Title Emma
Author Jane Austen
Publisher Penguin Book (1998)
Sort of text Book/Short story
Number of pages 57
Source Library
Brief summary
Emma Woodhouse was beautiful, clever and rich. She lives sixteen miles from London in Highbury and at nearly twenty-one years old she thought her life was perfect.
But her perfect life had to change… Miss Taylor lived for more than 15 years with the family Woodhouse. She was part of the family. And now she decided to get married to Mr Weston! His house, ‘Randalls’, was very near Emma’s, but she realised that it would be completely different.
And so Emma was left alone with her father, both wishing that Miss Taylor was still there too. But Miss Taylor became Mrs Weston, it was a fact.
“How was the wedding? Who cried the most?”
“Everybody was on time and looked their best” said Emma
“And there were no tears.”
“But I know how sad you must feel, Emma” said Mr Knightley.
And that was so true! She was on the verge of tears. Although she was happy that she made the match, four years ago, and now she had an idea for another match…
But Emma makes a lot of mistakes and causes more problems than happy marriages. First she wanted to find a wife for Mr Elton…Harriet, her friend, was perfect for him, she thought. When Harriet receives a proposal of Robert Martin, who is only a farmer, Emma said that he isn’t good enough for her. While neither he nor Harriet come from high society. Emma tries hard to arrange time together for Harriet and Mr Elton. Meanwhile she meets Frank, Mr Weston’s son, who is very attractive.
But everything went wrong! Mr Elton proposes to Emma, who was totally surprised of course. And Frank suddenly seems to be engaged with a certain Miss Fairfax…
Emma was shocked when she heard that. And suddenly Emma realised why it was so much worse now Harriet was in love with Mr Knightley and not Mr Elton or Robert Martin. It cut through her like a knife. She would be unhappy if Mr Knightley married anyone except herself!
How was she going to tell Harriet? For a few weeks he has been in London, but he was coming back to Highbury very soon. Emma decided that until then she and Harriet better couldn’t meet.
Eventually it all ends up well…
What happened?
Well, Emma was walking in the garden when she saw Mr Knightley come through the gate. She didn’t know he already had returned to Highbury.
They talked and walked, but he was quieter than usual. And suddenly there was a great difference in Mr Knightley, he held her hand tightly. “Emma, might there be a chance for me? I have always loved you and I always will. But if your answer is no, please tell it me now.”
Emma had never been happier. She told him that she loved him too and they kissed.
Harriet met Robert Martin again and they talked, laughed there just was a click between them. So when he asked her to marry him (again but the first time was with a letter) she immediately answered “Yes, I do want to marry you!”.
So in the next three months there were three weddings planned
Emma Woodhouse & Mr Knightley
Harriet Smith & Mr Martin
Jane Fairfax & Mr Churchill*
* Frank
… and they all lived happily ever after.
Brief description of 1-4 main characters
Emma Woodhouse
Emma is the younger of two daughters. Her mother died when she was only five years old. After that her father found Miss Taylor to look after Emma and her sister Isabella.
Miss Taylor became their teacher and friend and even when they had grown up she continued live with them. She was part of the family.
At the begin of the story Emma (almost 21) still lives with her father and Miss Taylor in the family house, called Hartfield. Isabella lives in London with her husband and five children.
Emma’s father.
Mr Knightly
A neighbour and good friend of the Woodhouse family.
Mr Weston
Also a neighbour of the Woodhouse family.
Description of the setting
Where?
- Highbury, a small town where the story takes place.
- Hartfield, the house where Emma and her father live.
- Randalls, the house where Mr Weston live.
When? Emma lives in the 19th century.
What have you learned?
New words
carriage rijtuig
vicar predikant, dominee
sighed sigh = zuchten, smachten naar
servants bediendes
ballroom balzaal, danszaal
fetched fetch = brengen, halen
fortnight veertien dagen
rude onbeleefd, grof
society gezelschap, maatschappij
gipsies gipsy = zigeuner(in)
equal gelijk
New facts
Well, I don’t know if you can call it new facts, but after reading ‘Emma’ I have a better idea of the life in England about 1800.
Moral lesson
Sometimes you can better let everybody have his way, instead of trying to arrange everything. In the end you can’t change the future. And I think it’s better to worry about your one life.
What is your opinion?
I liked it, because I think the story is nice to read although it’s about the history of England. I mean all those problems just about someone’s social status…
Other assignment
Some of the ‘new words’, I did heard before, but I looked them up to know a good explanation.
REACTIES
1 seconde geleden