresses Emma’s immaturity and lack of consideration towards others feelings. In the beginning of the novel, Mr. Woodhouse, Emma’s father, describes her as a caring girl who never thinks of herself “if she can do well to others;” however, Emma’s actions contradict his comment (11). Not only does Emma want to reject their invitation because of her own reputation, but she deliberately wishes to make the Coles feel insulted by her. When Emma finds out other “high class” individuals are attending the party, she feels the need to go. Not only does this situation bring out the strongest egotism within Emma, but also proves that social status will be a reoccurring theme in this novel.

Discussion #4

Discussion Post #4 

April 29, 2015

Leader: Rose

Notes: Regan

1. By teasing Jane, Emma gets the image that Frank doesn't like Jane, but in reality he was her ex-fiance. Could he still have feelings for Jane?

Jaclyn- Yes he could, Emma thinks that they still have feelings for each other 

Lily- Frank tries to cover up his feelings for Jane by being friends with Emma

2.  Emma seems to be pretty oblivious to about Jane and Franks relationship. Do you think this is on purpose or has to deal with her ego?

Lily- She doesn't know that they were together yet.

Rose- What if she finds out?

Regan- I think if she found out she would be jealous and would give her more of a reason to dislike Jane.

Jaclyn- It would also make her insecure

3. Why is Mr. Weston concerned for Emma, Harriet, and Mrs. Weston when it comes to Frank? What does he think of Frank?

Lily- Mr. Weston thinks that Frank has become a big part of their lives and he knows that he has to leave eventually. 

Regan- He's probably afraid that Frank won't come back again to visit.

Rose- Mr. Weston thinks that Frank is manipulative and that he might just be using them.

Jaclyn- Franks past isn't talked about much, so it's possible that Mr. Weston knows something that they don't. 

4. Why does Frank make Emma promise him the first two dances at the ball?

Lily- To make other people jealous, such as Jane.

Jaclyn- It's also a tradition 

5. Why does Frank let his Aunt, Mrs. Churchill, have so much control over him? What does this say about Franks personality?

Lily- He's very manipulative, like Emma. It seems like Emma's getting better and he's getting worse. 

6. Could Mr. Knightly not be interested in the ball because Frank will be there? Could he be jealous?

Jaclyn- He's definitely jealous of Frank because he really likes Emma

Lily- Mr. Knightly is more in touch with his feelings than Emma and Emma is just oblivious to the fact that she even likes Mr. Knightly.

Regan- I agree. If someone would ask her if she liked Mr. Knightly she would say no. But her actions and underlying thoughts about Mr. Knightly 

7. What do you think Frank was going to say to Emma? Was he going to propose?

Jaclyn- He was going to tell her that he loves her

Lily- I think he was going to tell Emma about Jane, not that he wanted to marry Emma. 

8. Do you think Emma's feelings for Frank are real or that she's just trying to convince herself?

Jaclyn- She's trying to convince herself because she thinks he's going to propose and she wants to get married. 

Regan- She wants to get married not for love but almost for wealth or social status. 

9. By making Harriet  forget about Mr. Elton do you think Emma shows a more selfish side of herself?

Lily- The only reason Emma  wanted to set up Harriet with Mr. Elton in the first place was because of selfish reasons 

Rose- She said she doesn't want to be blamed for causing Harriet to be sad about Mr. Elton. 

10. Mr. Elton's new bride and Emma seem to have a lot in common. Can this be why Emma doesn't like her? Is she jealous?

Lily- Both Emma and Mrs. Elton are very superficial and Mr. Elton was looking for someone like Emma. 

Discussion #3

~Discussion #3~

April 28, 2015

Leader: Lily

Notes by: Rose

1.    There has been a lot of buildup to the arrival of Frank Churchill in this story. What are your first impressions of him despite what we already know from his background? Do you have any predictions about his and Emma’s relationship?

Rose- Frank seems to be kind of spacey. He doesn’t really have strong opinions and goes with the flow

Regan- Emma wants people to believe that she and Frank are dating so that she can improve her image.

Jaclyn- With people believing that she’s dating Frank, a higher class man it’ll make her more popular

Lily- Emma is only concerned with her image while Frank doesn’t really notice he’s being used.

2.    What happens in chapter 25 that sparks a slight change in Emma, but ultimately ends up showing her emphasis on social status?

Jaclyn- I think that Emma’s indecisiveness on whether to attend the Cole’s party brings forward her thinking social status is more important than anything.

Lily- I agree, Austen is really showing the emphasis on social class in this scenario. On page 195, Austen writes how the Cole’s are poor so that makes Emma uneasy going to their party.

Rose- I definitely see that Emma cares more about social classes than the actual people she’s around.

Regan- Yeah, for Emma to even question whether or not she wants to go to a party in which her other friends are going really show her negative views on lower class people and that she needs to keep her image.

3.    Where do you believe Emma’s harsh feelings towards Jane Fairfax stem?

Rose- I believe that Emma is jealous of Jane.

Lily- A lot of people believe that Emma and Jane should be good friends because they are very similar. They are both pretty and are considered upper class.

Jaclyn- I agree with Lily in the fact that they are similar, so then Emma might see Jane as “competition” and that she needs to be better than her.

