Volume 2 reflection

So since the end of volume 1 a lot has happened in Emma. The first volume left off with an awkward proposal from Mr. Elton to Emma, but in the second volume a lot has changed. Mr. Elton is no longer an eligible bachelor anymore; instead he is married to a Mrs. Hawkings. This however is not the main action of the second volume. Jane Fairfax has come to town and seems to have caught the eye of Mr. Knightley which makes some very interesting reactions from Emma. Emma dislikes Jane I think because she seems to get just as much attention as Emma does but does not seem to work for it. Jane is often described as too “reserved” which is a distasteful characteristic and yet everyone seems to still have their eyes on her. Another big change up in the plot is that Frank Churchill comes to town and Emma grows very fond of him and even says that she might be a little in love with him. This is a weird relationship to see progress because Emma fantasizes that he will propose and she will deny him because his affections are “changeable”. This fantasy that she has about frank reveals a major theme in the book of Emma’s fantasy world that she lives in. It seems that she controls everyone she is acquainted with as if they are dolls, and I believe one of the reasons that Emma hates Jane is because she does not fit the fantasy role that Emma has in mind for everyone. I also think that Emma sees Frank Churchill as a sort of prince charming or at least she wants him to be a prince charming but others like Mr. Knightley see him as an immature young man. Emma decides that she would refuse his proposal because if she chose to get married to him her fantasy world could come to an end with the reality that he is not everything that she thought him to be. Towards the end of the second volume Ms. Hawkings is finally introduced to everyone and it seems that she is much disliked. She is seen as very materialistic and always talks of the things she has back home. Emma dislikes this about her which is ironic because she too is a very materialistic person. In this way Ms. Hawkings serves to give Emma a taste of her own medicine. Ms. Hawkings also decides that she will take Jane under her wing which is very similar to how Emma takes Harriot under her wing. By showing this comparison Austen essentially makes you like and dislike the same character because they have the same personality and situation, and even the same lover. This is a very interesting approach and reveals that there are many more parallels between other characters that we should look out for in the rest of the book. Some of these important relationships include Jane and Harriot, Knightley and Emma, Knightley and Mr. Elton, and Jane and Emma.