Emma - Jane Austen
Narrated by Juliet Stevenson.
First published 1815/1816.
Emma is the final work published by Jane Austen during her lifetime, and is very well written. Apparently Austen spoke about creating a protagonist that no one but herself would much like, and in one sense she accomplishes this: Emma Woodhouse is spoiled, has a high opinion of herself, and is quite ready to meddle in other peoples' affairs whether they want her to or not. And yet, in another way, Austen fails, because Emma is somehow immediately likeable, despite her obvious flaws. We groan when she makes an obviously bad decision, and yet we still understand her rationale, and wait for her to start learning the error of her ways.
The plot, in true Austen style, is all about relationships, but the foreground relationships in Emma are not even 'real' relationships at all! Rather, Emma is trying to be a matchmaker, and is convinced that her choice of a husband for Harriet Smith (her friend of lower social standing) is far more suitable and advantageous than the (Emma grimaces) farmer Harriet has fallen for. Poor Harriet is in awe of her (seemingly) far more knowledgeable friend, and is persuaded by Emma to ditch the farmer's advances, instead believing that Emma will be capable of making the local vicar, Mr Elton, fall for Harriet. Mr Elton does have some romantic interest in choosing to socialise with Emma and Harriet, but the audience is given hints about his true object of affection long before Emma realises she is mistaken.
Emma's mistaken opinions are not just limited to Harriet's love life, though. She makes many mistakes throughout the novel, some of which the audience can immediately see and some of which we learn as she does. But having a protagonist who is so wrong about so much so often adds a great deal to Austen's usual humour - we found ourselves squirming uncomfortably at times when another wrong assumption was being made, when awkward or undesirable outcomes seemed all too likely from Emma's pig-headed machinations.
Emma is not the only source of amusement, either. The dramatically pessimistic Mr Woodhouse (Emma's father), the eternal optimist Mr Weston, and the far-too-talkative-for-her-own-good Miss Bates all add their occasional laugh-out-loud moments to the proceedings, as do a number of less prominent characters in their turn. And as is often the case with Austen, even the most exaggerated of these characters still feels far too real, like someone that you are likely to have met on occasion. Elise even commented (regarding Miss Bates) that she was the sort of person who would be painful to meet in real life, while being incredibly funny in the context of the story.
With Emma's plottings backfiring so spectacularly time and again, the end of the story seems unlikely to resolve happily for everyone, and yet Austen manages to wrap everything up in a way that feels realistic to the characters as well as fulfilling the hopes that the audience has for these characters they have invested so much time into.
Juliet Stevenson as narrator is a good choice, too. Although some of the character voices she has are somewhat similar to one another, she still manages to let the character of the individuals come through well, and has good comic timing for the punchlines.
Very enjoyable.
Completed, with Elise, 10 July 2024.
(Elise Books)
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