Regan- Emma is always in the spotlight and I think Jane definitely poses a threat to taking away Emma’s spotlight.

4.    Frank Churchill also acts like he has very strong feelings of dislike towards Miss Fairfax. Any ideas/thoughts on why this is?

Regan- Maybe he sees the flaws in her

Jaclyn- Or maybe they had past relations and it didn’t work out well.

Rose- Yeah, maybe he’s mad about something she did to him

Lily- Austen kind of left this part fuzzy. I think she’s letting the reader interpret what happened but then later she’ll reveal why Frank has these feelings towards her.

5.    When the possible relationship between Mr. Knightley and Jane is mentioned, Emma does not believe it and opposes it. What does this foreshadow?

Rose- I thought Mr. Knightley liked Emma?

Jaclyn- Yeah I thought that too. Maybe this will get Emma to reveal her true feelings for Mr. Knightley.

Regan- I think Mr. Knightley is trying to make Emma jealous.

Lily- I agree. Also, maybe he wants a girl like Emma so he’s settling for Jane because she is so similar, and Emma has vowed to not marry.

6.    Frank proves himself to be untrustworthy in Chapter 28. Is this why Mr. Knightley doesn’t like him or do you believe it has to do with Jane? How do these men differ in personalities?

Rose- Mr. Knightley is a truthful man and tells people how it is. His quality of being truthful is the opposite of Frank’s untrustworthy quality.

Regan- Frank doesn’t really argue he’s more passive. For example, when Frank was supposed to visit his father Mr. Weston he didn’t because his mother didn’t want him too. Mr. Knightley was surprised that a man couldn’t make a decision for himself.

Lily- Frank always agrees with Emma’s gossip and just takes it in. He doesn’t challenge it like Mr. Knightley does.

Jaclyn- Frank is similar to Emma. They both just go along with gossip and don’t try to challenge a statement. They are both focused on class and gossip.

7.    After Harriet hears about Mr. Martin’s possible suitor, she is very upset and Emma feels the need to protect her. Why do you think this is?

Rose- I think Harriet might get mad at Emma for not letting her having relations with Mr. Martin.

Lily- Yeah, Emma knew Harriet liked Mr. Martin from the beginning and so I guess Emma might be afraid that Harriet will blame her for not letting her see Mr. Martin.

Jaclyn- Definitely, Emma was more worried about class when it came to finding Harriet a match.

Regan- Emma didn’t really take into consideration Harriet’s feelings during this, so that also might upset Harriet.

8.    Emma has been the manipulator throughout the novel so far, but this is changing it; How so?

Regan- Emma really took a step back when Mr. Elton proposed to her. Her eyes were opened to that maybe she isn’t right all the time.

Rose- I think Emma is being manipulated.

Lily- I think there is foreshadowing going on. I believe that there might be more to Jane and Frank’s relationship than we know currently. We don’t know where his dislike

Jaclyn- I agree with Rose. I think Frank might be manipulating Emma to make Jane jealous.

9.    Do you think Frank has romantic feelings for Emma & vice versa?

Jaclyn- Well Emma doesn’t have feelings for him. I think Austen gives hints that Emma might like Mr. Knightley

Rose- But then why does Emma want to make people believe she and Frank are dating?

Regan- I think it’s for status. She wants to be recognized.

Lily- I agree, but I also think she might be using Frank to make Mr. Knightley jealous.

Jaclyn- I don’t think Frank likes Emma. I think he is also using Emma to make Jane jealous.

10.  There are many instances of Emma’s focus on classes through these chapters. Do you find this feature negative and why? Does this reflect on Jane Austen and the time?

Jaclyn- Yeah, I definitely think that this might have to do with the time. Emma envisions herself as royalty and she’s visiting her subjects

Lily- on page 217 Emma says that she must have delighted the Coles when she came to their party

Rose- So she thinks she did them a favor by going to a party? I think Emma thinks to highly of herself

Regan- Emma is very self-absorbed and doesn’t really look around her to see what’s going on.

Blog Post #2

Emma's Change of Heart

Emma Blog Post #2

Prompt B

April 24, 2015

In chapter 16 of Emma, there seems to be a big change in Emma’s attitude. Emma was horrified and surprised when Mr. Elton proposed to her. She’d been trying so hard to have him fall in love with her friend Harriet Smith. It hits her how she’d mistaken his feelings for her when she’d thought he had feelings for Harriet. Emma thinks about “how eager he had been about the picture... and a hundred other circumstances” where she’d mislead Mr. Elton (Austen126). However, she’s more upset about how Harriet will feel when she finds out. Emma feels terrible and begins to doubt her supposed matchmaking skills by realizing “it was foolish… to take so active a part in bringing any two people together.” (128) Emma begins to realize that she has been only “half a friend to [Harriet]” which makes her feel worse about meddling in her life. This understanding of what manipulation can cause has a great change on Emma. It begins to show her grow in humility and selflessness by realizing that things don’t always go the way she plans it to. However, although it seems as if Emma’s matchmaking days are over, it’s almost as if it’s a learning experience or something she can apply to future matches. She even begins to start thinking of another man for Harriet, William Coxe, but quickly dismisses the thought. This chapter shows that even though Emma is beginning to grow and mature, she still has a long way to go.