Below, in the comments are the discussion questions for Emma. Feel free to answer any that you want to discuss! (order doesn't matter, but question 1 is at the bottom). For now, this thread is limited to the book. We can also do a Zoom discussion, next week and talk about Clueless, and the new Emma movie as well.
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Edited: Mar 31, 2020
Emma by Jane Austen
Emma by Jane Austen
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1. Why is Emma obsessed with class and social standing? Is Jane Austen attempting to satirize society, or people like Emma specifically. In other words, is everyone somewhat ridiculous in this period of history, or is it just Emma that is a basic bitch? In what ways is this relevant to current times?
14. Jane Austen novels romanticize a period in which servants are kept out of sight, women have no rights and anyone attractive is described as “fair with blue eyes.” Does American Anglophilia (downton abbey etc) say anything about racist or sexist culture in America? Is it reconcilable?
13. Why do people still enjoy Jane Austen books immensely?
12. How does Austen manage to tell the story through the point of view of Emma, while narrating in 3rd person? Apparently it is one of the first novels to do this. Does it feel like a natural way to tell a story or not? Is that used now a lot?
11. What aspects, if any, about this novel are still relevant to now, or are at least more timeless?
10. What does it say about Harriet, or Harriet & Emma’s relationship that Harriet fell for Mr. Knightley?
9. Should it have been obvious to Emma that Mr. Elton liked her and not Harriet? Why didn’t Emma realize?
8. Why is Emma jealous of Jane?
7. Emma thinks, “Harriet would be loved as one to whom she could be useful” and she says to Harriet at a later point “There can be no doubt of your being a gentleman’s daughter and you must support your claim to that station by everything within your own power, or there will be plenty of people who would take pleasure in degrading you.” Was Emma’s makeover attempt for Harriet selfish or was it just the best Emma could do to be nice, given her understanding of the world?
6. If Emma was a reread for you, what did you notice this time, or how did you feel while reading it compared to the last time you read it?
5. According to Austen’s nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh, she said when she started to write Emma, “I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” Why does Austen think that she’s the only one will like Emma? Did you like her?
4. Does Emma truly change?
3.What do you think about Mr Knightley ending up with Emma? Is it cute, or creepy?
2.Does it make sense that Mr. Knightley would end up liking Emma, despite how the novel shows that he sees her like a child both because he has known her as a child and because she is still quite immature and not self aware?