“M-A”
Marriage and Affluence in Jane Austen’s Novel
Kelli Purcell

           Upon first glance, Jane Austen’s novel Emma seems, like many contemporary novels, such as her own Pride and Prejudice, George Eliot’s Middlemarch, or Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (Dwyer 111), to approve of and even promote the social system of the time, wherein male members of the upper-class were considered far superior to members of lower classes and to all women. After all, Mr. Knightley, a very high-class man, is undoubtedly the most admired character in the novel. He is well known for his “high superiority of character” (Austen 442) and for “having higher feeling, keener observation, and finer tact than anyone in the book” (Cornish 154). Another description by Emma tells us that Mr. Knightley is “always so kind, so feeling, so truly considerate for everybody” (Austen 414). We learn at an early point in the story that “[y]ou might not see one in a hundred men with gentleman so plainly written as in Mr. Knightley” (Austen 29), while Harriet Smith is often seen as a “foolish girl” (Austen 55) and Mrs. August Elton is “[a] little upstart, vulgar being” (Austen 254). It is also said of Harriet that “‘[m]en of family would not be very fond of connecting themselves with a girl of such obscurity’”(Austen 59).

Upon a more intense and searching reading, however, one begins to see that Austen is actually criticizing these social conventions and presenting some radical ideas about hierarchical relationships in society. These challenging ideas are presented in the form of several women who transcend either gender or class roles (sometimes both) to make a name and a place for themselves in the upper ranks of society, as well as men who prove themselves to truly belong to another level, be it higher or lower, of social class than the one in which they would normally be classified.

A very obvious exception to the rather negative portrayal of women that was earlier discussed is Austen’s title character, Miss Emma Woodhouse. The opening of the novel, after all, states that
Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her (Austen 3).

Aside from Mr. Knightley, Emma is the character who is most admired and looked up to by the rest of the populace of the novel, and the only person in Highbury who can “rival Mr. Knightley in position and fortune” (Dwyer 92), yet she is a woman. As the only heroine in any of Austen’s novels who is possessed of great physical beauty (Dwyer 32), we cannot pass off her power over the important citizenry of Highbury (chiefly composed of men) as something that has been attained exclusively through her attractive appearance, although Mr. Knightley admits that he has “‘seldom seen a face or figure more pleasing… than hers’”(Austen 35).

Emma’s intelligence is readily acknowledged throughout her circle of acquaintance. As Mr. Knightley tells us, “‘Emma is spoiled by being the cleverest of her family. At ten years old she had the misfortune of being able to answer questions which puzzled her sister at seventeen. She was always quick and assured’”(Austen 33). In concern to her accomplishments, she is praised by all of Highbury for her skills in the arts of painting, dance, and music. “‘[L]et me entreat you, Miss Woodhouse, to exercise so charming a talent in favour of your friend. I know what your drawings are’”(Austen 39), Mr. Elton begs of Emma. During his ball, Mr. Weston calls, “‘[c]ome, Emma, set your companions the example’”(Austen 303) when he wishes for the dancing to recommence. Finally, at the dinner at the Coles’, Mr. Cole sees it fit “to entreat Miss Woodhouse would do them the honour of trying it [their new piano]”(Austen 207).

The key word in the preceding block quotation, however, is “rich.” In terms of the society of Highbury, the village in which the action of the novel takes place, “[t]he Woodhouses were first in consequence there. All looked up to them” (Austen 5). Emma is able to transcend the normally accepted place of members of her sex because of her more important inclusion into that class called “the gentry” (Lane 346) and because of her superiority to her neighbors in the areas of intellect, beauty, and accomplishments (Nardin 110). “Emma, with her fortune of thirty thousand pounds, has the power and prestige of a man” (Dwyer 92).

It is through the attitudes and actions of Emma and Mr. Knightley that readers can see the complexity of social placement in the novel. As aforementioned, these two are the most respected people in Highbury. By observing their treatment and opinions of the various characters who will be discussed, we will be afforded an extensive view of the prevalent attitudes in Highbury society. Throughout the argument of this essay, it is always important to remember that, because of their elevated positions, praise from the lips of either Emma or Mr. Knightley is like gospel to the residents of Highbury.

One woman who manages to exert her influence over others and the society is Mrs. Anne Weston (née Taylor). Early in her life, she was fortunate enough to secure the position of governess to Emma and her older sister, Isabella, a position through which she became Emma’s dearest friend. “Sixteen years had Miss Taylor been in Mr. Woodhouse’s family, less as a governess than a friend, very fond of both daughters, but particularly of Emma” (Austen 3). Although serving as a governess in the first family of Highbury is a highly respectable position, it is not enough on its own to entice such a man as Mr. Weston (another member of the elite circle of Highbury who enjoys the friendship and respect of nearly all) to marry a woman with no name, family, or money.

