Emma is a novel about a young woman who has everything — the whole world at her fingertips. Published in 1815 and set in 19th Century England, it is Jane Austen’s fourth novel. Like many of Austen’s books, Emma focuses on two of the obsessions of the era: marriage and social status. At 21, Emma Woodhouse is “handsome, clever and rich”, and has lived a charmed life “with very little to distress or vex her”. But Emma’s confidence is sometimes misplaced. Her attempts at matchmaking go awry, leading to heartbreak for vicar Mr Elton, boarding school student Harriet Smith and nearly Emma herself. Now more than 200 years old, Emma has continued to captivate generations of readers – and recently reached a new audience in a 2020 rom-com adaptation starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Bill Nighy.
Emma
Emma is a novel about a young woman who has everything - the whole world at her fingertips. Published in 1815 and set in 19th Century England, it is Jane Austen's fourth novel. Like many of Austen's books, Emma focuses on two of the obsessions of the era: marriage and social status. At 21, Emma Woodhouse is "handsome, clever and rich", and has lived a charmed life "with very little to distress or vex her". But Emma's confidence is sometimes misplaced. Her attempts at matchmaking go awry, leading to heartbreak for vicar Mr Elton, boarding school student Harriet Smith and nearly Emma herself. Now more than 200 years old, Emma has continued to captivate generations of readers - and recently reached a new audience in a 2020 rom-com adaptation starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Bill Nighy.
Teacher's £30,000 for 'love song to youth'
At 21, and without much life experience, Emma's youth sometimes trips her up. She thinks she knows what is best for herself and her friends - but is in the end proved wrong. Despite good intentions, the book's characters frequently miscommunicate their feelings and desires. But by the end of the novel, Emma has a maturity she lacks at the start.
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Class and inequality are key themes of many of Austen's novels, and Emma is no exception. Emma convinces Harriet to ignore her feelings for Robert Martin, telling her friend the young farmer is beneath her. Instead, she focuses Harriet's attention on vicar Mr Elton, a match perceived as being above the social status of Harriet, who does not know who her parents are.
Is life a game? A new book says we live in a culture obsessed with status and competition, from school to work and sport. So is it time to opt out and view life another way?
Should Oxbridge be abolished? Today, UK exam boards start checking grades. Critics say students from private schools have an unfair advantage when applying to top universities.
Is society too focused on the idea of self-improvement? For years, politicians have promised that hard work equals success. Now one leading philosopher says the idea of merit is a myth.
Emma thinks she will never be married - and that she knows who it is best for her friends and acquaintances to set their sights on. But affairs of the heart do not always follow carefully-made plans. Emma finds that she cannot control who her friends fall in love with, or even her own heart.
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All change please: Gen Z demands revolution
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Are food and love the only real things in life? At the age of 82, Britain's greatest living painter, David Hockney, has written a moving letter telling the world his deepest convictions.
Marriage in 19th Century England could be about love, and the unity of two minds and souls. But it was also often about status, and a social contract between two people that was mutually beneficial to both. Yet Emma's failures at matchmaking force her to re-evaluate her judgments of other people and what makes a good marriage.
Is marriage dying? A court decision might grant similar status for different types of relationships. But many argue that marriage remains at the heart of human culture and experience.
Do we need new rules for dating? The feminist revolutions of the 1900s ended centuries of strict rituals for young couples. In the #MeToo era, should we look to the past for guidance?
Is the old saying "Money can't buy happiness" true? Yesterday one of the world's richest couples, Bill and Melinda Gates, announced they were getting divorced after 27 years of marriage.
Emma's plans do not always work. But she has good intentions - to help out her friends and find them the perfect match. Emma's friendships with Harriet and Mr Knightley are crucial to her wellbeing and happiness. And by focusing on the bond between Emma and Harriet, Austen emphasises the importance of female friendships in an era when many women's lives were restricted by social rules.
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Is it time to return to the old-fashioned phone call? People trying to keep cheerful during the lockdown are rediscovering the joy of hours spent on the line to friends and relations.
Can you have more than 150 friends? Yesterday, millions watched worldwide as the stars of hit sitcom Friends returned to the small screen. But just how many friends is the perfect number?
Emma
