Austen began writing stories at a very young age and completed her first novel in her early twenties. However, she did not publish until 1811, when Sense and Sensibility appeared anonymously, followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Mansfield Park (1814). Emma, which appeared in 1816, was the last novel published during Austen's lifetime. (Northanger Abbey and Persuasion appeared posthumously.)

Austen's identity as a novelist was not revealed until after her d

The question of Austen's loyalty to her protagonist is not easily resolved. Emma's independent fortune and unquestioned status within her village community are advantages that were unavailable to Austen herself, so it is easy to imagine Austen writing about Emma's self-important freedom with a certain amount of resentment. At the same time, however, the novel takes place mostly from Emma's point of view—if we disliked Emma, the novel would be unreadable. The narrative structure of the novel complicates things further—the narrator is omniscient, qualified to pass judgment on Emma with commentary that is often tinged with irony, but the narrator also frequently takes up Emma's point of view, sometimes almost merging the two.

In this social context, Austen's commitment to reason and moderation can be seen as feminist and progressive rather than conservative. The intelligence and resourcefulness of her heroines stand in constant contrast to the limits of the constricted world of courtship and marriage that defines their sphere of action. One of the most interesting questions to consider while reading Emma is to what extent Austen accepts or questions the idea that marriage represents a woman's maturity and fulfillment.

Emma makes three major mistakes. First, she attempts to make Harriet into the wife of a gentleman, when Harriet's social position dictates that she would be better suited to the farmer who loves her. Then, she flirts with Frank Churchill even though she does not care for him, making unfair comments about Jane Fairfax along the way. Most important, she does not realize that, rather than being committed to staying single (as she always claims), she is in love with and wants to marry Mr. Knightley. Emma's mistakes seriously threaten Harriet's happiness, cause her embarrassment, and create obstacles to her own achievement of true love, but none of them has lasting consequences. Throughout the novel, Knightley corrects and guides Emma, and, in marrying Knightley, Emma signals that her judgment has aligned with his.

The village has always been curious to see Frank Churchill, who writes a kind letter to Mrs. Weston indicating that he will pay a visit to his father and stepmother.

The Confined Nature of Women's Existence - The novel's limited, almost claustrophobic scope of action gives us a strong sense of the confined nature of a woman's existence in early-nineteenth-century rural England. Emma possesses a great deal of intelligence and energy, but the best use she can find to make of these is to attempt to guide the marital destinies of her friends, a project that gets her into trouble. The alternative pastimes depicted in the book—social visits, charity visits, music, artistic endeavors—seem relatively trivial, at times even monotonous. Isabella is the only mother focused on in the story, and her portrayal suggests that a mother's life offers a woman little use of her intellect. Yet, when Jane compares the governess profession to the slave trade, she makes it clear that the life of a working woman is in no way preferable to the idleness of a woman of fortune. The novel focuses on marriage because marriage offers women a chance to exert their power, if only for a brief time, and affect their own destinies without adopting the labors or efforts of the working class. Participating in the rituals of courtship and accepting or rejecting proposals is perhaps the most active role that women are permitted to play in Emma's world.

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