Therefore, one must account for the factors that led to the marriage of this rather remarkable man (as far as society is concerned) to this rather nobody woman (according to the same). Naturally, several factors weigh into this decision. Mr. Knightley describes Miss Taylor as “a rational, unaffected woman” (Austen 11). “[T]he mildness of her temper” (Austen 3) is also a very helpful addition. However, it is Emma’s thoughts of Miss Taylor, that “[s]he had been a friend and companion such as few possessed; intelligent, well-informed, useful, gentle” (Austen 4) that really sum up the reasons for the marriage and for her ready acceptance into the elite society. Any woman so possessed of sweetness, decency, and all-around goodness will be taken as a wife by such a rational man as Mr. Weston, even if she has no name or money of her own to recommend her. Mr. Weston is not a “typical” man. In his first marriage “to Miss Churchill, of a great Yorkshire family” (Austen 12), he learned that marrying “well” does not necessarily mean marrying happily.
“They lived beyond their income, but still it was nothing in comparison of Enscombe: she did not
cease to love her husband; but she wanted at once to be the wife of Captain Weston, and Miss Churchill of Enscombe” (Austen 13).
Although he did not have a happy marriage, “[h]e had never been an unhappy man; his own temper had secured him from that, even in his first marriage” (Austen 14)(my italics). However, after becoming a widower, he was determined to pick better for himself if he was given another chance. His second marriage “must show him how delightful a well-judging and truly amiable woman could be” (Austen 14). This history adds yet another angle to the reasons for this marriage, the first of five very important matches that are made in the novel.

As Mr. Knightley tells Mrs. Weston, “if Weston had asked me to recommend him a wife, I should certainly have named Miss Taylor” (Austen 34), a statement that clearly reflects the high esteem in which he holds her and sums up the feelings and attitudes concerning Mrs. Weston within the village.

Now that the reasons for her marriage have been explained, the marriage itself must be examined as a major part of Mrs. Weston’s open acceptance into society.

Although she has always enjoyed the privilege of being the closest companion of Emma, this does not, by any means, mean that she has always had the social mobility of the illustrious Miss Woodhouse. When discussing the possibility of Emma’s attendance at the dinner at the Coles’, Mr. Woodhouse turns “to Mrs. Weston, with a look of gentle reproach: ‘Ah, Miss Taylor, if you had not married, you would have stayed at home with me’”(Austen 191). Obviously, then, before her marriage, Miss Taylor’s attendance at social gatherings was not a normal thing, whereas, after her marriage, no party is really complete without the sweet wife of Mr. Weston. So, although her gentle manner and positive personality traits are the qualities that initially attract Mr. Weston, Emma and a few others, it is actually her marriage that allows her to move within the best society.

Miss Bates’s inclusion into the “best” society of Highbury is a very strange phenomenon indeed. After all, Emma describes Miss Bates as someone “‘so silly, so satisfied, so smiling, so prosing, so undistinguishing and unfastidious, and so apt to tell everything relative to everybody’” (Austen 79); all in all, not very flattering qualities. Emma also dreads and puts off visits to Miss Bates’s house, claiming them to be “very disagreeable- a waste of time” (Austen 140). Cornish adds that “she [Austen] allows… Emma to be intolerant to her inconsequent garrulity, her ‘dreadful gratitude,’ and indiscriminate praises” (163). Yet, she and her mother, although members of the “second rate and third rate of Highbury” (Austen 140), are constantly included in dinners and other gatherings at Hartfield and in all of the other prominent homes of Highbury. Miss Bates, in fact, “[enjoys] a most uncommon degree of popularity for a woman neither young, handsome, rich, nor married” (Austen 18).

The reader discovers early in the novel that Mrs. Bates is “the widow of a former vicar of Highbury” (Austen 18). As with Mrs. Weston, it is clear here that Mrs. Bates has gained some respect because of her late husband, since he held a very important position in society. Yet, this alone does not explain the ready opening of elite social circles to her daughter, one who “had never boasted either beauty or cleverness” (Austen 18). The clearest explanation that is available in the text is Emma’s comment that
[p]overty certainly has not contracted her mind; I really believe, if she had only a shilling in the world, she would be very likely to give away sixpence of it; and nobody is afraid of her- that is the great charm (Austen 80).
Even more praise of Miss Bates includes that “[s]he was a great talker upon little matters, which exactly suited Mr. Woodhouse” (Austen 18). Basically,
[i]t was her own universal good-will and contented temper that worked such wonders....The simplicity and cheerfulness of her nature, her contented and grateful spirit, were a recommendation to everybody, and a mine of felicity to herself (Austen 18).
To sum it up, Miss Bates is not tossed aside on account of her annoying qualities because “her vulgarity is superficial, her worth is real” (Cornish 167).

