Emma by Jane Austen

I've just got a few chapters left in Emma.  I've enjoyed the book, the third of Austen that I've read over the last year.

However, it hasn't engaged me nearly as much as Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility.  Perhaps that's because I'm used to her writing now, or perhaps Emma simply isn't as engaging of a book.  There definitely is a formulaic nature to her work.

I've decided that I don't quite like Emma as a character, even though my guess is that she will redeem herself in these last few chapters.  Just as the theme of the book implicates her, she is incredibly adept at interfering with the affairs of others through mild manipulation.

Even worse, as we find out towards the end, she really only cares about herself.  She drops poor Harriet, like so much dead weight, once she locks-in Knightley for herself.  And this after dissuading her from Mr. Martin, and steering her wrongly towards Mr. Elton and Knightley himself, in sequence.

And even though she expressed horror at the possible dis-inheritance of her nephew if Knightley were to marry Jane Fairfax, this offence never seems to enter her mind once she is destined for Knightley herself.  As long as the money stays in the family, I guess, Emma is satisfied.

Still, I love the setting of the English countryside circa 1800.

As an aside, we've got a lot of Anglophile-ishness going on these days too: We've been watching Downton Abbey reruns, I just finished an 11 episode series on the English monarchy from the BBC, I'm reading much about 16-17th century England on a parallel track in The Age of Reason Begins by the Durants... and the London Olympics begin in two weeks.  Maybe we should just start eating "grilled to-mottos and toast" and get it over with!

Next up, continuing the Anglo theme, will be my first Charles Dickens read in David Copperfield.