Scan barcode
otterdreamer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
pieterpaultybbe's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
If a was a sixteen year old, hopelessly romantic girl, who read Bridgerton and tought it was a bit too dumb, this would be my masterpiece, but I am not.
And although it is a very well crafted novel, I did not find any excessive genius in it nor did I find it as clever as it wants to be.
And although it is a very well crafted novel, I did not find any excessive genius in it nor did I find it as clever as it wants to be.
bookishbuket's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A charming little book.
I read the penguin classics edition which had footnotes that usually added nothing of value for me. The intended audience was people who want to study Jane Austen’s work and life. I found them to be distracting as they took me out of the story by focusing on how the story relates to Austen’s personal life.
I read the penguin classics edition which had footnotes that usually added nothing of value for me. The intended audience was people who want to study Jane Austen’s work and life. I found them to be distracting as they took me out of the story by focusing on how the story relates to Austen’s personal life.
franzelbart's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
analicemadi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rai_con's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kristinamj's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lisettevx's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
ciprianna's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lizziestudieshistory's review against another edition
5.0
2021 REREAD #2: I have nothing to add other than I am far too happy, and yes I reread Emma twice in one year... I may need someone to restrain me in case I go for a third time!
2021 REREAD:
We all know how much I ADORE Emma by now, both book and character. And I will fight anyone who dares to disagree this is the best Austen novel. This annotation reread had done nothing to weaken this resolution, in fact it's probably strengthened it to an unreasonable degree.
I have nothing major to add onto my review below, except for a quote from Mr Knightley's thoughts about Emma, after his declaration, which encapsulated why I love their dynamic so much:
"faultless in spite of all her faults"
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and swoon a bit because all this pandemic inspired reading of novels has not done my sensibilities any favours. (You know, they might have had a point when the Victorians thought novels were dangerous...)
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I came back! At last - I haven't proof read this, but hopefully it makes sense...
First things first, I have to say I ADORED Emma! I’ve not really kept it a secret - but it’s the first Austen novel I’ve really loved, and I finally understand why people are so passionate about her work.
I’ve read 3 other Austen novels this year - Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility - whichI’ve enjoyed without really falling in love with any of them. Ultimately they’ve been a bit forgettable, particularly when they’re competing against some brilliant classics such as Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and The Scarlet Pimpernel. In fact, I’m a bit hazy on Persuasion already...
My main disappointment with Austen has been her heroines, they’re praised EVERYWHERE for being strong, opinionated, and highly relatable women. I’ve found them to be a bit one dimensional and/or soppy - well excluding Lizzie Bennet, but she’s one of those irritating ‘perfect’ examples of womanhood and therefore not particularly relatable (or at least not for me.) There’s little about Austen’s heroines I’ve found particularly compelling or even relatable as people, sometimes they’re not even entertaining (Anne Eliot I’m looking at you!)
And then I met Emma Woodhouse; the spoilt, selfish, snobbish Miss Woodhouse. I LOVE Emma Woodhouse. She’s everything I wanted from an Austen heroine - she’s an entertaining lead but also incredibly real. Emma is ultimately a good person, she loves her family, and is incredibly kind and caring towards her small community (most of the time.) She wants the best for everyone. However, Emma is also selfish, conceited, and argumentative. She’s a wealthy snob with the time and inclination to meddle in people’s lives without the foresight to see when she is doing more harm than good. Primarily she hopes to maintain the peaceful status quo of her little world because that’s what suits her, otherwise change must be made to meet her whims and wishes. Overall, Emma is the Austen mean-girl who got to tell her story.
Most importantly, Emma reminded me of myself - and not in a particularly flattering way. This novel was as much self discovery about myself as it was for Emma; I too can be snobbish, arrogant, and selfish when I’m at my worst. It doesn’t do me any favours. Although, it probably won’t lead to any real change, which is about the most Emma thing to do (realise your own faults, intend to change, and not do anything to further achieve resolutions.) I’m nothing if not honest!
Nevertheless, Austen allowed Emma to be a real person with genuine flaws that she had to work through, and will have to continue to work on beyond the conclusion of the novel. Emma will always have to remember how privileged she is and to deal with those who are less fortunate with compassion and kindness, even if their company is irksome and tedious. This isn’t a Pride and Prejudice situation where Elizabeth gets to walk away at the end with her prejudice solved - Emma (much like Darcy, they are strangely similar characters) will have to work on her own pride and carelessness throughout the course of her life and it won’t be easy for her. Emma went on a journey, but she still has a long way to go, and both character and novel were a lot stronger for it.