However, it is not until after Emma undergoes her change of heart toward the end of the novel that she truly shows any respect for the Bates. Although she invites them to her house and acknowledges them when in public, it seems as though Miss Bates is only included because Emma feels as though it is something that she must do according to the rules of society, and Mrs. Bates is often used by Emma to keep her father company when she wants to go out somewhere. It is really through Mr. Knightley that Emma realizes her mistakes and finally grows to respect Miss Bates. During the party to Box-Hill, Emma publicly humiliates Miss Bates. Mr. Knightley sharply reprimands Emma with the following accusation:
“You, whom she had known from an infant, whom she had seen grow up from a period when her notice was an honour- to have you now, in thoughtless spirits, and the pride of the moment, laugh at her, humble her- and before her niece, too- and before others, many of whom… would be entirely guided by your treatment of her” (Austen 344).
After this incident, Emma is very ashamed of the way in which she has treated Miss Bates in the past and humbles herself by doubling, even tripling, her attentions and kindnesses to the poor woman, her mother, and her niece. Although Miss Bates never truly becomes a “member” of the elite class, she does eventually have the respect of Emma and the other elite members of society, a privilege that allows her to spend much of her time among the elite, even though she has none of the qualities that are needed to make her an official part of “the in-group.”

Jane Fairfax is another whose high place in society has nothing to do with riches or family name. “Jane Fairfax was an orphan” (Austen 147), a condition that generally is not conducive to traveling in the best society. After losing her mother at the age of three, Jane’s guardianship was given to Mrs. and Miss Bates, her grandmother and aunt, and
there had seemed every probability of her being permanently fixed there; of her being taught only what very limited means could command, and
growing up with no advantages of connection or improvement (Austen 147).
However, Colonel Campbell, a man whose life was saved by Jane’s father, raised her from this condition. Therefore, Colonel Campbell’s gratitude accounts for one instance in which she was elevated in society, but there is yet another factor with which one must reckon.

“The plan was that she should be brought up for educating others” (Austen 148)- in other words, Miss Fairfax’s education was geared toward a life as a governess, which, as has already been discussed in the case of Miss Taylor, was a respectable, but not high-class, profession. Yet, Miss Fairfax manages to find herself first in the affection and esteem of Mr. Frank Churchill, one who is reckoned to be “a very fine young man” (Austen 14). The explanation of Miss Fairfax’s ability and power to attract the notice of wealthy people is similar to the explanation of Miss Taylor’s marriage. “‘That sweet amiable Jane Fairfax!.... Jane Fairfax one knows to be so very accomplished’” (Austen 97), says Emma’s sister Isabella. Mr. Weston describes her as “‘a girl of such steadiness of character and good judgment’” (Austen 368). In short, Miss Fairfax is a sweet and accomplished young lady who is, therefore, deserving of a place in high society. The following declaration by Emma clearly states the opinion of Jane that Emma has reached by the end of the novel, through Mr. Knightley’s influence. Upon hearing the news of the engagement between Jane and Frank Churchill, Emma addresses Mr. Weston in the following manner.
“I congratulate you, Mr. Weston, with all my heart, on the prospect of having one of the most lovely and accomplished young women in England for your daughter” (Austen 368).
This same engagement is met with the declaration from Mr. Knightley that,
“had he [Frank Churchill] and all his family sought round the world for a perfect wife for him, they could not have found her [Jane Fairfax’s] superior” (Austen 393),
an opinion which clearly reflects the regard that Mr. Knightley holds for Jane, a regard that has been present throughout the novel.

However, high regard from Mr. Knightley and eventual acceptance from Emma do not alone secure a superior social position. As with Miss Taylor, the reasons for Jane’s marriage (her sweetness, intelligence, and accomplishments)
are not the reasons for her sudden place in every elite social circle. They are, however, the reasons for which Frank Churchill singles her, of all the women he has met, out to be his wife. From then on out, it is Mrs. Churchill who is welcomed with open arms, not Miss Jane Fairfax.

