Emma plans match between Mr. Elton and Harriet

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, had lived nearly twenty-one years with very little to distress or vex her. The real evils of her situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself. These disadvantages threatened alloy to her many enjoyments, and they found their first significant expression in her decision to make a match between her new friend Harriet Smith and the vicar Mr. Elton.

Identity and Background

Emma was the youngest of two daughters of a most affectionate, indulgent father, and had been mistress of his house from a very early period after her sister's marriage. Her mother had died too long ago for her to have more than an indistinct remembrance, and her place had been supplied by an excellent woman as governess, Miss Taylor, who had fallen little short of a mother in affection. Sixteen years had Miss Taylor been in Mr. Woodhouse's family, less as a governess than a friend, and between them it was more the intimacy of sisters. The marriage of Miss Taylor to Mr. Weston, though a happy event for her friend, left Emma in great danger of suffering from intellectual solitude. Her father was no companion for her, and her sister Isabella lived in London, sixteen miles off. Highbury afforded her no equals; the Woodhouses were first in consequence there. Into this social vacuum stepped Harriet Smith, a girl of seventeen, the natural daughter of somebody, placed at Mrs. Goddard's school. Emma was immediately struck by Harriet's beauty—short, plump, and fair, with a fine bloom, blue eyes, light hair, and regular features—and determined to continue the acquaintance.

The Matchmaking Scheme

Emma's plan to unite Harriet and Mr. Elton entered her brain during the very first evening of Harriet's coming to Hartfield. She thought it would be an excellent match, and only too palpably desirable, natural, and probable. Mr. Elton's situation was most suitable; he was quite the gentleman himself, without low connexions, and at the same time not of any family that could fairly object to the doubtful birth of Harriet. He had a comfortable home for her, and Emma imagined a very sufficient income. She thought very highly of him as a good-humoured, well-meaning, respectable young man. She had already satisfied herself that he thought Harriet a beautiful girl, which she trusted, with such frequent meetings at Hartfield, was foundation enough on his side. On Harriet's there could be little doubt that the idea of being preferred by him would have all the usual weight and efficacy. Emma saw matchmaking as the greatest amusement in the world, and after her success in promoting the match between Mr. Weston and Miss Taylor, she felt emboldened. She declared to her father, "I promise you to make none for myself, papa; but I must, indeed, for other people. It is the greatest amusement in the world! And after such success, you know!"

Execution and Self-Deception

Emma actively promoted the match, interpreting every gesture of Mr. Elton's as evidence of his attachment to Harriet. When Mr. Elton eagerly supported Emma's wish to have Harriet's picture drawn, she saw it as proof of his growing love. When he brought a charade addressed "To Miss—" which spelled out "courtship," Emma immediately concluded it was meant for Harriet, telling her, "There is so pointed, and so particular a meaning in this compliment, that I cannot have a doubt as to Mr. Elton's intentions. You are his object—and you will soon receive the completest proof of it." She persuaded Harriet to refuse a proposal from the respectable farmer Robert Martin, arguing that Mr. Martin was Harriet's inferior in rank and society. Emma told Harriet, "A woman is not to marry a man merely because she is asked, or because he is attached to her, and can write a tolerable letter." She was so convinced of her own correctness that when Mr. Knightley warned her that Mr. Elton would never make an imprudent match, she dismissed his advice, believing that her own observation of Mr. Elton's supposed passion was superior to Mr. Knightley's knowledge of his character.

Consequences and Collapse

The scheme collapsed dramatically when Mr. Elton, alone with Emma in a carriage after the dinner at Randalls, made violent love to her, not to Harriet. He declared that he had never thought seriously of Miss Smith, that his visits to Hartfield had been for Emma only. Emma was horrified, realizing she had been completely mistaken. She reflected, "If I had not persuaded Harriet into liking the man, I could have borne any thing. He might have doubled his presumption to me—but poor Harriet!" She acknowledged her error: "The first error and the worst lay at her door. It was foolish, it was wrong, to take so active a part in bringing any two people together. It was adventuring too far, assuming too much, making light of what ought to be serious, a trick of what ought to be simple." She was forced to confess her mistake to Harriet, who bore the intelligence very well, blaming nobody. Emma resolved to be humble and discreet, and to repress imagination all the rest of her life.

Thematic Significance

Emma's matchmaking scheme is the central action that drives the novel's plot and embodies its key themes. It demonstrates the dangers of self-deception and the abuse of social power. Emma, with her comfortable home and happy disposition, had the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself. Her plan to manipulate the affections of Harriet and Mr. Elton reveals her vanity and her belief that she can arrange the destinies of others. The scheme's failure forces Emma to confront her own blindness and to begin the process of moral growth that defines her character arc. It also exposes the social realities of the marriage market: Mr. Elton, who Emma believed was a suitable match for Harriet, actually sought a woman of fortune and consequence, and quickly married a Miss Hawkins with ten thousand pounds. Harriet, meanwhile, had rejected a genuinely worthy suitor in Robert Martin, a decision that caused her considerable pain before she was eventually reconciled to him. The episode underscores the novel's critique of meddling and its affirmation that genuine affection and compatibility cannot be engineered by an outsider, no matter how well-intentioned.