Despite my love of Emma Woodhouse, the main genius behind Emma comes from Austen’s magnificent use of language. I’ve seen little glimpses at what I came to see in Emma through her other novels, but Emma is a masterclass in the use of free indirect style - the novel is written completely in third person but the narrative voice takes on characteristics of the main character. All of Austen’s work does this to varying success, however, I often find that Austen’s own voice bleeds through more than her characters’. Yet in Emma the blend between the narrator’s voice and Emma’s (and VERY briefly Mr Knightley’s in volume III) is almost seamless.
The entire world of Highbury is presented to us through ‘Emma-tinted-glasses’. We see the world as Emma herself sees it - small, quaintly beautiful, and properly organised by traditional class structures. Anything that challenges this idyllic, quiet, genteel world is unwelcome and is presented to the reader as a nuisance (e.g. Mrs Elton or Harriet’s marriage to Mr Martin.) We get small glimpses at Emma’s faults, particularly in her world-view and the implications her actions have on others, through the reproofs Mr Knightley gives to Emma or the occasional moments of self realisation she has and then usually dismisses. Otherwise, we’re so swept up with Emma, much like she is herself, that it does take someone deliberately pointing out the harmful consequences of her actions or comments before the reader is completely aware of the entire situation.
This shows an absolute genius in Austen in her use of voice and narration. It’s a beautiful use of free indirect style and I’ve never read something like it - even from authors actually praised for it (Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway.) Austen is largely forgotten for her used of this style, perhaps because it was so revolutionary and she’s historically been dismissed as an author satisfied with the ‘carefully-fenced, high cultivated garden with neat borders and delicate flowers’ (Charlotte Bronte) of the English upper classes, and only truly concerned with money and marriage (Ralph Emerson). Now she’s only really dismissed as an author ‘just for girls’ - not sure if sexism is better or worse than elitism and money?
Moving on… I really loved Austen’s use of voice and character in the novel more generally - particularly as this is a novel primarily about women, female friendships, and the delicate social etiquette around women’s social circles. Throughout this book we really get a sense of who each character is, but particularly the women, through their speech alone. The best two examples of this are, hands down, Mrs Elton and Miss Bates. This is already VERY long and I haven’t even spoken about my love for Mr Knightely… So I’ll skip over Mrs Elton to talk about Miss Bates - who I love.
Poor Miss Bates is slowly becoming a social outcast. Once the daughter of the local minister and a key figure in Highbury society, Miss Bates has become a spinster as she lives (in reduced circumstances) with her elderly mother. She’s aware of her own circumstances and is well aware of the graces and kindness of people more fortunate than herself - particularly Emma and Mr Knightley - when they visit her or pay her any kind of notice. Unfortunately, poor Miss Bates is so very ‘obliged’ by their attention that she can’t stop talking about it… She really is a compulsive talker and eager to please her friends as she flows from one topic to the next (rarely ever finishing her full thought.)
Austen delights in showing us this whenever Miss Bates is on the page. We are confronted with long, meandering paragraphs of Miss Bates being ‘so very obliged’ to everyone. Austen particularly enjoys emphasising Miss Bates’ tedious speech by leaving out the other side of her conversations and just showing Miss Bates nattering on without (or so it appears to us) drawing breath. It’s a very successful, and highly amusing, way of painting a picture of who Miss Bates is without just telling us that she’s an overwhelmingly, socially inept, but well meaning, bore. It’s brilliant and I loved it.
Now can I talk about Mr Knightley? Okay I won’t say too much. I really liked Mr Knightley as an Austen hero, as long as we ignore the slightly alarming age difference, he’s even contending with Mr Thornton for best (and most attractive) male lead in a Victorian novel!
Mr Knightley is a genuinely kind person. It’s his main, and best, quality and he never fails to act with kindness - well except maybe to Frank Churchill but he did deserve it! He is logical and even ruthlessly rational in everything he does, whether it’s managing his estates or advising Emma on Harriet’s prospects in life, however, he never does anything out of malice or thoughtlessness. Mr Knightley is nothing but generous, hardworking, and conscientious in a quiet, respectable manner. He can always be depended on and he’s always there to help Emma when she needs it, even if she doesn’t always want it at the time!
I also got quite mushy at his proposal - I’ll never get over his famous declaration:
“I cannot make speeches, Emma...If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am. You hear nothing but truth from me. I have blamed you, and lectured you, and you have borne it as no other woman in England would have borne it.”
It was a very odd experience, I’m not really that kind of reader but I now get what people mean when they say they ‘melted’ over a fictional character… The less said about this the better I think!
