Emma

            Miss Emma Woodhouse is a very interesting character in the novel Emma, written by Jane Austen. The author writes about Emma in a unique fashion, which keeps the reader loving this character even though she is not always admirable. During the course of the novel, we see Emma try to help Miss Harriet Smith become a lady. It is difficult to decide whether or not Emma is helping Harriet grow. Emma preaches about social status and often times speaks badly about people behind their backs, but for some reason Harriet, as well as many other characters in the novel, adore her. In the beginning of the novel, Austen gives many examples of Emma's insensitivity, but by the end we learn that she really does mean well. She loves to see the people that she cares about happy and sometimes thinks that being nosy is a way to achieve this. Throughout the novel we see Emma mature as a woman because she learns from her herself and from her friends, that being wealthy and proper are not the only important qualities in a person.
             In the beginning of the novel, Harriet tells Emma about a man she is interested in named Mr. Robert Martin. Emma immediately takes this opportunity to pry about the Martin family. She finds out that Mr. Martin is a single man, and a farmer. She begins to speak to Harriet about the idea of being from "good society."" Emma begins to teach Harriet all of the reasons why a man like Mr. Martin is not considered to be of high social status. Emma's tone is very snobbish when she speaks of him. She is subtle, but she makes strong points, which are meant to discourage Harriet from being friends with Mr. Martin. The author uses the conversation between Harriet and Emma to make the reader wonder whether Emma's intentions are benevolent. .
             When Emma is talking to Harriet about the woman Mr. Martin will most likely marry in the future, she completely degrades his intelligence and says, " when Mr.