Harriet accepts Martin's second proposal

Harriet Smith's acceptance of Robert Martin's second proposal of marriage is the quiet, corrective resolution of a romantic subplot that Emma Woodhouse's misguided matchmaking had thrown into chaos. After Emma had persuaded Harriet to refuse Martin's first offer in favor of a fantasy attachment to Mr. Elton, and then encouraged her to hope for Frank Churchill, the news that Harriet had finally accepted the steady, sensible farmer arrives as a shock to Emma—but one that releases her from the last weight of guilt and allows her own happiness with Mr. Knightley to proceed unclouded.

Background and First Refusal

Robert Martin, a respectable young farmer who rents land from Mr. Knightley at Abbey Mill Farm, had first proposed to Harriet by letter nearly a year earlier. The letter was well-written, expressing good sense, warm attachment, and even delicacy of feeling, but Emma, who had taken Harriet under her protection, pronounced Martin too coarse and low-born for her friend. Emma's influence was decisive: Harriet, though initially touched by the proposal, allowed herself to be talked into refusing it. Mr. Knightley, who had encouraged Martin to propose, was furious when he learned what Emma had done, warning her that she was no friend to Harriet and that vanity working on a weak head produces every sort of mischief. Emma dismissed the warning, convinced that Harriet deserved a gentleman—by which she meant Mr. Elton, the vicar of Highbury.

The Second Courtship

Months later, after Mr. Elton had married the vulgar, self-important Augusta Hawkins, and after Frank Churchill's secret engagement to Jane Fairfax had been revealed, Harriet's romantic prospects seemed bleak. Emma, now aware of her own blindness, had sent Harriet to stay with Isabella Knightley in London partly to remove her from the scene of her disappointment. It was during this visit that Robert Martin, who had never stopped loving Harriet, found his opportunity. He went to London on business for Mr. Knightley and was asked by John Knightley to join a family party at Astley's amphitheatre. The party included John and Isabella, their two eldest boys, and Harriet. Martin could not resist. The next day he dined with the Knightleys, and in the course of that visit he spoke to Harriet and was accepted.

The News Reaches Emma

Mr. Knightley brought the news to Emma. He had it directly from Robert Martin himself, who came to Donwell Abbey immediately after returning from London. Emma's first reaction was disbelief—she had heard Harriet declare, with great emphasis, that she knew better than to think of Robert Martin. But Mr. Knightley was quite sure: Martin had told him plainly that she had accepted him, and had asked for advice on how to proceed. Emma's disbelief gave way to a rush of joy and relief. The sole grievance that had alloyed her own happiness—the fear that Harriet still pined for Mr. Knightley—was removed. She could now laugh at the close of what had seemed a doleful disappointment, and reflect that Harriet had always liked Robert Martin and that his continuing love had been irresistible.

Consequences and Significance

The marriage proved to be the most solidly happy of the novel's three unions. Harriet's parentage was at last revealed: she was the daughter of a tradesman, rich enough to have provided for her comfortably and decent enough to have kept the matter private. The stain of illegitimacy that Emma had once airily dismissed as no obstacle to a grand match would have been a serious social liability, but for a farmer like Robert Martin it was no bar. Emma, now wiser, acknowledged that Harriet would be placed among people who loved her, retired enough for safety and occupied enough for cheerfulness, and that she was the luckiest creature in the world to have inspired such steady and persevering affection. Harriet and Robert Martin were the first of the three engaged couples to marry, and Emma attended the wedding with complete satisfaction.