Now we turn to a very different sort of reversal of social roles. Mr. Elton, the vicar of Highbury, should be considered among the elite. Not only is he the vicar, but, as Mr. Woodhouse describes him, “‘Mr. Elton is a very pretty young man, to be sure, and a very good young man’” (Austen 11). In the first quarter of the novel, Emma also praises him and, of course, the notice of the Woodhouses is of utmost importance in Highbury. Mr. Elton, early on, is nearly universally viewed as a very agreeable young man, welcome wherever he may wish to go.

However, not everyone is so ready to welcome the young vicar as it seems that he or she is, a sentiment that is voiced by Susan Morgan in her book of Jane Austen criticism, In the Meantime. As Emma comments to Mr. Knightley at a fairly late stage in the novel, “‘I do own myself to have been completely mistaken about Mr. Elton. There is a littleness about him which you discovered, which I did not’” (Austen 302). The reader discovers an extreme snobbishness in Mr. Elton during his proposal to Emma.
“I think seriously of Miss Smith!... no doubt, there are men who might not object to-Everybody has their level; but as for myself, I am not, I think, quite so much at a loss. I need not so totally despair of an equal alliance as to be addressing myself to Miss Smith!” (Austen 122).
This proposal lowers Mr. Elton in Emma’s regard in more ways than one, for, not only does he insult her great friend, but he also addresses Emma herself as though he is of equal ranking with her. Emma quite clearly disagrees, a sentiment that she makes evident through her thoughts that
[h]e must know that the Woodhouses had been settled for several generations at Hartfield, the younger branch of a very ancient family, and that the Eltons were nobody” (Austen 125).
Mr. Elton also shows a great littleness of character after his marriage and his return to Highbury, when he and his wife both behave abominably to Harriet and Emma, particularly at the Weston’s ball at the Crown. Although Mr. and Mrs. Elton are continually rude to Emma because of her desire for a union between Harriet and Mr. Elton, at the ball they take their atrocious behavior one step further; when Harriet is left without a partner for the dances, Mr. Elton deliberately ignores her and then, after expressing his consent to dance with many other women, flatly denies an offer to dance with Miss Smith, all the while exchanging triumphant glances with his wife.
He [Mr. Knightley] was warm in his reprobation of Mr. Elton’s conduct; it had been unpardonable rudeness; and Mrs. Elton’s looks also received the due share of censure (Austen 302).
In the case of Mr. Elton, his marriage lowers his character and his consideration in society, as opposed to the events that take place after the marriages of Miss Taylor and Miss Fairfax. A description of Miss Hawkins tells us that,
setting aside the £10,000 it did not appear that she was at all Harriet’s superior. She brought no name, no blood, no alliance....all the grandeur of the connection seemed dependent on the elder sister, who was very well married, to a gentleman in a great way (Austen 167).
Mrs. Elton shares an extreme snobbishness with her husband and, like her husband, has no grounded reason for this rude attitude. Her excessive pride in nothing serves to make him grow even more arrogant than when he was as a bachelor.

Each of these examples clearly identifies Mr. Elton as one who, although he has every superficial reason to be considered a welcome addition to any social circle, actually has a character that is not fit to associate with anybody, as those who truly belong to the upper-class have realized.

Finally, we come to the character of Mr. Robert Martin, a young man who, though but a member of the yeomanry, has managed to secure the highest regard and respect from Mr. Knightley. When Emma first makes the acquaintance of Mr. Martin, she coldly expresses her sentiments as follows:
“He is very plain, undoubtedly; remarkably plain; but that is nothing compared with his entire want of gentility. I had no right to expect much, and I did not expect much; but I had no idea that he could be so very clownish, so totally without air” (Austen 28).
Upon Harriet’s first proposal from Mr. Martin, Emma tells her that she “could not have visited Mrs. Robert Martin, of Abbey-Mill Farm” (Austen 48). In lamenting the marriage that could have been, Emma flatters Harriet with the exclamation, “‘[y]ou banished to Abbey-Mill Farm! You confined to the society of the illiterate and vulgar all your life!’” (Austen 49), clearly indicating her feelings toward the said Mr. Martin, and the attitude to which most of the elite of the village would adhere.

Although Emma vocally disapproves of Mr. Martin, she mentally admits that
the style of the letter was much above her expectation. There were not merely no grammatical errors, but as a composition it would not have disgraced a gentleman; the language, though plain, was strong and unaffected, and the sentiments it conveyed very much to the credit of the writer (Austen 46).
She continues aloud, making the excuse that his sisters must have helped him with the composition of the letter, although she privately disagrees with this sentiment. Emma has not yet learned to acknowledge the fine qualities that Mr. Martin does possess, but the fact that she notices the excellence of the letter suggests that she may be moving in a new direction from her earlier statement, though her actions throughout the immediately following action would prove otherwise.

