Mr. Weston and Mrs. Weston (Miss Taylor)

Mr. Weston, a native of Highbury born of a respectable family that had been rising into gentility and property for two or three generations, had received a good education but, on succeeding early to a small independence, entered the militia of his county. There he met and married Miss Churchill of a great Yorkshire family, a match that proved unsuitable and produced little happiness; after her death three years later, their son Frank was given up to the care and wealth of the Churchills. Mr. Weston then quitted the militia, engaged in trade with his brothers in London, and over the next eighteen or twenty years realized an easy competence, enough to purchase the little estate of Randalls adjoining Highbury and to marry a woman as portionless as Miss Taylor. The marriage of Mr. Weston and Miss Taylor, which takes place at the opening of the novel, is the event that first brings grief to Emma Woodhouse, who has lost the beloved friend and governess who had been with her for sixteen years. Emma had planned the match four years earlier, after meeting Mr. Weston with Miss Taylor in Broadway Lane when he gallantly borrowed two umbrellas for them from Farmer Mitchell's, and she takes pride in her success, though Mr. Knightley dismisses it as a lucky guess rather than a genuine achievement.

The Nature of the Union

The marriage is presented as one of genuine mutual suitability and happiness. Mr. Weston is described as a man of unexceptionable character, easy fortune, suitable age, and pleasant manners, while Miss Taylor is a rational, unaffected woman. The match is not the tyrannic influence of youth on youth but a well-judging choice; Mr. Weston had gone steadily on with his objects of purchasing Randalls and obtaining a wife, and his second marriage shows him how delightful a well-judging and truly amiable woman can be, giving him the pleasantest proof of its being a great deal better to choose than to be chosen. Mrs. Weston feels herself a most fortunate woman, and her satisfaction and cheerful enjoyment are so just and so apparent that Emma is sometimes taken by surprise at her father's still pitying 'poor Miss Taylor' when they leave her at Randalls in the centre of every domestic comfort. The marriage also brings a new connection to the community: Mr. Weston's son Frank Churchill, who has been raised by his aunt and uncle and assumed the name of Churchill, becomes a lively curiosity in Highbury, and his eventual visit is eagerly anticipated.

Consequences and Aftermath

The marriage creates a significant change in Emma's life, leaving her in danger of suffering from intellectual solitude, as her father is no companion for her and her sister Isabella lives in London. However, the proximity of Randalls, only half a mile from Hartfield, allows for frequent visits, and Mr. and Mrs. Weston are very kind in their visits, preventing Emma from missing Miss Taylor to the extent she had anticipated. The wedding-cake, which Mr. Woodhouse had tried to dissuade them from having and then to prevent anyone from eating, is eventually all consumed, and the compliments of the neighbours are over. The marriage also serves as a model for Emma's later matchmaking schemes; she compares her plan for Mr. Elton and Harriet Smith to the match at Randalls, and the success of the Weston marriage reinforces her confidence in her own judgment. The relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Weston remains a source of stability and happiness throughout the novel, and Mrs. Weston's pregnancy and the birth of a daughter, Anna Weston, are celebrated as a joyful event. The marriage ultimately stands as a benchmark of a successful, well-considered union, in contrast to the more problematic engagements and marriages that unfold in the story.