Overall, I really adored Emma. It was a beautiful novel full of character, wit, and subtle social commentary. If I’m honest there isn’t a lot of plot - this is more a string of vignettes and set pieces that allowed the characters to live and breathe. As with all Austen novels the narration style does mean we are kept at a slight distance from everyone, but this is her best characterisation by far. I genuinely think it is the most intimate we get with her main characters (hence why I got a bit mushy over Mr Knightley.) Austen FINALLY wrote a novel about one of her mean girls with a heart of gold and she created one of her most relatable, flawed characters in the process. I’ll always be fond of Miss Woodhouse and feel a small sense of kinship with her due to our very similar flaws and for that I’ll always adore Emma - even if I end up feeling a bit ambivalent about the rest of Austen’s novels!
2021 REREAD:
We all know how much I ADORE Emma by now, both book and character. And I will fight anyone who dares to disagree this is the best Austen novel. This annotation reread had done nothing to weaken this resolution, in fact it's probably strengthened it to an unreasonable degree.
I have nothing major to add onto my review below, except for a quote from Mr Knightley's thoughts about Emma, after his declaration, which encapsulated why I love their dynamic so much:
"faultless in spite of all her faults"
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and swoon a bit because all this pandemic inspired reading of novels has not done my sensibilities any favours. (You know, they might have had a point when the Victorians thought novels were dangerous...)
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I came back! At last - I haven't proof read this, but hopefully it makes sense...
First things first, I have to say I ADORED Emma! I’ve not really kept it a secret - but it’s the first Austen novel I’ve really loved, and I finally understand why people are so passionate about her work.
I’ve read 3 other Austen novels this year - Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Sense and Sensibility - whichI’ve enjoyed without really falling in love with any of them. Ultimately they’ve been a bit forgettable, particularly when they’re competing against some brilliant classics such as Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and The Scarlet Pimpernel. In fact, I’m a bit hazy on Persuasion already...
My main disappointment with Austen has been her heroines, they’re praised EVERYWHERE for being strong, opinionated, and highly relatable women. I’ve found them to be a bit one dimensional and/or soppy - well excluding Lizzie Bennet, but she’s one of those irritating ‘perfect’ examples of womanhood and therefore not particularly relatable (or at least not for me.) There’s little about Austen’s heroines I’ve found particularly compelling or even relatable as people, sometimes they’re not even entertaining (Anne Eliot I’m looking at you!)
And then I met Emma Woodhouse; the spoilt, selfish, snobbish Miss Woodhouse. I LOVE Emma Woodhouse. She’s everything I wanted from an Austen heroine - she’s an entertaining lead but also incredibly real. Emma is ultimately a good person, she loves her family, and is incredibly kind and caring towards her small community (most of the time.) She wants the best for everyone. However, Emma is also selfish, conceited, and argumentative. She’s a wealthy snob with the time and inclination to meddle in people’s lives without the foresight to see when she is doing more harm than good. Primarily she hopes to maintain the peaceful status quo of her little world because that’s what suits her, otherwise change must be made to meet her whims and wishes. Overall, Emma is the Austen mean-girl who got to tell her story.
Most importantly, Emma reminded me of myself - and not in a particularly flattering way. This novel was as much self discovery about myself as it was for Emma; I too can be snobbish, arrogant, and selfish when I’m at my worst. It doesn’t do me any favours. Although, it probably won’t lead to any real change, which is about the most Emma thing to do (realise your own faults, intend to change, and not do anything to further achieve resolutions.) I’m nothing if not honest!
Nevertheless, Austen allowed Emma to be a real person with genuine flaws that she had to work through, and will have to continue to work on beyond the conclusion of the novel. Emma will always have to remember how privileged she is and to deal with those who are less fortunate with compassion and kindness, even if their company is irksome and tedious. This isn’t a Pride and Prejudice situation where Elizabeth gets to walk away at the end with her prejudice solved - Emma (much like Darcy, they are strangely similar characters) will have to work on her own pride and carelessness throughout the course of her life and it won’t be easy for her. Emma went on a journey, but she still has a long way to go, and both character and novel were a lot stronger for it.
Despite my love of Emma Woodhouse, the main genius behind Emma comes from Austen’s magnificent use of language. I’ve seen little glimpses at what I came to see in Emma through her other novels, but Emma is a masterclass in the use of free indirect style - the novel is written completely in third person but the narrative voice takes on characteristics of the main character. All of Austen’s work does this to varying success, however, I often find that Austen’s own voice bleeds through more than her characters’. Yet in Emma the blend between the narrator’s voice and Emma’s (and VERY briefly Mr Knightley’s in volume III) is almost seamless.
