Grace Morabito - Blog Post #2

Emma and Mr. Knightley Fight

~Blog Post #2~

Topic F

April 24, 2015

By Grace Morabito

In Jane Austen’s Emma, the conversation between Emma and Mr. Knightley shows a lot about the person they are and their views they have. A farmer, Robert Martin, comes to visit Mr. Knightley for advice on his future plans, including marriage. He believes Robert is a great, intelligent man. Mr. Knightley has “no hesitation in advising him to marry” (52). He wants Robert to find a woman with just as much talent as he does. This is why he feels that Harriet is the perfect match. Mr. Knightley believes that it is the quality of the woman that matters the most. On the contrary, Emma feels differently. She advises Harriet to reject the proposal and even helps her write it. Emma feels that Robert is “her inferior as to rank in society” (54). She thinks Harriet deserves someone better like Mr. Elton. Any man would be lucky to have someone as beautiful as Harriet, so that is why she deserves the best. As for Robert, he is just not a gentleman that Harriet should be with. Emma and Mr. Knightley continue to go back and forth about how they feel with the future of Harriet. Emma keeps telling him that she as a friend is just trying to look out for the best interests in Harriet. On the other hand, Mr. Knightley thinks that Emma doesn’t want to lose Harriet because if she marries Robert then she would have to move to his farm. Then this would leave Emma without a person like Harriet to boss around and manipulate with. She would also be failing in her quest to match make Mr. Elton with Harriet. All of these descriptions show how different Emma and Mr. Knightley are as people and their values. Although they are different, this could foreshadow just how opposites attract each other in the idea that the two of them secretly like each other.