ABSTRACT
Emma stands apart from the other novels in at least one respect. Whereas the heroines of the other novels are all to some extent disadvantaged in a worldly sense, Emma Woodhouse starts with every worldly advantage. One of them, since families are usually embarrassments in Jane Austen, is that she scarcely has one. But if we take the passage in the context of all that we come to know about Emma and her circumstances, it is much worse. Emma's sister, Isabella Knightley, is a doting mother, and she is also the sort of person who is incapable of denying a request; John Knightley is on the other hand a very positive man, equally devoted to his family life, but intolerant of interference and interruptions in it. Mr. Knightley's rebuke to her marks the turning-point and she begins to make amends, but first she had to realize the great retribution which she has brought on herself.