Mr. Martin is one point on which Emma and Mr. Knightley vehemently disagree. Mr. Knightley very warmly states that he
“never hear[s] better sense from anyone than Robert Martin. He always speaks to the purpose; open, straightforward, and very well judging....He is an excellent young man” (Austen 54).
Mr. Knightley’s great regard for Robert Martin is then summed up in the following declaration: “‘Robert Martin’s manners have sense, sincerity, and good humour to recommend them; and his mind more true gentility than Harriet Smith could understand’”(Austen 60). It is clear that Mr. Martin is raised in Mr. Knightley’s regard because of his intelligence and good sense, qualities that also raise Miss Taylor and Miss Fairfax from the positions into which they were born to the ones into which they marry and actually hold in society.

Even Emma eventually divulges her feelings to us, saying that,
[s]he would have given a great deal, or endured a great deal, to have had the Martins in a higher rank of life. They were so deserving that little higher should have been enough (Austen 170).

During the falling action of the novel, when Emma discovers that Harriet Smith is, in fact, to become Mrs. Robert Martin of Abbey-Mill Farm, she finally admits that she thinks “Harriet is doing extremely well. Her connections may be worse than his; in respectability of character, there can be no doubt that they are” (Austen 435). Even Emma, who could not earlier admit the farmer to have any merit whatsoever, goes so far as to praise him and add her approval of him to that of Mr. Knightley, forever settling his consideration in elite society as a young man who, although he does not attend social events with the upper-class citizens, possesses many first-rate qualities that the more “important” citizens can respect and admire.

As is the case with many of the other characters who have been discussed, the social status of both Emma and Mr. Knightley is partially affected by their marriage choices. While neither of them are in any need of an elevation in the social hierarchy, their marriage certainly solidifies the high-class standing of which each of them is possessed. Mr. Knightley, with his important title and large estate, but without a large disposable income, marries into the first family of Highbury, while Emma gains the respect that must be afforded Mr. Knightley’s wife.

Emma and Mr. Knightley, though different in many ways, are ultimately alike (Hagan 29) when it comes to the central things in their lives, including their opinions of their neighbors. Although their initial perceptions of characters such as Mr. Elton, Robert Martin, and Jane Fairfax differ, they eventually wind up on the same wavelength on this, as well as other, topics. Throughout the course of this argument, much evidence, including the opinions of both Emma and Mr. Knightley, has been given to illustrate the positions that the examined characters hold within society. Although their opinions are not the only ones that are given throughout the novel, they are the ones that hold the most weight within society and, therefore, the ones that tell us the most about the respective positions of each character that has been discussed.

These six remarkable characters do far more than act as pawns to illustrate an entertaining story about life in a small village in nineteenth-century England. They subtly argue Austen’s point that people cannot be put into categories in the manner of food or clothing, with no consideration to any special exception that might be found upon further study. The old adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover” is illustrated on multiple levels within this novel. Those who open the book intending merely to be entertained by a light-hearted story will be disappointed by the complexity of the social structure. On a more symbolic level, careful readers of the novel learn to delve deep into the hearts and minds of the characters in order to see where they really belong. Although Miss Taylor, Miss Fairfax, and Miss Bates are but poor women, each has more respect attached to her character than Mr. Elton does. Although Mr. Martin is only a farmer, he is seen on an equal level of camaraderie with Mr. Knightley. The society of the novel is not one of “frozen class division,” but one that can be seen “from a perspective of living change” (Brown 57). You can’t judge a book by its cover any more than you can judge a man or a woman by his or her appearance or his or her family.

Works Cited

Austen, Jane. Emma. New York: Bantam, 1981.

Brown, Julia Prewitt. “Civilization and the Contentment of Emma.” Jane Austen’s Emma: Modern Critical Interpretations. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 45-66.

Cornish, Francis Warre. Jane Austen. Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries, 1913.

Dwyer, June. Jane Austen. New York: Continuum Publishing, 1989.

Hagan, John. “The Closure of Emma.” Jane Austen’s Emma: Modern Critical Interpretations. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 19-35.

Lane, Maggie. “Daily Life in Jane Austen’s England.” Emma: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Stephen M. Parrish. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2000. 342-7.

Morgan, Susan. In the Meantime: Character and Perception in Jane Austen’s Fiction. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1980.

Nardin, Jane. Those Elegant Decorums: The Concept of Propriety in Jane Austen’s Novels. Albany: State U of NY P, 1973.