A review by kailey_luminouslibro
Emma by Jane Austen

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


Emma Woodhouse amuses herself with matchmaking all her friends, but she does it very badly for Harriet Smith. Poor Harriet is influenced to think of Mr. Elton as a possible suitor, with disastrous results. Emma must discover the secrets of her own heart before she can accurately understand the hearts of others.

So witty and fun!
I love Emma because she is naive and inexperienced and foolish. She has no worldly wisdom; she doesn't understand much about other people's motivations. She completely misunderstands Mr. Elton. She completely misinterprets Frank. She says the wrong thing. She makes a fool of herself because she is caught up in her imaginary version of the society around her.

And then SHE GROWS! She learns not to be foolish. She comes to understand the wide world and the people who live in it as they truly are, and not as she imagines them. She truly regrets her mistakes, and does what she can to rectify them. She apologizes. She makes better decisions. She learns to be a responsible adult person, who acts instead of reacting.

And that is why Emma is my favorite character and my favorite book.

I also really love the character of Mr. Knightley. He is my favorite Jane Austen hero because he is so steady and wise. He's very patient with Emma and thoughtful of her feelings.

I love the hilarious writing style in this book! Emma is probably the funniest of Austen's books. The character of Miss Bates brings a lot of funny scenes into the story. I always laugh and giggle through most of this book!


2023 Update: This year I reread Emma in the form of an audiobook in Spanish! It was wonderful to revisit this story in another language and it was an excellent translation. The narrator, Ximena Sarinana, did a fantastic job with all the different voices of the characters. She has a really clear voice so that it was easy to follow every word even though Spanish is my second language.