The entire world of Highbury is presented to us through ‘Emma-tinted-glasses’. We see the world as Emma herself sees it - small, quaintly beautiful, and properly organised by traditional class structures. Anything that challenges this idyllic, quiet, genteel world is unwelcome and is presented to the reader as a nuisance (e.g. Mrs Elton or Harriet’s marriage to Mr Martin.) We get small glimpses at Emma’s faults, particularly in her world-view and the implications her actions have on others, through the reproofs Mr Knightley gives to Emma or the occasional moments of self realisation she has and then usually dismisses. Otherwise, we’re so swept up with Emma, much like she is herself, that it does take someone deliberately pointing out the harmful consequences of her actions or comments before the reader is completely aware of the entire situation.
This shows an absolute genius in Austen in her use of voice and narration. It’s a beautiful use of free indirect style and I’ve never read something like it - even from authors actually praised for it (Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway.) Austen is largely forgotten for her used of this style, perhaps because it was so revolutionary and she’s historically been dismissed as an author satisfied with the ‘carefully-fenced, high cultivated garden with neat borders and delicate flowers’ (Charlotte Bronte) of the English upper classes, and only truly concerned with money and marriage (Ralph Emerson). Now she’s only really dismissed as an author ‘just for girls’ - not sure if sexism is better or worse than elitism and money?
Moving on… I really loved Austen’s use of voice and character in the novel more generally - particularly as this is a novel primarily about women, female friendships, and the delicate social etiquette around women’s social circles. Throughout this book we really get a sense of who each character is, but particularly the women, through their speech alone. The best two examples of this are, hands down, Mrs Elton and Miss Bates. This is already VERY long and I haven’t even spoken about my love for Mr Knightely… So I’ll skip over Mrs Elton to talk about Miss Bates - who I love.
Poor Miss Bates is slowly becoming a social outcast. Once the daughter of the local minister and a key figure in Highbury society, Miss Bates has become a spinster as she lives (in reduced circumstances) with her elderly mother. She’s aware of her own circumstances and is well aware of the graces and kindness of people more fortunate than herself - particularly Emma and Mr Knightley - when they visit her or pay her any kind of notice. Unfortunately, poor Miss Bates is so very ‘obliged’ by their attention that she can’t stop talking about it… She really is a compulsive talker and eager to please her friends as she flows from one topic to the next (rarely ever finishing her full thought.)
Austen delights in showing us this whenever Miss Bates is on the page. We are confronted with long, meandering paragraphs of Miss Bates being ‘so very obliged’ to everyone. Austen particularly enjoys emphasising Miss Bates’ tedious speech by leaving out the other side of her conversations and just showing Miss Bates nattering on without (or so it appears to us) drawing breath. It’s a very successful, and highly amusing, way of painting a picture of who Miss Bates is without just telling us that she’s an overwhelmingly, socially inept, but well meaning, bore. It’s brilliant and I loved it.
Now can I talk about Mr Knightley? Okay I won’t say too much. I really liked Mr Knightley as an Austen hero, as long as we ignore the slightly alarming age difference, he’s even contending with Mr Thornton for best (and most attractive) male lead in a Victorian novel!
Mr Knightley is a genuinely kind person. It’s his main, and best, quality and he never fails to act with kindness - well except maybe to Frank Churchill but he did deserve it! He is logical and even ruthlessly rational in everything he does, whether it’s managing his estates or advising Emma on Harriet’s prospects in life, however, he never does anything out of malice or thoughtlessness. Mr Knightley is nothing but generous, hardworking, and conscientious in a quiet, respectable manner. He can always be depended on and he’s always there to help Emma when she needs it, even if she doesn’t always want it at the time!
I also got quite mushy at his proposal - I’ll never get over his famous declaration:
“I cannot make speeches, Emma...If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am. You hear nothing but truth from me. I have blamed you, and lectured you, and you have borne it as no other woman in England would have borne it.”
It was a very odd experience, I’m not really that kind of reader but I now get what people mean when they say they ‘melted’ over a fictional character… The less said about this the better I think!
Overall, I really adored Emma. It was a beautiful novel full of character, wit, and subtle social commentary. If I’m honest there isn’t a lot of plot - this is more a string of vignettes and set pieces that allowed the characters to live and breathe. As with all Austen novels the narration style does mean we are kept at a slight distance from everyone, but this is her best characterisation by far. I genuinely think it is the most intimate we get with her main characters (hence why I got a bit mushy over Mr Knightley.) Austen FINALLY wrote a novel about one of her mean girls with a heart of gold and she created one of her most relatable, flawed characters in the process. I’ll always be fond of Miss Woodhouse and feel a small sense of kinship with her due to our very similar flaws and for that I’ll always adore Emma - even if I end up feeling a bit ambivalent about the rest of Austen’s novels!