Emma Summaries

I'm going to do what Ginger started with Sense and Sensibility, summarizing each chapter, only, since I like the maxim 'brevity is the soul of wit,' I'm going to boil each chapter down to a really, really short summary. I'll just add to this post until I'm done.

ch 1 - Emma is a bit spoiled. Her beloved governess left to get married to Mr. Weston. Emma decides to find a match for Mr. Elton, who performed the wedding ceremony.

ch 2 - Mr. Weston's son Frank was raised by his mother's family after the mother died. Frank took on the name of his mother's family - Churchill.

ch 3 - Emma's small circle of friends includes Mr. Knightley, the two Bates ladies and Mrs Goddard, who runs a mediocre girls' school. Emma befriends Harriet Smith, an illigitimate girl raised by Mrs. Goddard's school. She's pleasant and pretty but has no pedigree or money. Harriet is friends with the Martins, who are poor farmers.

ch 4 - Harriet admires the Martin's son Robert, and he likes her, too - but Emma has more high-bred hopes for Harriet. She wants to match Harriet with Mr. Elton.

ch 5 - Mr. Knightley thinks Emma will give Harriet false airs, and Harriet will give Emma too much flattery - the friendship won't be good for either of them, and he tells Emma's old governess, the newly married Mrs. Weston.

ch 6 - Mr. Elton thinks Emma should draw a picture of harriet. He likes Emma and hopes to flatter her drawing skill. He frames the resulting picture. Emma persuades Harriet that Mr. Elton must really like her, Harriet.

ch 7 - Mr. Martin sent a letter proposing to Harriet, but Emma pressures Harriet (indirectly) to refuse him. So Harriet writes back to refuse, and she consoles herself by thinking of Mr. Elton.

ch 8 - Mr. Knightley is unhappy when he hears that Harriet refused Mr. Martin's proposal, especially since he had encouraged it with Mr. Martin.

ch 9 - Mr. Elton writes a riddle proclaiming his admiration for a lady. Emma thinks he means Harriet, and she convinces Harriet of it.

ch 10 - Emma takes Harriet on a charity visit. They run into Mr. Elton. Emma manipulates so that Harriet and Mr. Elton can be alone so he can proclaim his love - but he doesn't.

ch 11 - Emma's sister Isabella visits with her husband (Mr. Knightley's brother) and their five children. They'll be staying for ten days. Emma's father thinks ten days is too short a visit.

ch 12 - Emma has to constantly intervene to keep peace between her father and sister, Isabella. They keep coming to disagreements about health.

ch 13 - There's a small Christmas Eve dinner at the Weston's. Harriet gets sick with a cold and sore throat, so she can't go, and Emma is disappointed that the news doesn't distress Mr. Elton.

ch 14 - Mr. Elton makes a pest of himself with Emma. Mr. Weston's son Frank Churchill is planning to visit, but everyone fears that his aunt won't let him leave her to make the visit.

ch 15 - Emma ends up riding home alone in the carriage with Mr. Elton. She is mortified when he proposes to her; he is angry when she refuses.

ch 16 - Emma now realizes she had no right to meddle between Mr. Elton and Harriet. She's also indignant that Elton resented Harriet's affection because he considers her so much beneath him - yet he's just as much beneath Emma, and aspired to marry her for her money. His anger at her refusal betrays his feelings - he never really loved Emma.

ch 17 - Isabella and her family go home. Mr. Elton goes away for a few weeks (to stew, no doubt), and Emma gives Harriet the bad news that Mr. Elton hadn't loved her, but had wanted Emma. Emma is surprised to discover how much Harriet really is in love with the contemptible Mr. Elton.

ch 18 - Frank Churchill writes to the Westons that he will visit, and then has to cancel because his aunt won't let him go. Mr. Knightley thinks he's a weak, selfish person for not standing up to his aunt and doing his duty in spite of her whims. But Emma is ready to excuse and justify him.

ch 19 - Emma and Harriet stop to visit the Bates and learn that Jane Fairfax has sent a letter to say she will be coming to stay for three months while a family she lives with goes to Ireland to visit a recently married daughter (she was Miss Campbell, now she's Mrs. Dixon.)

ch 20 - Jane Fairfax is the granddaughter of Mrs. Bates and niece of Miss Bates. Her mother was the youngest daughter in the Bates family, but her husband was killed in a war and she died of heartbreak soon after. Colonel Campbell, a friend of her father's, raised orphaned Jane along with his own daughter (now Mrs. Dixon). His plan was to educate Jane to be a teacher, since he didn't have the means to support her forever or give her a good dowry.

Jane is beautiful, talented, elegant - but reserved to the point of seeming cold. It frustrates Emma because she can never be sure what Jane really thinks about anything.

ch 21 - Emma learns that Mr. Elton is going to be married - he seems to have gotten over her pretty quick! She wants to break it to Harriet before Harriet finds out from gossip, but Harriet is too ruffled about running into Mr. Martin and his sister to care as much as Emma thinks she should.

ch 22 - Mr. Elton's fiance Augusta is not as pretty as Harriet, but she has 10,000 pounds. Harriet, unfortunately, seems to run into Mr. Elton all the time - and it keeps her unrequited love in her thoughts. Yet she also seems to be thinking of Mr. Martin. Emma arranges for her to visit the Martins - not to revive the courtship, but to keep Harriet's mind off Mr. Elton.

ch 23 - Frank Churchill arrives. Emma finds him pleasing, but possibly insincere in his praise and flattery of everyone and everything. He knew Jane Fairfax when she was a fine young lady living with the Campbells. Now he will visit her while she's living in less privileged circumstances with her poor and talkative Bates relatives.

ch 24 - Emma goes for a walk through town with Frank Churchill and the Westons. Frank is interested in everything and pleased with all he sees, although he says that Jane Fairfax's complexion is pale and he agrees with Emma that Jane is reserved.

ch 25 - Frank goes all the way to London(town?) for the day to get a haircut. The Coles are giving a party. Emma suspects that they won't invite her because her station in life is so much higher than theirs. Emma does get an invitation. Her father will stay home where it's comfortable while Emma goes to the party.

ch 26 - The party at the Cole's. Emma and a privileged few come for dinner before the party. Frank Churchill is there for dinner. He chats with Emma all evening. Everyone is talking about a mysterious piano that was given to Jane Fairfax. Later, more people arrive, including Harriet and Jane Fairfax. Frank spends the evening pretending to like Emma and not Jane. But we know better. We've seen the movie.

ch 27 -Emma begins to hear hints of suspicion that Mr. Knightley likes Jane Fairfax, confirmed when Miss Bates goes on and on about apples. Apparently, when Mr. Knightley heard that Jane liked them, he gave the Bates an extra bushel - and apparently the last of his personal supply.

ch 28 - During a visit at the Bates, Frank Churchill teases Jane Fairfax (Emma thinks he's tormenting her about a secret attraction to Mr. Dixon who married her friend, but we know that it's Frank she likes) and Mr. Knightley, passing by, declines to stop in after hears that Frank Churchill is there.

This is about half the book. I'll do the second half in a brand new post.