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.