Parnika Jain's Key Ideas from Emma
by Jane Austen

The novel’s limited, almost claustrophobic scope of action gives us a strong sense of the confined nature of a woman’s existence in early-nineteenth-century rural England. Emma possesses a great deal of intelligence and energy, but the best use she can make of these is to attempt to guide the marital destinies of her friends, a project that gets her into trouble. Emma possesses a great deal of intelligence and energy, but the best use she can make of these is to attempt to guide the marital destinies of her friends, a project that gets her into trouble. 

The novel offers critical illustrations of the ways in which personal biases or desires blind objective judgment. Emma’s biases cause her to invent an attachment between Harriet and Frank thus blinding her of jane's attachment to Knightley. At the same time, Frank’s desire to use Emma as a screen for his real preference causes him to believe that she is aware of his and Jane's relation. The ironic detachment of the narrator allows us to see many of these misunderstandings before the characters do. And the plot is powered by realizations that permit characters to make more objective judgments.