Emma and Mr. Elton
~Blog Post #3~
Topic C
May 1, 2015
By Grace Morabito
Throughout
Jane Austen’s Emma, the relationship
between Emma and Mr. Elton changes during the book. It is Emma’s mission to
find a suitable wife for Mr. Elton so he could be married. She thought Harriet
would be a perfect choice. This is just one example of her matchmaking skills.
She soon becomes very close to the two people as she finds ways to bring them
together. Mr. Woodhouse throws a party and all of their close friends and
family are invited. Sadly, Harriet is sick and can’t come. Emma is sad about this
because it would have been a good chance for Mr. Elton and Harriet to get
closer to each other. Mr. Elton has other intentions. While Emma and Mr. Elton
are in a carriage on their way to the party, Mr. Elton is acting strange. It is
almost is if he is flirting with her and doing it very comfortably. Emma is
very uncertain about his intentions, so she tries to ignore it. It continues
during the party too. Mr. Elton shows that he is “more afraid of its being a
bad sore throat on Emma’s account than on Harriet’s” (111). Basically, Mr.
Elton could care less that Harriet is not at the party, and rather is more
interested about whatever Emma is doing. The big surprise comes when he
proposes to Emma on the carriage ride home. Emma is so shocked that she doesn’t
know what to say. She assures him that there is definitely no chemistry between
them. Throughout their relationship, the two had different intentions and
feelings for each other. Emma sees him as an acquaintance because she wants to
set him up with Harriet. On the other hand, Mr. Elton believes that Emma is
interested in him so he also has feelings for her. Through misunderstanding,
the relationship between Emma and Mr. Elton causes huge complications that will
cause trouble for them in the future.
Grace, I agree with your analysis of Mr. Elton and Emma's relationship. Misunderstanding and miscommunication played a big part in the complications that came about, such as the awkward proposal to Emma by Mr. Elton. I think the two of them should have talked out their feelings before making such big decisions. Mr. Elton should have made sure Emma liked him before proposing, and Emma should have made sure Mr. Elton and Harriet liked each other before trying to set them up. These miscommunications cause a great strain on Emma and Mr. Elton’s relationship, and in the future, I think Mr. Elton and Emma will avoid talking to each other because of what happened. I also think these events will hurt the relationships between Harriet and both Emma and Mr. Elton. It will be awkward for Harriet, because much of the misunderstanding that came about between Mr. Elton and Emma was about her.
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