Summary: Chapter 43
How could she have been so brutal . .
. to Miss Bates! . . . And how suffer him to leave her without saying
one word of common kindness!
See Important Quotations Explained
The Box Hill trip is not a success. Mr. and Mrs. Elton
keep to themselves; Mr. Knightley, Miss Bates, and Jane form a second
exclusive party; and Emma stays with Harriet and Frank. Emma is
disappointed by Harriet’s and Frank’s dullness. Later, Frank becomes excessively
lively and gallant. Emma is confident that there is nothing behind
his flirtations, but she is aware that others can pick up on their
flirtation. The party sits about listlessly, and Frank says that Emma
demands to know what they are thinking of. Mrs. Elton is offended
by Frank’s deference to Emma, and Knightley asks dryly if she would really like
to know what he is thinking. Frank then demands a piece of cleverness
from each member of the party, asking them to produce either “one
thing very clever . . . or two things moderately clever; or three
things very dull indeed.” Miss Bates good-naturedly comments that
the she will have no trouble meeting the last requirement, but Emma
responds, “Ah! ma’am, but there may be a difficulty. Pardon me,
but you will be limited as to number—only three at once.” Mr. Weston
offers a conundrum in praise of Emma, and the Eltons leave in disgust
for a walk.
Frank comments that sometimes matches made in public
places become regrettable on further acquaintance and that, as a
result, Mr. and Mrs. Elton are lucky that they are compatible. Jane
demurs and leaves for a walk with her aunt and Mr. Knightley. Emma,
left with Frank, grows tired of his flattery. Later, Mr. Knightley
takes Emma aside and reprimands her for her conduct toward Miss
Bates, reminding Emma that Miss Bates has had an unfortunate life
and deserves compassion. Emma has never felt “so agitated, so mortified,
[so] grieved” in her life; she cries almost all the way home.
Summary: Chapter 44
On reflection, Emma decides that the Box Hill party was
a disaster. Still feeling horrible about her treatment of Miss Bates,
Emma soothes her conscience by visiting the Bateses first thing
the following morning. Miss Bates’s humility and kindness are a
further reproach to Emma’s bad behavior. During Emma’s visit, Jane remains
in the bedroom with a headache.
Jane has just accepted the governess position recommended
by Mrs. Elton, and Emma expresses surprise and genuine concern for the
unhappiness Jane’s departure must cause everyone. Jane will leave
within a fortnight (two weeks). Emma is surprised to learn that
Frank departed the previous evening for Richmond, and she is struck
by the difference between Mrs. Churchill’s power and Jane’s. She
is ashamed of her earlier conjectures about Jane’s relationship with
Mr. Dixon.
Summary: Chapter 45
Emma returns to Hartfield to discover that Mr. Knightley
and Harriet have arrived in her absence. Knightley is about to depart
for London to visit John and Isabella. His hastiness surprises Emma. Mr.
Woodhouse inquires about Emma’s visit with the Bateses, and Emma
blushes and exchanges a glance with Knightley. She believes he understands
her feelings and forgives her. He makes an unusual gesture, taking
her hand and almost kissing it. She is gratified, though a little
puzzled about his scruple in completing the kiss.
The next day, unexpected news arrives: Mrs. Churchill
has died. Emma thinks this event may improve Harriet’s chances with
Frank. Meanwhile, she attempts to provide assistance to Jane, inviting
her to Hartfield, sending her healthful foods, and attempting to
visit her. Jane pleads ill health, but Emma hears that Jane has
been taking outside exercise, and she feels hurt that Jane seems
to be particularly avoiding her.
Analysis: Chapters 43–45
In Emma, Austen presents cleverness as
a generally favorable attribute by making it one of her protagonist’s
admirable qualities. Austen’s depiction of cleverness was not so
kind in previous novels, however. In Mansfield Park, the
novel Austen wrote before Emma, the heroine is
unfailingly earnest and good, and her main adversary is a woman
who is clever and superficial, implying that cleverness is a dangerous
quality, not one to be confused with virtue.
Though cleverness is depicted favorably in general in Emma, the Box
Hill scene presents cleverness as a hurtful force. Frank Churchill’s
ability to deceive everyone into believing he is infatuated with
Emma is powered by his restless frustration. Fortunately, Emma is
sensible enough not to be taken in by his flirtations, but a less
perceptive woman might have been hurt when she discovered they were
not serious. Moreover, Frank’s attentions, and Emma’s acceptance
of them, cause pain to Mr. Knightley, and we later realize that
Frank’s flirting with Emma is also hurtful to Jane.
Emma’s hurtful response to Miss Bates in Chapter 43 is
the most blatant example of cleverness as a harmful quality and
a clear sign that Frank’s lack of seriousness has had a bad effect
on Emma. In tone and substance, Emma’s sarcastic remark to Miss
Bates squarely hits its target, but it displays a casual cruelty
that we have never seen in Emma before. Mr. Knightley’s reprimand
and Emma’s subsequent chagrin may qualify as the greatest emotional
crisis in the novel—it is certainly the crisis that is described
with the most directness and at the greatest length. Unlike Emma’s
unpleasant surprise regarding Mr. Elton and the emotional fluctuations
that have accompanied her experiences with Frank, Knightley’s disapproval drives
Emma to tears.
When Mr. Knightley reminds Emma that Miss Bates “is poor;
she has sunk from the comforts she was born to; and if she live
to old age must probably sink more,” he reveals the harsh realities
faced by single women in Austen’s time. Genteel women who were not
able to marry and who did not inherit enough wealth to support themselves
were threatened not only with a loss of social privilege, but also
with a fall in material comforts. Or, as in Jane Fairfax’s case, they
were forced into a kind of work that amounts to an almost complete
loss of freedom. Emma is protected from this threat by her father’s
wealth, but we and Emma become increasingly aware that other women
in Emma’s society are not so lucky.
