Emma (Barnes & Noble Classics) (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 1816; vuoden 2004 painos)

I have been playing this mind game while reading this book: If Jane Austen was to give it a title in the form of “pride and prejudice” or “sense and sensibility”, what adjectives would she had chosen for this book? I think Presumption would likely describe my first sentiment about it, but then I have trouble coming up with the next adjective to counter it. Presumption and Discernment, maybe?

I liked it very much. With every book of Jane Austen I read, I am more impressed by her sensibility towards human motivation, be it social or sentimental. Of course she wrote of a society so much different than mine, where women’s prospects were very much linked to marriage, and where the social stratification defined every aspect of socialization. Her capability to comprehend her own historical moment and the social interactions that surrounded her are remarkable.

Not long ago I gave 5 stars to Mansfield Park but by comparison the characters in Emma are less black and white, their motivations more real: jealousy, snobbery, hypochondria, righteousness. Yet we forgive them because we also see goodness and shame in the realization that they were not so noble after all.

There is a formula in Austen that I am starting to discern. I am not Austen academic, and have read some of her books too long ago – translated to Portuguese nevertheless – but she seems to weave a cautionary tale on the stories she tells; an alert for all of us to be aware of how social rules may lead to misunderstandings, how we hurt one another and ourselves by sticking too close to those rules, or when we deviate too far from those rules too. She also favors the good, the humble, those with moral fortitude. It seems that her endings are always happy though.

Something else, wise Mr. Knightley, I like you much better than snob Mr. Darcy! And I liked Mr. Darcy for a long time… I still like Elizabeth Bennet better than Emma though!
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I'll probably never be an Austen fanatic but this one at least has momentary flashes of humor. (#34--a book by Austen)

2.5 stars.

The book can be summarised as "Rich, self-centred girl tries to arrange other people's lives, proves she is entirely clueless about what is actually going on".

Good read if you like endless chapters of people socialising. Otherwise not worth it. ( )