Emma 185Augustine’s conversion becomes formal in book 9
when he, his friends, and his son are baptized in a
joyous ceremony. At last, Augustine has found true
religion, where he can know and love God fully and
properly.
Although orthodox (correct) beliefs are indis-
pensable to true religion, for Augustine it is not only
a matter of belief. True religion is also marked by
true worship practices, good morals, healthy com-
munity life, and wise authority. All of these Augus-
tine finds in Catholic Christianity, where he receives
the antidote to the spiritual restlessness that plagued
his young adulthood.
Jonathan Malesic
AUSTEN, JANE Emma (1816)
Emma Woodhouse, “handsome, clever, and rich,”
lives near the village of Highbury with her father in
the early 1800s. Although good friends with their
neighbor, Mr. Knightley, Emma is lonely after her
governess marries and moves out, so she decides
to take Harriet Smith, a beautiful young girl of
unknown parentage, under her wing. Against Mr.
Knightley’s advice, Emma dissuades Harriet from
marrying her farmer suitor, Robert Martin, and
instead persuades her that the vicar, Mr. Elton, is in
love with her. Unfortunately, however, it turns out
Mr. Elton has designs not on Harriet but on Emma
herself. Emma indignantly refuses his proposal and
tries to heal Harriet’s disappointment.
Emma’s governess’s new stepson, Frank
Churchill, comes to visit Highbury and enlivens the
village by initiating social events that include Jane
Fairfax, who has recently returned to Highbury after
a childhood spent elsewhere. Another arrival is Mr.
Elton’s new bride, who attempts to upstage Emma
by asserting herself as the “lady patroness” of High-
bury. The town expects Frank and Emma to make a
couple, but Emma has plans for Frank and Harriet.
However, Harriet now fancies Mr. Knightley, which
horrifies Emma as she realizes that she herself loves
Mr. Knightley.
When Frank’s adopted mother dies, he announces
that he has been secretly engaged to Jane Fairfax for
several months. While shocked at the subterfuge,
Highbury welcomes the marriage. With Frank
out of the way, Mr. Knightley proclaims his love
for Emma, and they, too, plan a wedding. Harriet
returns to Robert Martin, and Emma vows never
again to meddle in people’s lives.
Sally PalmercOminG OF aGe in Emma
Typically, a bildungsroman features a protagonist
who, over the course of the novel, undergoes sig-
nificant personal development in a spiritual, moral,
psychological, or social sphere. Jarred by loss or
discontentment into embarking on a literal or
metaphorical journey out of her former milieu, the
heroine encounters trials, obstacles, and clashes with
other characters or with the existing social order that
eventually bring about her maturation. Finally, the
protagonist grows into womanhood and, adopting
new values and spirit, reenters the social order as a
changed being assuming a new role.
Emma is such a novel. As it opens, Emma
Woodhouse is a young woman newly bereft of her
governess and companion, the soon-to-be-married
Miss Taylor. No replacement is envisioned because
of Emma’s age, so Emma is propelled from her role
as a chaperoned daughter of the house into a new
role as grown-up mistress of her widowed father’s
household. While this would ordinarily signify a
considerable change in status, Emma considers her-
self already entirely grown up. With the means and
authority to manage and distribute goods and ser-
vants, she declares that she will never marry because
she already has all the consequence, means, and
power she could desire. At this presumed pinnacle of
life, Emma decides likewise to manage the personal
lives of her friends. This undertaking, resulting in
unforeseen negative consequences and the subse-
quent humility they engender, represents Emma’s
journey into maturity. At the journey’s end, she will
have learned that each person must make his or her
own decisions; no one else can know better about
their lives than the principals. She will also know
herself better—that she is not, in fact, independent,
but relies on the companionship and advice of her
friend Mr. Knightley for her growth and happiness.
Emma’s initial foray into life management tar-
gets the bachelor vicar of her parish, Mr. Elton.
Without taking much care for his own preference